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anybody ever tried the promag 223 copies of the bulgarian mags


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found promag 223 waffle mags that seem to be a clone of bulgarian waffles.

 

anybody ever tried them before?

 

they have lifetime warrantee, are 3 u.s. parts, and are only $14 a piece.

 

only thing seems that the front lug on the mag is higher than on bulgys, which in turn puts the rounds exiting the mag lower.

 

could be just a photo cropping error seems how all the pics i've seen of them are from the same source.

 

i've found bulgarian 223 waffle mags for $24 but not sure if they will work 100% in a par/sar.

 

and the damn weigers seem to be about $30-$40 and they have to be bought in quantity to get that price.

 

thanks guys!

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they have lifetime warrantee,

 

Probably not after you file down the mag catch. I happen to have a bad 7.62x39 promag, one of my OD green ones. In order to try it out, I had to file down the mag catch on it. Then I discovered it doesn't feed right. My other OD green promag feeds perfect. But can I send it back now? I doubt they will honor that lifetime warrantee when they see my handywork, no?

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Hi!

 

I have bought a ProMag for .223. the major difference is the thickness on the upper part (into "magwell") leaving tons of wobble..... the original Saiga mag i 26mm thick, and the ProMag 24mm... AND you NEED a feeding ramp!!!

It locks up perfectly, but the wobble is no good.... I have resoulved the wobble by adding some plastic!!! (glued sheets of 1mm thick plastic on each side of the mag.) It's not "perfect" but a whole lot better!

I tested a Saiga 3 years ago with ProMag without modifications and tons of wobble, and it feed sometimes.... the sure thing is it need a feeding ramp!

I will post again when I have fitted feeding ramp and fired the entire mag through.

 

b.reg

 

Camelon

"Saiga 520 from Norway"

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Hi!

 

I have bought a ProMag for .223. the major difference is the thickness on the upper part (into "magwell") leaving tons of wobble..... the original Saiga mag i 26mm thick, and the ProMag 24mm... AND you NEED a feeding ramp!!!

It locks up perfectly, but the wobble is no good.... I have resoulved the wobble by adding some plastic!!! (glued sheets of 1mm thick plastic on each side of the mag.) It's not "perfect" but a whole lot better!

I tested a Saiga 3 years ago with ProMag without modifications and tons of wobble, and it feed sometimes.... the sure thing is it need a feeding ramp!

I will post again when I have fitted feeding ramp and fired the entire mag through.

 

b.reg

 

Camelon

"Saiga 520 from Norway"

 

Hi, Norway!! MY girlfriend is form Norway. Just one point. . .all S-.223s need to have a bullet guide to be a true "conversion." That and the trunion lug spec grind (and the forend work) makes it a "real" AK-101 clone. It's two small mods to get the state of the art AK.

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thanks for the tips guys.

 

i was mainly aiming the question towards my PAR3.

 

but since this topic posting i found a site that sells promag that had some customer reviews. (i love those)

 

basically said that they are worthless. pretty much took it as "why waste $15 when i could get real bulgy waffles for $20." or even better, "why waste $20 when i can get weigers for $25."

 

thanks again guys. but my issue is now solved. pay a little bit more and get the best.

 

good luck!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Again!

 

My feeding ramp is installed and tested!!!! It works like a dream! I have only Promags, and they feed perfectly, even they wobble a whole lot.... One mag I'we experimented with thine sheets of plastic glued to the mag to make it thighter, and it works fine.... thight as a virg... :rolleyes: Now the next step is optics... zeroed the rifle two days ago with the iron sights, and groops are not too bad... 5 shots at 100meters groops about 10cm.. but I guess optics will improve the resoult.

 

b.reg

 

Camelon

"Saiga from Norway"

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...and the damn weigers seem to be about $30-$40 and they have to be bought in quantity to get that price.

 

thanks guys!

 

I've referred a few folks to the following site, but no one has told me if they still have the Weigers in stock. But the ad is still there (and if you click "Buy Me" it adds a mag to the invoice), so FWIW:

 

"Please note: These are the last of the East German AK223 new mags. There are no more to import. When this last shipment is gone, they cannot be replaced. Order up now while you can! Just back in, The steel .223 AK mag. These fit all the European .223 AK's. (Do not fit the Chinese .223, or Saiga .223 modified for Saiga ten round max mags) Turn that SAR 3 into the rifle you knew it could be. AK47 30 rd European mag .223 mag, NEW condition, German Manufacture.

MAG-ACC-AK223 $25.99 "

 

http://www.tickbitesupply.com/davids1.html

 

If they still have them in stock, it's probably because they don't list them as "Weiger" mags, and I bet the folks looking for "Weigers" do all of their searches on "Weiger" (not "East German AK223 new mags" ;>)...

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ALSO, the AK Promags do NOT have "Promag" OR "Made in USA" stamped anywhere on them. How would you go about proving they are US parts?

