The AK47 is one of the most popular semi automatic rifles in the world.

Because of its popularity its made by numerous manufacturers all over the world.

There are just as many makers of AK47 magazines. Some good, some bad, and some great ones.

The new AK buyer is left to guess and experiment as to which one is best for his particular AK.

To that end, I've decided to test some AK47 magazines in different AK47's.

For this test I've chosen a Russian made Saiga AK, a Romanian WASR-10 and a US made ITM receiver with Bulgarian parts kit AK.

I've gathered 6 different magazines from different countries.

A Bulgarian steel, East German steel, Pro Mag polymer, Chinese steel, Bulgarian circle 10 waffle mag and a Romanian steel.

1) Bulgarian steel:  In Saiga.  Minimum side to side wobble,minimum back and forth wobble, good fit
                               In ITM.    Kind of a lot of side to side and back and forth wobble, not a good fit.
                               In Romanian. No wobble at all side to side or back and fort, great fit.

2) East German:    In Saiga. No wobble back and forth andminimal wobble side to side, pretty good fit.
                              In ITM.  Medium amount of wobble overall, ok but not great fit.
                              In Romanian. No wobble at all, perfect fit.

3) Promag:            In Saiga. Minimal amount of wobble, ok fit overall.
                              In ITM.    Lots of wobble, horrible fit.
                              In Romanian. Medium amount of wobble, ok fit.

4) Chinese:            In Saiga.    No wobble at all, perfect fit.
                              In ITM.     Minimal wobble, great fit.
                              In Romanian.  No wobble at all, perfect fit.

5) Circle 10:          In Saiga.   No wobble at all, perfect fit.
                             In ITM.     Didnt fit.
                             In WASR. No wobble at all, perfect fit.

6)  Romanian:       In Saiga.  Minimal wobble, good fit.
                              In ITM.     Medium amount of wobble, So so fit.
                              In WASR. No wobble at all, perfect fit.

This test was a fit and function test.
I have used every one of these magazines to shoot with and they all (except for Promag) function flawlessly in the AK's Ive used them on.

Based on these tests, I feel like the Circle 10 waffle mags and Chinese mags work best in a wide variety of AK's.

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Isn't any fit fine as long as it fits the gun and doesn't fall out?

I heard everyone say stay away from Promag. It's amazing how consistantly bad they are. I have some Tapcos and some Euro Surplus mags I need to test out for reliability.

Thanks for the review.

Interesting subject... My Yugo mags don't fit in my Romanian and vice versa...
 I have Bakelites that don't fit in my Yugo but fit perfectly in my Romanian.... 
No mag wobble in either of my AK's.... My 223 AK fits 5.45x39 mags perfectly...
The follower just had to be changed out to the 223 follower to function correctly....

right on guys! since i just got a wasr, i was about to ask which mags u guys recommend. the ones that came with the rifle was filthy and loaded with old clumped up grease and sand. still fired cherry though! a lot of people on ak forums seem to like tapco mags.  thanks for the info king

My hands down favorite for fit, function, looks, and feel are the chinese flat backs.  No rib to dig into anything and they are as solid as euro's.  A couple more bucks than east euro's but worth it IMO. 

As a matter of fact, I just got an email from a distributor that just received excellent cond flat backs.  I was thinking of getting some but told myself I had enough......I know...I know....

Dammit King! this thread is gonna make me order more!!!

 

Edit. Don't get me wrong, I still like the rare collector mags. Chinese for mags I actually use.

My hands down favorite for fit, function, looks, and feel are the chinese flat backs.  No rib to dig into anything and they are as solid as euro's.  A couple more bucks than east euro's but worth it IMO. 

As a matter of fact, I just got an email from a distributor that just received excellent cond flat backs.  I was thinking of getting some but told myself I had enough......I know...I know....

Dammit King! this thread is gonna make me order more!!!

 

Who's the distributor?

How much they charging for chinese mags?

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=4068

I order from these guys alot, good folks.

Best of all.  The flat 9.95 shipping is good for us too!!

I'm planning to order some next week, if they are sold out because King bought them all you gotta resell me at least 10 !! lol!

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=4068

I order from these guys alot, good folks.

Best of all.  The flat 9.95 shipping is good for us too!!

thanks i just put an order in

Quote from: Pit808 on November 05, 2011, 01:14:56 PM

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=4068

I order from these guys alot, good folks.

