Apologies as I'm an AK neophyte. I'd like to buy some 75rd drums and ensure that I get "good" ones, not garbage. Buy once, cry once. I'd prefer to by ones that can be stored filled with ammo and wound at a later date...just seems awfully convenient to me. Can somebody please provide a list of what drums have been manufactured, how to identify them (like by a noob like me at a gun show), and if they are crap, okay, good-to-go.

Thanks in advance.
Esox

I have only used the back loading romanians. they are good to go.

Are there any identifiable markings on the Romanian back loaders? My main concern is I don't want to accidentally buy a crappy drum by not knowing what specifically to look for.
Thanks!

They say "Romanian" right on the crank. Google an image.

and the spotwelds are a lot bigger on the romanian than the Korean.

According to alot of people, you can't have both on one drum, well atleast not 100%. The best drums by far are the top loaders, like the Russians/Romanian ones. Like these.


Now those can't be stored filled and wound up when needed. But they're built like a tank, I don't know about leaving them loaded if the spring will wear down and actually be affected unlike regular stick AK mags.

The Romy/"bulgy"/ Chinese back loading drums are good but not as great as the top loaders. The only thing preventing a failure are two flap tabs that can bend and pop the cover open and dump all the rounds out. Here is what this one looks like.



If you want the back loading type drum, you can order from here. The company is owned buy a member from here and good to go.

Now the top, are just opinions. "NOT MY OPINIONS", just repeating what people have said before on those two types of drums. I own both, the top loader is heavier/little more robust. The back loader has a blued finish, which is nice. They both work, I plan on getting 3 more top loading drums and calling it good. The back loader for range/fun use and the others for stowaway.

With that said here are the type of drums

Korean (they are a hit or miss, alot of people have had problems with them) You can tell by the small spot welds. like in the pic.



Chinese (not imported anymore) They have a 36 inside a triangle among other markings. They even come in a 100rd drum.



They even have a 9396 inside a circle


"Bulgy" (from what I've read a person got a stock of chinese drums and rebranded them with arsenal markings and tried to import them from bulgaria but in reality they were just rebranded chinese drums)


Romanian( best price on back loading drums, unless you're going for collector value) It will say, "made in Romania" in the winding key.


Romanian top loader( from what I can tell, they don't have any markings)


Russian top loaders look exactly like the Romanian top loaders but they might actually have Russian markings, I'm not sure. (also rare)

Awesome info...thanks!  Seems like the difference in styles (top load vs. back load) is the main discriminator for quality/robustness. I was told by someone a while back that some drums manufacturers were better than others. Maybe he was not factoring in the design style aspect. I can now see me wanting to buy a couple of each style since both have pros/cons.  If there truly are some "bad" manufacturers/models besides the Korean drums, please let me know who to avoid.

I had a top loading Romanian one for a while. As was said earlier, it was built like a tank. I left it loaded all the time, and didn't have any problems when shooting it. I will say the one disadvantage to that design is you have to load each round from the top individually, and you have to push that lever every time. It can take a toll on your thumb after a while. But, as I said because of the design it's built like a tank, you don't have to worry about rounds spilling out ever.

For serious use get the top loader, it will come slathered in cosmoline. I have both Romanian drums and they are both good quality but the wind up type uses much thinner metal. The top loaders cost almost twice as much but decent deals can be found.

Mine's a Chinese backloader.  I don't see it "popping open" unless it's dropped off a building onto a hard surface.

I like the idea of it hanging in the closet for 20 years if need be, requiring only winding to put it in service.   I  also like the idea of opening up the drum for a good cleaning and lubrication.  This is good if you want to get the cosmo out.

I'd buy a toploader now if I came across a good deal, and the Chinese drum may be more of a collectible item these days. Probably better get one soon if you want to have one.

Generally just avoid the Koreans, the Romy back loaders cost about the same so there is no reason to buy those, unless you're feeling adventurous.

These are the ones you should avoid, notice the thin hole like spot welds on the mag tower? Avoid them.






Apex had the top loaders for $80 plus shipping pre-sandy hook, now they're $109. I SO regret passing them up. Also, the top loaders can be opened from the back to clean, oil, and replace parts. Just can't load it from the back tho. Right now SGammo has the Romy back loaders for like $69, which is the price that Korean drums were going for. Freaking good price.

I have one of the Bulganese back loading dums. I don't think many made it into the US. Anyone know if anything happene to the guy responsible for them?

If I'm not mistaken, the guy got caught then went to prison. Or so I've read here last time there was a thread about them/him here. If I'm wrong someone will probably correct me.



Thanks.