I want to get my sks-d some 20 rd ak mags.  I should of gotten them when they were still coming out of Europe but I  spent money on other things. (Hookers and blow).  Are the asain ones for $8 any good?

Korean? no

I run the KCI/Asian 20 round mags and they're fine, they run without issue in my WASR, Draco & AK63DS. Tight fit on the lockup lug so a little filing was in order if you want a smooth lockup. But they did work unmodified. Good cheap range mags and about what you'd pay for a Tapco 20.

But nowhere as heavy/well built as my Hungarian Tanker mags, although the current prices are high unless you get lucky on a private sale. IMHO when these were available new/unissued they were the best deal in a steel 20 round mag. Today I'm not sure if any online dealer still has these for sale. If more come in you can be sure they'll be gone in hours.

Arms of America has more of the Romanian 20 round mags back in stock. I've got some coming in this week. They're just battlefield pickup 30s cut down by BadElement, so they're just grade 3 mags but BadElement does good work. But Romys & Hungarians fit best in all mine so for $25/ea I'll try some AOA cutdowns.

And you can cut them down yourself, I cut one of my dented surplus mags down and it runs fine. But it took me most of a Saturday to do it so I'm OK with just ordering them thru AOA and not losing a shooting day in the shop.

I also run tapco & magpul 20s. The tapcos are OK but springs are a bit weaker than the KCI 20s and usually need to be filed to fit as they're wider than most. Magpuls seem to fit everything and feed a bit higher than other mags so they're my first choice for a poly mag.

One other option are the Chinese 5 rounders. yea, just five rounds, but they're cheap, cause, 5 rounds, but they're heavy, well made and every one I've gotten looked brand new. A nice option for the SKS if you want a mag that's about the size of the fixed 10 round mag. And I've seen some cut the legs on the follower down to get a few more rounds in there.

No, thin sheet metal with a poor finish.
Pay the extra $ for Hungarian AMD 65 magazines.

Find AMD-65 mags

Numrich Gun Parts may still have them at $30 a pop.

I have two of the Korean 20 rounders. I have used them in my AMD at the range with no issues, but I wouldn't trust anything KCI for more than range play.

The rule with AK mags is always buy the surplus commie military mags. Don't even waste your hard earned money on the KCI mags for the range.

No experience with the 20 rounds KCI but can throw in my 2 cents on their 10 rounder and 30 rounder.

I own 1 ten rounder for hunting (the rangers look at me weird enough, don't need a 'hi capacity' mag too).  I bought this about a while ago right when KCI AK mags became available.  It's worked fantastic, including getting dropped in the mud and dropped on gravel (butterfingers, sue me).  Has a good lock up and I ran about 100 rounds through before setting it aside for hunting with no hiccups.

I bought 5 30rounders couple weeks ago.  All are complete dog shit and my dog is looking at me like I've just insulted his excrement.  One came crushed from the factory so the front of the feeding lips is narrower than the rear.  Didn't even come close to inserting into the magwell, both of the little weld spots that keep the follower from going too high weren't there so the follower would come up all the way.  Completely useless piece of garbage.

Other 4 30s seemed fine although 2 required minor filing to get to insert reliable.  I have a pretty tight magwell so I don't think of that as a problem (pmags have issues too).  At my first range day with them I'm running a drill moving from place to place, my mag in the gun bangs my gear as I'm sprinting and goes flying out of the gun.  It catching on something on my belt caused the welds on the front locking piece to fail, and that piece can just be pulled off now.

In less than 2 weeks 2/5 have failed on me.  At 8$ per that's $16 wasted and from what I'm hearing good 20 rounders are like $25, so take the money from the two bad mags you'll get and the one good one, and just get one that you can trust.

I purchased a dozen 20 rounders and they would not lock in place in my 10/63.

Rather than return them I purchased an aftermarket magazine latch and removed enough metal until they just fit. They lock up tight and have run 100% so far.

If you aren't willing to do a little home gunsmithing then I would pass. The other option is to modify each magazine until it fits in your rifle. Taking a file to 12 magazines vs. one magazine latch was an easy decision on my part. The downside is I will have to install the original magazine catch if I want to use issue 30 round magazines now.

I prefer 20 round magazines. Always have. I'm OK with having to use them from now on. As far as the thinner steel is concerned, the 20 round magazines don't seem to be as adversely effected as much as the 30's.

I consider AK-47's to be crude firearms and really do treat them accordingly. I intend to ride mine like a mail order bride and discard it when it fails me. I own a Polytechnic Legend that is a safe queen, this WASR will live a short a brutal life.

Numrich, AoA and WhataCountry have been OOS on Hungarian tankers for a while. I can't remember the last time I've seen an online dealer with any for sale, most of the ones I come across are private sales and nowhere near $30 a pop.

I was at a show last weekend, and a guy was selling the Hungarian 20-rounders for $45 ea (!!). $42 if you bought 3 or more. I asked him (late on the last day) if he could give me a little break on the price, and he said no, because he didn’t think he was going to be able to get anymore. He had a box of about 20, some still in the cosmoline baggies, but yikes!

I was kicking myself because a dealer at the previous show in January was selling them for $25 each, but I didn’t know much about them and wasn’t sure if that was a good price (all his other stuff seemed overpriced). I should have done some quick internet research. I’m thinking that maybe the first guy I mentioned bought out his whole stock and then jacked up the price for the next show...

EDIT: I just received the two Hungarian 20-rounders that I ordered from Numrich last Saturday after seeing the expensive ones at the show. They look great, appear like new with a pretty good finish (texture feels more like parkerized than blued compared to some of my other surplus mags). One has marks on the follower like it might have been loaded, and minor scratches on one side like it was inserted in a rifle a few times. With free shipping on $75+ orders, I think $31.45 is a reasonable price for them these days. I just ordered a few more.

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