That's kind of forgetful of them. If I ever buy any, I'll save the receipt. I used to live in the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia, and being able to prove that I had legally purchased my 'pre-ban' magazines before the state ban (showing that they had not been 'illegally smuggled in' from outside the workers' paradise after the ban) was a potentially important legal consideration.

 

Also, if the folks at Promag had marked them (and the followers & / or floorplates would work in mil-spec mags), they might have had folks buying the mags just to part-out for use as 'compliance' parts. Has anyone compared the Promag followers & floorplates to the 'real deal?'

Edited by Bad Bob
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ALSO, the AK Promags do NOT have "Promag" OR "Made in USA" stamped anywhere on them. How would you go about proving they are US parts?

 

You do not have the burden of proof, the government does. How would they prove that they are not made in the USA when they are?

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ALSO, the AK Promags do NOT have "Promag" OR "Made in USA" stamped anywhere on them. How would you go about proving they are US parts?

 

You do not have the burden of proof, the government does. How would they prove that they are not made in the USA when they are?

 

 

I dunno man. I guess it is just paranoia. How many ATF agents have asked to look at my rifle? None and probably never will. If it comes to the point that you have to prove how many US parts are on your rifle, the phrase "Burdon of Proof" won't come up until after you have been bailed out right? Best not get that far I spose.......

 

It just erked me that my OD green Promags that I ordered direct from the company looked suspiciously like these:

Bulgarian OD Green mags from K-VAR

d_855.jpg

 

and they didn't have "Made in USA" or even "ProMag" on them anywhere.

 

Hi!

 

My Promag's have Promag stamped/molded on the body and mag bottom plate.... even www.promagindustries.com nicely in small letters on the bottom plate.

 

I'll have to double check mine again. I don't think they are labeled anything though.

Edited by Vermiform
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The price of these has sure gone up. According to ProMag's web site, these are now $26 each.

 

That seems a bit steep, unless they are 100% reliable (or easily made that way), AND all parts are marked "USA."

 

$26 of your money deserves a GREAT mag in return - just my opinion, based on current market conditions...

 

;>)

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  • 1 year later...
Are the new Saiga pro-mags out anywhere yet? I am waiting for someplace to get them in stock. Hoping they are pretty cheap.

 

No one has them in stock EXCEPT Promag. They charge $29 each for the Saiga specific ones. I have a total of six of the Saiga 223 30 rounders I got directly from them. Minimal wobble in mine (less than the mag wobble in the WASR I used to have) and seem to cycle in the Saiga without having a feed ramp modification. The down side is that they are backed up about 30 days now for shipping dates.

 

The Sure fire's from Carolina Shooting Supply are better made with less wobble, but $9 more each. I have one of those, also.

 

Will be firing it for the first time later today, I will let you know.

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I opened my WASR-2 up myself and it has no wobble. It is a little to tight. Once of these days I will hit it with a file and get it better.

 

I figure once the pro-mags hit the market (ie sold elsewhere) the price will go down pretty cheap. Probably have the price of surefire mags.

 

Right now I am debating what magazine route I want to go with. On one hand I have a lot of ar15 magazines so the conversion would be a good idea. On the other hand I would rather not modify the gun...so pro-mag and sure fire mags may be the way to go. I have thought about doing the pistol grip conversion, adding a 6 position stock and AR mag adapter. I know most AK guys hate that but I would never do that to my WASR-2 or MAK90. Those both stay pretty pure. For some reason I have the desire to make the saiga different. An ultimak with aimpoint would also go on it.

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I have heard that before, and that was the traditional wisdom. I used Arsenals when I had my 7.62. However, since Promag and Surefire are the only game in town without modifying mags and the Saiga, I got both. So far, the Promags have worked excellent. As I said in an earlier post, the Surefire is not "pouch friendly." I will probably pick up a couple more Sure fires, though, since I already have 6 Promags, and only one Surefire.

 

We will see as time goes by. Eventually I may pick up some Galil or Arsenal 223s and make the modification, but for now...If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

As we speak, the Saiga is nestled in the corner with a Surefire full of Golden Bear 62 grain OTBTs.

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  • 1 month later...

just bought 5 promags at a gun show for $100. the first time i used one the little lip on the front was missing when i took out the mag. I have not used any of the others. I know they are guaranteed. But it should not have broken. I may need a feed ramp/bullet guide to use them with the lip missing. I have little hope that the rest wont break like the first one.

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I have a number of .223 mag types: Galil Orlites, E German Bakelites, Surefire and Promags. The Promags shown above are not for Saiga's! They are based on a true .223 mag and don't have the bullet feed lip. The Promag designed for the Saiga is based on the longer 5.45X39 mag and it includes a lip to feed the cartridge and have a lot less wobble. I think the Surefire is the one to use in battle, the Promag for practice.

 

I must confess, I hate the bolt hold open design of the Surefire (if your used to standard AK mags it will throw you)! And when you pull the mag out the bolt slams home (a sure way to draw attention to you during a reload) I wish I could remove that feature.

 

I think a bullet guide and Bulgy's or Orlites are the best way to go, unless you need the 3 us parts to make good for 922.

Edited by Fluid Power
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