Best AK Mags?

[Jtgarner]

What are the best AK mags in your opinion? Foreign made ones and US made ones please. I have heard that Tapco are Crapco, and I have heard that US palm are AMAZING, but I have also heard that they are not as good as the hype behind them. I know there are some good foreign ones but i don't know what ones and how to tell the difference. Any help would be great since I have "enough" AR mags, and now I need to start stocking up on some AK mags.

 

[UncleMike]

What are the best AK mags in your opinion? Foreign made ones and US made ones please. I have heard that Tapco are Crapco, and I have heard that US palm are AMAZING, but I have also heard that they are not as good as the hype behind them. I know there are some good foreign ones but i don't know what ones and how to tell the difference. Any help would be great since I have "enough" AR mags, and now I need to start stocking up on some AK mags.

I have over 75 mags of various manufacture.
American mags, Korean mags, and Eastern European mags.
The new Bulgarian steel mags sold by CDNN are, IMO, the best available.
They are the John Wayne of AK mags. (Rough, tough, and can't be beat.)
The Bulgarian plastic mags with the steel inserts are a close second.
All other European mags are very good also depending on their condition.
The Korean mags are good but my ten need some filing of the locking lug to fit properly.
The American plastic mags hold ammo. That is all.
They feel cheap, they look cheap, and in drop tests they usually act cheap.

 

[vitamink]

The best IMO are the bulgy circle tens.

SKSMAN AK-47 Magazines, Drum Mag (the top 2)

Cope's Distributing

In order for me they go.

Bulgy ((10))
UsPalm
Bakelite
Combloc Metal
__________________
tapco
promag


It all depends on what you're looking for. If you want an authentic russian red ak, id probably buy a bunch of bakelites. If you want your magazines to feed all stupid and break when they drop, i'd get either crapco or hellnomag. There was a recent article in shotgun news about the benefits of various mags and ((10))'s came out on top.

 

[vitamink]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xleTikrPCM[/ame]

 

[matthewdanger]

The Bulgarian Circle 10 magazines are excellent and most will say they are the best mags available. I would take them over any steel magazine. They are durable, reliable, and lighter than steel mags.

The best steel magazines that I have used are those without a rib on the spine of the magazine. The lack of rib is typical of Chinese mags. AIM Surplus has some right now that they are selling as European mags. The lack of rib is important will be appreciated by those who train regularly. The rib can really start to irritate or even lacerate your hand after several repetitions of reload drills.

 

[shooter521]

I haven't owned a 7.62x39 AK for years now, but my preferences were:

1) Arsenal Bulgaria ((10)) "waffle" pattern polymer
2) Any ComBloc steel mag in decent shape
3) Everything else (TAPCO, Thermold, ISD Bulgaria slab-side or "bullet" style, etc)

Even with the advent of the US PALM mags, this hierarchy still applies, IMO.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I have been buying Thermold mags, they have worked great so far. You can buy them here Buy Gun Accessories, Hi-Capacity Mags, Scopes, Gun Parts & More at CDNN Sports, Inc.

 

[MattCFII]

The best IMO are the bulgy circle tens.

SKSMAN AK-47 Magazines, Drum Mag (the top 2)

Cope's Distributing

In order for me they go.

Bulgy ((10))
UsPalm
Bakelite
Combloc Metal
__________________
tapco
promag


It all depends on what you're looking for. If you want an authentic russian red ak, id probably buy a bunch of bakelites. If you want your magazines to feed all stupid and break when they drop, i'd get either crapco or hellnomag. There was a recent article in shotgun news about the benefits of various mags and ((10))'s came out on top.

My list goes about the same. Circle Tens and US Palms are my go to mags depending on which gear I use (Hawkepaks CDSK bag has Circle 10s, Attack Rack has US Palms).

I hear that SN test didn't have US Palms which would have been interesting to see somebody more impartial test them. It seems like the people that push US Palms say they are more solid than anything else without much impartial scientific backing and the haters say the break easily with out much impartial scientific backing (I see a theme here). For me they are plenty solid and most of my AK mags have never had the floorplate removed unless they had lots of comsoline inside DISCLAIMER: I am an US Palm fanboy, now I know how some of the AR guys feel about Magpul.

Although if the MD Arms quad stacks are as good as Mike is saying they are, they will rock!

 

[Jtgarner]

I have no loyalty to any AK parts company (although I do have a US PALM grip on my draco because of a review on here that said the palm swell is similar to the MOE and I have heard that the AR to AK grip adapters suck)
Looks like I will just have to get one of the circle tens and one of the US Palms and see for myself... I am usually not one to throw money away, but I might do a comparison and a stress test on them and see which one holds up better. We will see, they seem to be the overall top two mags.

 

[Fordtough25]

I like almost any steel surplus from Europe, Circle tens as well.

 

[cedartop]

Most of the steel mags are fine. Since you asked for the best, US Palm. Circle 10's were it until then, and I still use some of them. Really wish US Palm would get a rush on their 5.45 mags.

 

[Destro]

Shotgun News just did a test on AK mags a few weeks ago, I don't think US palm was in the mix, but the Steel Combloc mags and (10) mags were the best hands down for durability. All the others pretty much failed in one way or another.

 

[Jtgarner]

Most of the steel mags are fine. Since you asked for the best, US Palm. Circle 10's were it until then, and I still use some of them. Really wish US Palm would get a rush on their 5.45 mags.

Cedartop, I read some bad reviews of the USPALMS over on another forum, the problem was they were mixed in with a lot of bashing of Gabe. Like I said before, I have no brand loyalty, and no beef with Gabe, so I am wondering if there actually are issues with the mags or if most of this is just peoples' issues with Gabe that are causing them to hate anything he promotes.

