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Page AK-47 » Magazines
AK Sponsor: palmetto
Posted: 10/6/2016 12:41:54 AM EDT
Hi,

I am going to build a 5.56 AK74 and am trying to figure out what mags to use.  I know there are TAPCO and PROMAG versions, but I wonder about just running 5.56 in 5.45 mags.

Anyone have any input?

Thanks,

M.
Link Posted: 10/6/2016 1:41:35 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted:
I am going to build a 5.56 AK74 and am trying to figure out what mags to use.  I know there are TAPCO and PROMAG versions, but I wonder about just running 5.56 in 5.45 mags.
View Quote

Feed angle is wrong and they won't work very well just trying to use 5.56 in unmodified 5.45x39 magazines. Even with mods, they were never very reliable for me.

The East German Weiger (sp?) steel magazines were great, but rare and expensive. Probably best to start trying with the tapco or promag.
Link Posted: 10/10/2016 12:13:29 PM EDT
[#2]
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Quoted:

Feed angle is wrong and they won't work very well just trying to use 5.56 in unmodified 5.45x39 magazines. Even with mods, they were never very reliable for me.

The East German Weiger (sp?) steel magazines were great, but rare and expensive. Probably best to start trying with the tapco or promag.
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
I am going to build a 5.56 AK74 and am trying to figure out what mags to use.  I know there are TAPCO and PROMAG versions, but I wonder about just running 5.56 in 5.45 mags.

Feed angle is wrong and they won't work very well just trying to use 5.56 in unmodified 5.45x39 magazines. Even with mods, they were never very reliable for me.

The East German Weiger (sp?) steel magazines were great, but rare and expensive. Probably best to start trying with the tapco or promag.


Pretty much what He said.

If you use a follower with a raised ledge at the rear which allows the rounds to till (bullet tips down) as the mag is loaded, and slight mod of the feed lips to acount for the longer shoulder length of the 556 round, you can get reliable feeding, but how the mag locks into the rifle will determine just how reliable the combo will be. A worthwhile experiment but I'd try the TAPCOs first.
Link Posted: 12/14/2016 4:25:54 PM EDT
[#3]
I bought an SAR-3 when they first started coming into the country. At that time, there weren't any 5.56 mags to be found. I modified three 5.45 mags to work in my gun and that involved making room for the shoulder and filing a slight angle into the feed lips. Two of them ended up working great, while the third would kick rounds out of the magazine, and the ejection port, when bolt was recoiling, causing the bolt to fall on an empty chamber. In any case, it was horribly painstaking and had mixed results. I wouldn't do it again.

K-VAR has some of the Bulgarian waffle pattern ones in stock.
http://www.k-var.com/shop/5.56x45mm-.223-Caliber/  
...They are expensive, but are the best you will find short of Weigers.
...And if you must have Weigers, it looks like Apex has them in stock for a little more money than the Bulgy waffles.
https://www.apexgunparts.com/magazines/ak-wasr-3-sar-3-wieger-30rd-magazine-steel-5-56-223-excellent.html

Good luck with your build!
Link Posted: 5/13/2017 12:01:49 PM EDT
[#4]
I use Saiga 5.45 10 rd mags in my .223 Saiga all the time.
Link Posted: 5/13/2017 12:10:57 PM EDT
[#5]
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Quoted:
I use Saiga 5.45 10 rd mags in my .223 Saiga all the time.
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At 10rds you can get by - the rounds aren't stacked deep enough for the improper angle to make a big difference.

5.45 30rd mags are fine for 223 if you only load them to 10 or so, as well.
Link Posted: 5/13/2017 12:23:12 PM EDT
[#6]
I've got some 5.45 mags with the robarms followers. I got these 10+ years ago.. Some are great. Some routinely fail to feed. It's about a 60/40 split. I made up a bunch of dummy rounds to test them.

