Would the 5.56 AR15 magazines work for the 7.62 x 39 cartridge? I inserted two of them and they went in ok but wonder if there would be a feed issue? Would be nice to use the 5.56 magazines I have but if not I'll just get the ACS magazines. MC

Mine will feed with about 4 - 7.62 rounds in a 5.56 mag any more than that is a no go.  I have ASC mags, haven't used them enough to rate them.

Nope, a few will feed, need to try 7.62 mags.

NE223 you indicate that you have used the ACS mag's?  Did they feed all 10 rounds? Thanks MC

I ran about 80 rounds through the 10 rounder so 8 mags full and it worked fine.  I also bought some 20s and one 30 that I haven't used yet not sure when I'll get the chance but hopefully soon.  I have loaded the 20s and they get really hard to push rounds into at about 15.

The only 5.56 mags that have a chance of working are the ones that do not have an anti-tilt follower like the GI 20 round straight mags due to the tapered case of the 7.62x39. As you fill the mag the taper starts to force the rounds forward til the front of the round drags on the inside of the mag, not an issue in a proper 7.62x39 mag because the rib inside the mag body is matched to the length of the 7.62x39 case. Now 5.45x39 runs great for me with the Brownells straight 20 AR mags but that round is not nearly as tapered as the 7.62x39.

Hi,

You should look into the CPD Inc. 7.62x39 magazines.  They have a self lubricating Isonited finish that's really hard and I have a 100% success rate with them.  I  have had a 60% failure rate with ASC magazines.  The marlube finish is less than great too as some regular cleaning solvents seem to allow it to come off.  A friend cleaned some carbon off with carb cleaner and the finish came off with it.  

Thanks:

I think I'd follow this advice and go with the CPD mags if you can find them.  I went out and shot this morning and had problems with 2 out of 3 of the ACS 20 round mags.  The 30 seemed to work ok .... at least for now but I'm not sure I'd trust it.  Since I have these I'll continue to mess with them but I can't recommend buying the ASC mags at this point.

I work for Okay Industries & have extensive experience with AR-15 mags loaded with 7.62 x 39 ammo.  Wanderson is correct with his description of the tappered casing & how it feeds.  After working with one of the main OEM's last year on AR-15 mags feeding 7.62 x 39 ammo I can tell you this...
If you what to shoot 7.62 x 39 ammo in an AR-15 use a mag designed with the same curvature as a real AK-47 mag.

BTW- Okay supplied Colt 8rd 7.62 x 39 mags back in the mid-90's.  It was basically Colt's 5.56 9rd mag with a few modifications.  Our experience idicates that, due the taper of the AK ammo, you can not successfully feed 7.62 ammo in a straight mag for more than 7 or 8 rounds.

Hi,

I can verify this as a beta tester for a magazine company.  More than 7-8 rounds of 7.62x39 in a 5.56 magazine is asking for trouble.  That being said it is possible with some modifications to load 10 rounds of 7.62x39 in a 10 round straight 6.8 SPC magazine and have it function reliably.  I did test a 10 round magazine in 7.62x39 that was totally reliable, but the mfg. decided it was less expensive and almost as reliable to modify 6.8's than have a dedicated 7.62x39 magazine.

Thanks:

The Colt 7.62x39 mags that are similar to the Colt 9 round 223 mags only hold 5 rounds of 7.2x39. I have a couple and they function fine. But I can load 5 rounds in a standard 20 round ar mag and it works well also.

As I said earlier I've had problems with some of my ASC mags.  One 20rd has never been out to the range, but of the three 20rd mags that have been one works fine and the other two have some issues.  By works fine I mean will go through 18 rounds without a stoppage.  (I didn't load any of them full as they're new and I heard that could cause issues)  Surprisingly, the 30 round ASC mag ran ok during it's first trip out (it was loaded to 28) and the 10 round that came with the rifle ran like a champ, the first time I took the rifle out, but I suspect the 10 rounders are going to be less problem anyway.  

I had an email conversation with the guy who owns Liberty Gun Works about this and he swears that the C Products Defense mag is the only one that works right. He's done a lot of work on the 7.62x39 AR, so if I had it to do over again, I'd buy those instead of the ASC mags.

