AR mags in a Saiga .223

[tiretrack]

I have a saiga .223 and am looking at purchasing magazines for it, currently have a 7 rd that came with the rifle and a 30 rd pro mag ( it has performed well for me but I have heard many problems with pro -mag). I ran across texas AK designs adapter to convert to AK mags. The idea intrigues me,one set of mags for the AR and this Saiga. Does anyone have any experience with these, or this company? Is there a better solution?

 

[Shootin'IN]

Try here a buddy of mine bought a few for his .223 Saiga from them & they worked great.

Saiga Gun Magazines

 

[vitamink]

Magnolia State Armory had the adapter out for a while and it got great reviews. The only ****ty reviews were from people who destroyed their guns while trying to install the thing. Apparently it's not a difficult install, but inevitably, some people are morons. The issue with the thing is once you use it you can't use anything else...or once you f it up you now have a paper weight. Nathan had to change the name from MSA to Texas Ak Designs because he went on a year long hiatus that freaked everyone out. If you do a google search for MSA you'll find a ton of "where's MSA" threads. Nathan had some serious tragedies befall his family and he just mentally checked out. The problem was that he took a lot of peoples money (mine) for pre orders on certain items. It's sort of unsettling when a ton of people give a man hundreds of dollars and he does a David Copperfield, "now you see me, now you don't". As far as i know, everyone got their product or a refund, it was just a year later (i think i may be wrong on the time). Prior to that hick-up and ever since he's been a completely trustworthy businessman. I honestly want to order one myself i just never had the gun to put it on. The plan was to buy a saiga 223 back when they were $250, and slap that on there with an ace folder. As far as SHTF guns go i can't imagine a better one...AK reliability and plentiful ammo and magazines. Other than that, i've always considered a .223 AK to be sort of dumb.

Texas AK Designs

 

[tiretrack]

Thanks for the info, vitamink and shootinIN. I hadn't thought about not being able to go back,didn't realize the modifications were that severe. I bought this rifle at a gun show just before things got silly and recently pulled it out to think about mods. Your point on AK reliability and an excuse to buy more pmags ,plus the ability to hand someone a simple rifle and" on hand" mags when SHTF, still has me considering this. I will keep looking for recent reviews or someone with experience. I do know that I don't want to screw up the reliability factor.

 

[vitamink]

Somehow i'm stuck on bold... whatever. Anyways, you have to do some minor modification to the magwell to open it up slightly. You also have to remove the original magazine lock and trigger guard. The issues come about when someone uses a dremel or plasma cutter when they should've used a file. They then hog out the magwell making it so the adapter doesn't fit. Everything else is GTG as far as reliability is concerned. If you can do a saiga conversion, then you can do this.



F.A.Q.

1) Does it only work with AR grips or will there be a model for use of a standard AK grip?
The bastard will launch with an AR grip mount at first, but will also have AK. We wish to see everyone make their build personalized. Which is why we chose to stay away from making proprietary parts for the controls and ergonomics. This lets you make it into the platform you want at the price you can afford.

2) How much will it cost?
Currently we are estimating the system to range between $189-$219.

3) What construction is it?
It will be constructed of T6061 and Mil-Spec anodized to keep weight to a minimal. The above photo is a poly prototype to test design tolerances. Not all features of the design are properly radiused or present. However, It does represent the general form of the device.

4) Will it be California compliant?
Yes. We have designed it in such a way that it can utilize "Bullet Buttons" for those who require it.

5) Does it straddle the existing trigger guard or does it have to be removed?
No. You will have to remove the existing trigger guard and magazine catch tower.

6) Is the new version backward compatible with the previous version, in other words is more milling required?
Yes, It will be backwards compatible with our customer base who use our exsisting AR adapter and wish to upgrade. No, It will not require any further modification/milling.

7) When will it be available and is there any incentives for existing customers?
Will plans on having this launched and shipping by Thanksgiving. Yes, existing customer will receive a special discount code.

 

[iauffenberg]

i had one with the Magnolia State Armory conversion and it worked very well for me