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Posted: 6/24/2026 2:16:47 PM EDT
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Are the Pro Mags worth having? I'm just looking for range mags for my BFT 556. CDNN has them on sale. I'd post in the mag forum but it's pretty quiet there. |
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Promags are a no-go on principle. These are a good inexpensive option: https://gunmagwarehouse.com/bulgarian-ak-74-5-56x45mm-30-round-reinforced-steel-lug-polymer-magazine.html |
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Originally Posted By D_Man: Promags are a no-go on principle. These are a good inexpensive option: https://gunmagwarehouse.com/bulgarian-ak-74-5-56x45mm-30-round-reinforced-steel-lug-polymer-magazine.html Thanks. Ordered five. Plum color because the wood on the BFT is reddish. Those were cheaper than the Pro Mags. |
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Promag has never made anything that worked I’ve ever seen. The best 5.56 mags for the money are the PSA AK101 mags. They’re equivalent to Circle 10 Bulgarian mags. These are around $20 each but vary by color you buy. The commercial Bulgarian mags with metal reinforced feedlips and locking lugs from gunmagwarehouse are also excellent. I would trust them for duty use and they’re very inexpensive, I think I paid $13 per magazine. |
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Back in the day when 5.56 AK mags were somewhat rare, I ordered a couple Promag magazines to test with my Saiga. It functioned fine. However when it was locked into the rifle I gave it a smack from the front. Probably no more force than it would receive if the rifle had been dropped. The front tab snapped right off. I think I ended up keeping the spring from the other magazine and just tossed the rest of it in the recycle bin. Too low quality to even bother keeping it. |
Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
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Attached File The GunMagWarehouse Bulgarian mags are good to go. I’ve got a few thousand rounds through them in 2 Zastavas and have had no failures. I bought 10 of the FDE and they are great -Clint |
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Originally Posted By Nate762: Promag has never made anything that worked I’ve ever seen. The best 5.56 mags for the money are the PSA AK101 mags. They’re equivalent to Circle 10 Bulgarian mags. These are around $20 each but vary by color you buy. The commercial Bulgarian mags with metal reinforced feedlips and locking lugs from gunmagwarehouse are also excellent. I would trust them for duty use and they’re very inexpensive, I think I paid $13 per magazine. ProMag Saiga 12 mags are fantastic. The Bulgarian 223 mags are what I run in my Saiga 223. They work great. |
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Yep, stick with the GMW reinforced Bulgarian mags or the various generations of AC Unity mags. They all work extremely well for the price. I’ve been exceeding pleased with mine. Skip the Promags. Obviously Bulgarian Circle 10s are stellar but expensive at $50+ a pop now. The Polish Radom Beryl mags work great too but are also kinda pricey outside of a collector mag now. |
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The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my current or former employers.
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I made the mistake of buying two Pro Mag AK-556 magazines for my Romanian SAR-3 about 16-17 years ago as range mags. They worked fine for a couple of trips, but it didn’t take long for the rear locking lug/tab to break off since it wasn’t reenforced with some type metal/alloy. “I” would stay away from them and their “lifetime” warranty since the return shipping cost and wasted time isn’t worth it. I bought enough East German Wieger StG-940 when they were around $10 a pop in the early 2000s, but you can never have too many magazine and the Pro Mags were around $10-$15 bucks each back around 2014-2015. Honestly, I mainly bought them since that’s an extra 3 US made parts. Anyway, and as stated above, stay away from Pro Mags. Spend the extra $$ on a better quality magazine since that will save you money in the long run…. Buy once, cry once. |
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I was able to find some Polish 5.56 mags for my Krinkov made by Arsenal. They run great!! I also got some AK-74 5.45mm Bakelite mags and replaced the followers with a 3D printed 5.56mm followers. Runs very well. Didn't run well at all with the 5.45mm followers. |
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Originally Posted By svt40: Good question. I have a SAR 3 I never shoot because mags are a PITA. AC Unity’s, or the Bulgarian GMW should both work fine. And they are dirt cheap compared to an E German Weiger mag as well.. |
a loaded gun won’t set you free, so you say…
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Originally Posted By svt40: Good question. I have a SAR 3 I never shoot because mags are a PITA. You need Weiger mags or Bulgarian 5.56 mags. 5.45 mags will work as long you don't load them past 12~ rounds and they still might jam, you really need a modified 5.56 follower in a 5.45 mag. |
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Originally Posted By cheezzyizill: You need Weiger mags or Bulgarian 5.56 mags. 5.45 mags will work as long you don't load them past 12~ rounds and they still might jam, you really need a modified 5.56 follower in a 5.45 mag. Originally Posted By cheezzyizill: Originally Posted By svt40: Good question. I have a SAR 3 I never shoot because mags are a PITA. You need Weiger mags or Bulgarian 5.56 mags. 5.45 mags will work as long you don't load them past 12~ rounds and they still might jam, you really need a modified 5.56 follower in a 5.45 mag. Total toss up if it will work at all. Once out of curiosity I took the follower out of a Polish Beryl magazine and put it into a Polish commercial 5.45 magazine. Didn't work any better than just trying to load/feed 5.56 out of the unmodified 5.45 magazine. |
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Bulgarian, Polish and Russian 5.56 magazines are all the same pattern. Beryl, circle 10, commercial Bulgarian, and PSA 101 clone mags are interchangeable in a properly built 5.56 AK using a 74 pattern mag well. I did also try a 3D printed conversion follower in a commercial Bulgarian 74 mag as well and it worked just fine. The same follower would also run in a military magazine. I think someone on Etsy was selling them. The followers cost as much as Commercial metal reinforced Bulgarian or PSA mags though… The PSA mags are actually stronger than circle 10 Bulgarian military magazines because they use more modern polymer and are metal reinforced the exact same way. |
| I heard psa discontinued the 101 mags. Those were really good mags. The polish, Bulgarian, and ac unity have all worked for my 74 pattern 556 guns but the psa and circle 10 were the most solid. The commercial Bulgarian took some fitting but seemed the most solid over AC and polish. |
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Originally Posted By JamesJones: I heard psa discontinued the 101 mags. Those were really good mags. The polish, Bulgarian, and ac unity have all worked for my 74 pattern 556 guns but the psa and circle 10 were the most solid. The commercial Bulgarian took some fitting but seemed the most solid over AC and polish. I checked their industry forum and PSA says they didn’t discontinue their 101 guns or mags. They’re just out of stock. Just wanted to put that here incase anyone was wondering. The only ones I’d trust would be circle 10 (Equal to PSA in durability and reliability but inferior in value due to price), PSA or the GMW metal reinforced Bulgarian commercial mags. I’d trust any of those for defensive use. |
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Promag makes terrible magazines for years. Please avoid. Bulgarian commercial 5.56 AK magazines, Bulgarian Circle 10 and Polish Radom/WBP mags are good to go. I have one PSA mag and it functions ok as well. If you own a Zastava 5.56, best to use their recommended mags. |
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Originally Posted By themao: Promag makes terrible magazines for years. Please avoid. Bulgarian commercial 5.56 AK magazines, Bulgarian Circle 10 and Polish Radom/WBP mags are good to go. I have one PSA mag and it functions ok as well. If you own a Zastava 5.56, best to use their recommended mags. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
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Please Remember Our Magazines Are Garbage I can’t say I’ve ever seen one run well or for long if they did. If it’s strictly for range use and you don’t mind getting in some malfunction clearance drills, go ahead and try a couple. I will say that they are still better than USAmags from back in the day. |
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