If I were starting over today, I'd spend the cash and use Bulgarians and Weigers.
Link Posted: 5/17/2017 12:48:17 AM EDT
[#7]
this is an older thread but I thought I would mention that steel Weigers (or Galil or M85 mags) will not work in a 74 receiver, as they are too wide for both the mag well and trunnion

You are pretty much stuck with

1. Bulgarian Circle 10
2. Polish Beryl (these are my preferred mag for price/quality value)
3. Lo-cap 5.45 mags or downloaded 5.45 mags
4. Promag AK223 mags (junk IMO, but they work and they're cheap)

My experience with a 5.56 build on a 74 receiver is that standard AK-74 mags will work for about 10-15 rounds before the different curvature of the mag starts to make the rear of the rounds dip down, and the bolt will ride right over them.

However the Tapco 5.45 10-rounders work perfectly every time, so they make reasonably cheap bulk mags for this sort of build, if you don't mind using low-cap mags. Perfect range or field mags, actually. Quality is far higher than the Promags and I would actually trust these low-cap mags to put up with some abuse.
Link Posted: 6/2/2017 11:46:10 PM EDT
[#8]
I bought a bunch of Pro mags for $3 each. I knew I would need to work on them but they were so bad I trashed 12 of them.

Tapco are really not bad. Some of them took some filing to fit the magwell but work well.

I think I have had to file every Tapco mag in every caliber, but once done they work fine.

Not so much for Promag.
Link Posted: 6/17/2017 4:23:58 PM EDT
[#9]
Here is a question.  I am doing some 5.45 reloading from 222 remington brass.  Initial fire forming I would like a 223 mag that will fit in a ak-74 mag well (tantal specifically if matters).  I imagine that if 223 mag fits, the 222 remington in the mag will work just fine.  Normal 74 mag will work but alot of rattling around due to a 222/223 profile.
Link Posted: 6/18/2017 8:31:09 AM EDT
[#10]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I've got some 5.45 mags with the robarms followers. I got these 10+ years ago.. Some are great. Some routinely fail to feed. It's about a 60/40 split. I made up a bunch of dummy rounds to test them.

If I were starting over today, I'd spend the cash and use Bulgarians and Weigers.
View Quote
This is excellent advice^
I have some 30 rd conversions by Robinson,as well as a few using Robinson conversion followers  and removing the feed lip material for the differences in the cartridges. Mine feed all 30 rds just fine, but this was a stop gap measure done by RA when .223 AK style magazines were not readily available. I would spend resources toward a better solution ,such as Beryl or Bulgy  mags that are readily available today and fit the AK74 pattern mag well. Weigers can be made to fit with either mods to the rifle or the mags,I have done this also to fit a Vepr,1st I modded a mag thinning the material on the sides at the front,then I had the mag well opened up to fit all Weigers.
Again this was at a time in the past,during the AWB and .223 mags were hard to come by in any flavor. My rifle came with one 30rd modified 5.45 mag,I needed more mags so I did some trial and error.
A lot of better options available today than there were back then.
Link Posted: 7/9/2017 8:27:36 PM EDT
[#11]
I ordered several of these Weigers - some came in original wax paper 4-packs.  If you have a C&R or 01 FFL you get a great deal on them as well
(although the price without is the best I have seen in a while).

http://www.centuryarms.biz/proddetail.asp?prod=MA1050
Link Posted: 7/28/2017 4:48:20 AM EDT
[#12]
don't know anything about the newer generation mags. I only ever trusted the bulgarian circle 10's ...the europeans designed em, and they made the best mags for em...if you're looking for mags, I recently sold my tangle, and have tons of mags left over..5rd, 10, 30rd and a set of 4 45d circle 10's. I have the orange bakelite, and steel as well. i'll price below whatever market value currently is..jsut ned to get rid of em...doing an engine build, need funds lol. feel free to PM me
Page AK-47 » Magazines
AK Sponsor: palmetto
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