Since I have already invested the $ in the ASC mags I'm going to mess with these and see if I can get them to run. The first thing I'm going to do is shave a little of metal off the front as it seems to me the bullet or more often the mouth of the case catches there.  I'll see if that helps and then go from there. I've also heard it helps to up the spring strength.  

One thing about it, you become pretty adept at FTF malfunctions.

I use C products new generation of 10 & 30 round magazines and they run perfectly to full capacity. I will say this though, they seem to need a little break in time before they work 100%. During the break in period they just are harder to load and feel sluggish if that makes any sense. I think I had 3 or four jams the first 4 or 5 times I loaded the mags then none after that and they load very smooth now as well.

Where did you find them in stock?

Aim surplus and LCJ Wholesale Store tend to keep these in stock.

Best Wishes:

This doesn't exist. An AR mag well will not accept a "true" curved mag as the AKM (AK47). That is why AR x39 mags have that weird "elbow" shape. You should know this, since you're in the industry. The AR magwell prevents a true tapered round (such as x39) mag from inserting properly.

MaverickAA, you just made my point...7.62 x 39 bullets don't feed properly in a 30rd 5.56 mag.  You need an AR mag designed to specifically feed 7.62 x 39 ammo.  The curvature after the mag well needs to match an AK mag's curvature.  I hope this clears up any misunderstandings.

Hi,

My experience as a beta tester is that the devil in 7.62x39 magazine reliability is that the devil is in the small details.  The magazine curvature is important, but good execution in construction is also important.


The above is a CPD Inc. 30 round magazine,  notice the constant curve from the magwell with minimal elbow.  This magazine uses an Isonited stainless steel construction (0.02" thick) for strength and lighter weight.  It's strong enough to function/shoot without jams after being run over by a GMC Sierra Truck.


The above is the new 7.62x39 D&H 30 round magazine, this magazine has a definite elbow.  The magazine's follower is made to get around that elbow, but roughness on the inside finish can cause friction resulting in jams and misfeeds.  The sample on the above magazine has a rough interior and had two failures to feed, and four failure to hold open in 120 rounds.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Best Regards:

Deja vu all over again – we did this dance about 10years ago with C-Products. There is another thread on this forum that says that D&H mags do not work, ASC and C-Products are the same/legacy companies and their magazines STILL do not work.

If you want to shoot 7.62x39 ammo you have two chooses:
1)get an AR-style rifle that uses AK mags; or
2) get an AK-47.

I haven't tried them out yet, but I got a few of the D&H mags today and I'm pretty impressed with them. I've got ASC and Promgs (also got the Promgs today) and both those feed weird, with rounds nosediving in the ASC, and getting caught in odd ways in the Promag, and moving around and being loose in the stack in the mag. The D&H feed like a normal mag, and it seems to have constant tension on all rounds in the mag, just like most normal mags in other calibers do.

I did load and feed a few magazines worth of rounds through the gun with these, the D&H fed without any problems, the promag didnt, but I think it might be fairly easily fixable. It'll be a few weeks before I can get to the range, so I've got some time to screw around with the promags.

Hi,

I expected that someone would post AK magazines as an alternative for the AR rifle in 7.62x39.  I have to agree that 7.62x39 magazines are an alternative provided you get one that works in your rifle.  AK magazine sizes tend to vary with the country that made them, and one county's magazine may not work in another countries rifle as the below link shows:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_4_55/156229_Croatian_magazine_from_AIM_.html

AR-15 magazines are made to nominally comply with a STANAG standard so fit isn't an issue.  The issues mentioned with ASC & C-PRODUCTS LLC happened years ago, with C-PRODUCTS Llc going away.  The new company CPD Inc has new owners, a new location, New tooling, and a new design for it's 7.62x39 magazines as the below picture shows:


Top-Bottom:  CPD Inc. 7.62x39 with rounded feed lips, ASC 7.62x39 with sharp feed lips,  D&H 7.62X39 resembles AK  feed lips.

Looking above its clear that both the ASC and CPD Inc magazines are not made on the same tooling.  I think that changing an AR 15 to an AK system magazine opens a different can of worms as the Croatian mag thread shows.  The AK-47/AKM is lauded by many, but they have many of the same issues as the AR-15.

Regards