Best of all.  The flat 9.95 shipping is good for us too!!

thanks i just put an order in

fo sho.  last time they had them in stock was earlier this year and they didn't last very long.  Take a look at the polish ak bayonets....nice.  They have yugo bayos too.

 

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=4068

I order from these guys alot, good folks.

Best of all.  The flat 9.95 shipping is good for us too!!

I'm planning to order some next week, if they are sold out because King bought them all you gotta resell me at least 10 !! lol!

I'd love to buy some but I've got way too many AK magazines already.

I just tried out the tapco ak74 redish brown mag in my polish tantal. As expected it worked flawlessly. The tapco mag and red grip are the perfect US made parts for guns with red furniture. As most of you ak afficiandos know, the tapco mags do not have the steel inserts but they do have a life time warranty.

Yeah, the Chinese mags are killers and cheap for good quality

I just tried out the tapco ak74 redish brown mag in my polish tantal. As expected it worked flawlessly. The tapco mag and red grip are the perfect US made parts for guns with red furniture. As most of you ak afficiandos know, the tapco mags do not have the steel inserts but they do have a life time warranty.

I'm not a big fan of Tapco magazines.
I've seen the little tab on the back break on more than one mag.

If you're using the AK to defend your life, a lifetime means nothing when your magazine won't load in your gun.

Quote from: astroboy on November 06, 2011, 12:01:17 PM

I just tried out the tapco ak74 redish brown mag in my polish tantal. As expected it worked flawlessly. The tapco mag and red grip are the perfect US made parts for guns with red furniture. As most of you ak afficiandos know, the tapco mags do not have the steel inserts but they do have a life time warranty.

I'm not a big fan of Tapco magazines.
I've seen the little tab on the back break on more than one mag.

If you're using the AK to defend your life, a lifetime means nothing when your magazine won't load in your gun.

I see your point king.  A broken mag would be bad news if you are defending your self. On the other hand I have not yet  broken a tapco mag. I have been using them for quite some time. I bought several tapco mags years ago. The earliest version of the tapco mag had some breakage problems but so far I have not had any. I have been using the tapco mags regularly with out any problems. If you need a US made mag to make your gun legal, IMO the tapco mag would be hard to beat.

Having said all this, my personal favorite mag for the ak47 is the Bulgarian waffle mag. The Chinese mags are great. I still have a stash sitting on the side in cosmoline and they are not for sale. I have noticed that the Chinese mags tend to fit more loosely in the Euro pattern ak's.

Quote from: Kingkeoni on November 06, 2011, 05:28:20 PM

Quote from: astroboy on November 06, 2011, 12:01:17 PM

I just tried out the tapco ak74 redish brown mag in my polish tantal. As expected it worked flawlessly. The tapco mag and red grip are the perfect US made parts for guns with red furniture. As most of you ak afficiandos know, the tapco mags do not have the steel inserts but they do have a life time warranty.

I'm not a big fan of Tapco magazines.
I've seen the little tab on the back break on more than one mag.

If you're using the AK to defend your life, a lifetime means nothing when your magazine won't load in your gun.

I see your point king.  A broken mag would be bad news if you are defending your self. On the other hand I have not yet  broken a tapco mag. I have been using them for quite some time. I bought several tapco mags years ago. The earliest version of the tapco mag had some breakage problems but so far I have not had any. I have been using the tapco mags regularly with out any problems. If you need a US made mag to make your gun legal, IMO the tapco mag would be hard to beat.

Having said all this, my personal favorite mag for the ak47 is the Bulgarian waffle mag. The Chinese mags are great. I still have a stash sitting on the side in cosmoline and they are not for sale. I have noticed that the Chinese mags tend to fit more loosely in the Euro pattern ak's.

I really love the Bulgarian circle 10 waffle mags.
I just traded someone for 6 more.   

Do they make bulgarian waffle mags that are not circle 10?

http://www.sksman.com/acces/AK47%20magazines.php

ttt

Do they make bulgarian waffle mags that are not circle 10?

http://www.sksman.com/acces/AK47%20magazines.php

Yes they do.

There's dozens of different manufacturers of AK magazines.

It is after all, one of the most popular firearms in the world.

Yes they do.

There's dozens of different manufacturers of AK magazines.

It is after all, one of the most popular firearms in the world.

ok thanks... i was wondering why those mags were cheaper...

They have black Friday sales at Copes

http://www.copesdistributing.net/black-friday-30rd-combo-deal-p-4087.html