 

[MattCFII]

Cedartop, I read some bad reviews of the USPALMS over on another forum, the problem was they were mixed in with a lot of bashing of Gabe. Like I said before, I have no brand loyalty, and no beef with Gabe, so I am wondering if there actually are issues with the mags or if most of this is just peoples' issues with Gabe that are causing them to hate anything he promotes.

I don't know how deep Cedartop will go on this one. But depending on the forum you were at, some of the bashing and reports of a failure where made by a former instructor of SI and has an axe to grind. A lot of it is towards Suarez IMO. But there were true issues like everyone expected metal supported feedlips and US Palm changed that without changing any of the marketing copy. However I'm ok without metal support in the lips as long as it is there in the lugs. Also there are people that don't like the fixed floorplate. I never open up my mags unless it is to do the initial comsoline removal so that doesn't bother me. The US Palms come with good springs that are pretty stiff. I don't expect them to die until the mag itself does.

Again, I wish SN had the US Palms in the test. But I would tell you to buy a couple, make up your own mind. At worst they will make great range mags, far better than Tapcos. US Palms are without a doubt the best US made mags, the argument is that they still aren't up to foreign levels. If you want more details on the US Palm construction check out my blog: ak47talk.blogspot.com Coincidentally about an hour before you started this thread I put up some pics of the metal cage US Palms use along with a .pdf that describes the Circle Ten's construction. I really feel that they are on par with each other. I wish there was a better place where I could send you where there was an impartial test, but there isn't. I just am going off of my personal experience and what I know about their construction.

 

[vitamink]

what he said

 

[Mudcat]

I had 2 US Palms I picked up because I went for the hype and wanted to check them out. They are fine until they hit the ground loaded. Both of mine are now in the trash and my surplus steel are still going strong. I picked up a bunch from AIM for $8 each brand new. Cannot beat that even if they are a little heavy, I have the confidence that they will not break if dropped. Worth it to me.
Tapco and Thermold aren't worth buying in my opinion.

 

[casey2011]

Chinese with the rib... or Tapco... never a problem.

 

[cedartop]

Cedartop, I read some bad reviews of the USPALMS over on another forum, the problem was they were mixed in with a lot of bashing of Gabe. Like I said before, I have no brand loyalty, and no beef with Gabe, so I am wondering if there actually are issues with the mags or if most of this is just peoples' issues with Gabe that are causing them to hate anything he promotes.

Well, short answer, see Matt's post.

Long answer;

I am not brand loyal either. My loyalties in order are, God, Family, and Friends. My employers and the Country get the benefit of the doubt, until they do something particularly ergregious. After that, everything and everyone has to earn loyalty. Case in point, some of the people/business's here at INGO, have earned my loyalty. To name a few; Jahred at 21st Century, Cwood at Indiana Supply Depot, and Brad's Knives. Due to the way I have been treated by them, I would go out of my way to deal with them, and tell others about them.

Now let's go to the other side of the coin. Some people can simply not see the forest for the tree's. Because Gabe is big on the US Palm's, some people will discount them immediately, or even go out of their way to try and prove them subpar. I understand this, but it is not the way I choose to do things. Everyone, even someone I don't like may have something I can learn. I don't like Magpul, but I use their magazines in my AR. Why? Because they are good, reliable, and inexpensive. Can they malfunction? of course, especially when you consider how many of them are out there. Now will I go out of my way to badtalk them? No. I may though try alternatives in the search for something better.

On to the US Palm mags. This last year I have attended 6 rifle classes. 5 of them using the AK, along with teaching two. Figure about 4,000 rds give or take, in classes alone. The magazines I used were US Palm, and Bulgarian Circle 10's. I had no problems with either. Not one malfunction. Though I did not abuse the gear, it was defenitely worked hard. So from that, lets call it a draw. That being the case, I will choose the American made product. Did I see any US Palms fail in those classes? Well, sorta. In one class, a student using one jammed up his gun solid. When he finally got it clear, he threw the mag and said, "I'll never use those pieces of S''''T again." I asked if I could try it. He said sure, I did. Worked fine in my rifle,and the rifle of a fellow classmate who purchased it from him. Did some of the first gen of the mags have problems? I don't know, I have heard they did. I haven't seen it.

Anyway there is a lot more to say, but that will do it for now.

btw Guys and Gals, feel free to call me Mike.

Did

 

[cedartop]

I had 2 US Palms I picked up because I went for the hype and wanted to check them out. They are fine until they hit the ground loaded. Both of mine are now in the trash and my surplus steel are still going strong. I picked up a bunch from AIM for $8 each brand new. Cannot beat that even if they are a little heavy, I have the confidence that they will not break if dropped. Worth it to me.
Tapco and Thermold aren't worth buying in my opinion.

I don't know what to say about that. I have dropped mine, with no problems. I have watched them dropped onto concrete and still work.

 

[Mudcat]

I don't know what to say about that. I have dropped mine, with no problems. I have watched them dropped onto concrete and still work.

Not much to say really. **** happens. I bought them in a package deal and really liked them until they broke. No idea how old, what generation or prior use really. I used them as training mags and both broke within a month, 4 or 5 range trips of each other. I also used them to do reload drills so who knows. The bottoms broke off of both of them.
I am relatively new to the AK but I have had Pmags for my AR go through much more abuse and not fail. I kind of expected the same with the US Palm.

I did not say they were junk just that I believe my money is better spent on the heavier, surplus steel magazines. I have yet to break one of them or had one fail. I may try some again some day who knows. I definitely want one of the US Palm Grips.