I’m new to the ak world and I like the Bakelite mags and I was wondering If the are durable. To me they look like they are built nicely but I don’t have any Bakelites myself .

Yes
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I'm pretty sure they are almost impossible to find right now.

They are very durable. I used to own one that  came back from Desert Storm. It had been used and abused like everything else the Iraqi conscript units had. The top of the magazine body was cracked where it meets the back of the metal feed lips. It still functioned perfectly and I used it as a range mag for years. If money were no object I would own a bunch of them.

Lmao that’s a lot of Bakelites

Yea I can’t find any 7.62 Bakelites on here. That’s what I’m looking for

Thanks for the info as you can tell I’m kind of a newbie when it comes to AK stuff

So define durable.  The steel stuff is the most durable, hands down.  If you really shoot the crap out of a bakelite they will wear in the rear where the bolt carrier hits notched area and eats away at it and then have some jams.  Ask me how I know.  I bought a bring back from Dennis Todd at Valley Forge PA back in the 90s for relatively cheap at the time (like $60 -  I was ecstatic- remember none were being imported at the time so it was a unicorn) which looks great locked in but was obviously shot to shit in the field and it is well worn in the rear so I get issues.  Its still plastic at the end of the day and was meant to be a throw away.  Going by personal experience.

Very durable. As durable as a mil grade injection molded mag? No, mainly because the plastic is less rigid, so it will crack when a modern polymer mag is still in bending but not breaking mode. That said, the later variants of bakes are realy good mags. The odds of a lightly used bake not being durable enough for your use as an American civilian are very very close to zero.

It looks like there are a couple online vendors that still have them, but prices have gone crazy, basically doubling since I picked up a few two years ago. Here's an example - starting at $99.95 and going up from there:

Carolina Shooters Supply

The ones I've seen on the EE in the past year were in the ~$85 range, if I recall correctly. Just for a little historic context, I posted here about the one that I found at a show for $55 almost exactly two years ago. It seemed like someone brought in a big batch of like new Bakelites around that timeframe, because they suddenly popped up all over the place, in the $55-$80 range (the high end being the "long top" early Tulas, now listed for $135 at the link above). That same week, Primary Arms, SGAmmo, DK Firearms, and a couple other places all suddenly listed them for sale too. DK was offering free shipping on orders over $90, so I got two more from them for $55 ea and posted photos in that same thread here.

You'll note, of course, that someone posted in that thread about buying 4 Bakelites in a magazine pouch for $50 "years ago," which always seems to be the story with AK stuff. I was ok with $55 each two years ago just to have a few examples of these interesting magazines. The current prices are outrageous, but I'm sure it's because whatever supply showed up in 2019 has now dried up, and with the impending Russian ammo ban, people don't expect to see more of them come in. I'd keep an eye out for another batch though, which might (hopefully) bump the prices down a little.

The salad days of bakes look to be over.

Right when I am getting back in to AK's

For a magazine they are quite expensive now. You are better off getting a bunch of Circle 10 mags. Those are the best polymer hands down. I like the Bulgarian polymer steel reinforced mags as well, super light and steel reinforced feed lips and locking lugs. Those can be found as low as $15 these days.

Every AK owner needs at least 1 or 2 Bakelite Mags. They are nice Mags, especially when they were cheaper. They’res some still around but $80 bucks and up is getting kind of ridiculous.

I'd put them as more durable than the magpul full plastic versions, but not as solid as Circle 10 Magazines. I worry about the feed lips for long term storage, especially the non-reinforced ones but that's just my take.

Yes

I have a bunch of East German ones, still in the wax paper. They smell so good.

But seriously, bakelites are good to go.

yes

I only have one for 762x39

I have a bunch of 5.45, back when they came in 4 mag pouches for $12










I only have one 5.45 PLUM

I traded it for an orange one at a gunshow years ago

They performed better than steel mags in Soviet mil drop testing, so I'd say "yes".

Recommended for every AK owner

E&E has good deals occasionally, stay vigilant!

Carolina Shooter Supply has them on occasion, but on the high side.


Maybe we can post current prices here as we see them. Keeping it an ongoing thread.

Op needs to put as the title "Official Bakelite Mag Buying Thread" as a title.

@Chodge

A c-note each?  

Wow…

Bakelite mags are made of phenolic material which used to be used in manufacturing things like aircraft cable pulleys for the control surfaces. It’s pretty tough stuff…

Right.
I bought two from AIM a few years back.
I want to say they were around $30.
Thought it was weird they were expensive. Then they show up fairly cheap. Then disappeared just as fast and became expensive again.
I should have bought more

Bump?

Carolina Shooters Supply has them in the $100 each range