Warning On Polish Synthedic Mags

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Warning On Polish Synthedic Mags

Posted: 6/12/2003 2:13:40 PM EDT

I just recently purchased some of these, and thought they where great & put them into my gun safe.
I have read a couple of post and many replies at ak-47.net.
Alot of folks are finding hairline cracks in their mags.
I went and looked at the ones I got, and found a mag that seem to be a hairline crack as well.

This really sucks, defective mags??

Does Bulgarian mags have this sorta problem?

TG

Posted: 6/12/2003 4:37:08 PM EDT

[#1]

crap! i just bought two in a mag deal! oh well. into the "collector's box" they go.

afaik, there is no problem with any bulgarian 'production' mags. those "never adopted", experimental ones, especially the clear ones, did have a rather brittle feel to them and the clear ones showed some cracking.

the ak-74 black polymers i use have many thousands of rounds on them and feed like champs.

Posted: 6/12/2003 10:06:34 PM EDT

[#2]

I went through my ten and not one had a crack. I looked at another 5 at a friends shop and none of them had a crack either. I believe that some of these cracks are mold lines? Then again, maybe the ones I looked at were ok and we were the lucky ones?

Posted: 6/12/2003 10:30:50 PM EDT

[#3]

Makes me glad I bought 20 steel polish mags from AIM, rather than get in on the synthetic ones.

Posted: 6/13/2003 12:44:19 AM EDT

[#4]

Funny, my Pollack mags look and function pretty good.(no cracks/no failures) TG, is this the thread from a month ago? (the one where the guy whined about dropping his loaded mag...)

-just curious-

EDIT: I think they're "Bad-Ass". Not made quite the same as the Bulgarian "waffles", but Kool. Of course I'm not "combat ready", simply a hobby for me.

(As long as they work I could give a hoot, so far mine are fine).

Posted: 6/13/2003 1:19:05 AM EDT

[#5]

I just stopped my order 2 days ago since I felt no need in spending another 100$ on AK mags when I have 4 Waffle Bulgarian ones already. I had 2 Synthetic Polish Mags on my order, along with 4 Steel Polish,40rd Romanian,Orlite ar15.

Gonna drop it on something useful like a spotting scope so I can actually shoot for serious aim now , not just throw lead at a target.

Posted: 6/13/2003 1:44:14 AM EDT

[#6]

Hmm, and to think I bought an extra 10 mags to sell for pure profit in a year or two...........

I'm not the least bit worried, if nothing else I'll have to sell them used...

Posted: 6/13/2003 2:37:36 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Makes me glad I bought 20 steel polish mags from AIM, rather than get in on the synthetic ones.

Please let me know what kind of condition they are in when they arrive. I need to order a few more AK mags myself.

Posted: 6/13/2003 5:20:04 AM EDT

[#8]

WildWes, I'd seen the post you mention, but their is a new post reguarding these mags.

The hairline cracks are hard to see, not all of the polish synthedic mags has hairline cracks.

But, it does make ya wonder why these mags are showing up with hair line crack.

Some members are also saying theirs cheaped by the feed ramp, little chunks, but their mags is still working, so far.

I should of purchased Bulgarian mags.

TG

Posted: 6/13/2003 7:05:11 AM EDT

[#9]

TG, I haven't seen the new thread, I'll check it out. With my mags, I randomly grabbed 4 to use figuring I'd wait and see how many hit the market to decide whether to buy more or sit on 'em.

A friend of mine came over to check out what I'd done with my SAR and the mags and we burned up around 300 rounds of ammo with the 4 mags I stuffed in a pouch. So far they still look good to me. (they do show signs of use) FWIW, I've got a couple of "used" 5.45 bakelites that are really torn up. They function as good as any newer ones I have.

Guess I'll just wait and see how it goes, I'll be disappointed if they show signs of cracking.

Posted: 6/13/2003 8:32:36 AM EDT

[#10]

I have ten and chacked mine. All appear to be fine.

Posted: 6/13/2003 9:09:38 AM EDT

[#11]

Ten here, no cracks anywhere.

Posted: 6/13/2003 9:15:22 AM EDT

[#12]

HeavyMetal and whisper200, I suggest both of you send them to me for final inspection.

You can't be too careful.

Posted: 6/13/2003 9:40:39 AM EDT

[#13]

I have 5.45 and 7.62 Polski plastic mags and guess what? Some have cracks, some don't, ALL WORK 100%.

Just use them, there cheap enough.

Brick

Posted: 6/13/2003 11:31:38 AM EDT

[#14]

I'd sent a e-mail, this was their reply.

No. We have sold Thousands with one complaint.
Thank You,
Erik
AIM
[email protected]
PO Box 556
Springboro, OH 45066
888-748-5252
www.aimsurplus.com

Guess their not interested one way or the other.
Im not going to buy anymore, unless their bulgarian made ones.

TG

Posted: 6/13/2003 3:03:33 PM EDT

[#15]

I bought 10 from AIM. They show no cracks and work fine. I would guess that they are not as durable as steel mags but they are 4.6 ozs lighter. If one were to carry 8 mags in a couple of pouches or one of those Russian M23 chest pouches, the synthetic Polish mags would be over two pounds less deadweight of magazines alone. Sounds pretty good to me.

Drue

Posted: 6/13/2003 3:45:05 PM EDT

[#16]

Today I checked the ones I got for another board member that I picked up from AIM.

All were perfect.

Posted: 6/13/2003 4:06:31 PM EDT

[#17]

i just checked the 2 i bought...perfect.

probably a false alarm.

as guy said, those bakelite mags can look like they've been thru ww3 and still work just fine.

Posted: 6/13/2003 5:51:54 PM EDT

[#18]

I only have one but it is fab dude.

Posted: 6/13/2003 6:11:32 PM EDT

[#19]

One member over at a different forum dropped his fully loaded mag and it cracked all the way from top to bottom on the front. I guess the Polish mags aren't made of the same material as the Buly ones. One reason why i'm sticking with my Buly's.

Posted: 6/13/2003 6:18:29 PM EDT

[#20]

I have 5 and none of them have any cracks. I used all of them at the range and they all worked flawless.

Posted: 6/13/2003 9:22:31 PM EDT

[#21]

The polish mags feel and look like ABS plastic. The bulgy mags, 5.45 black and brown slabside and all caliber waffle appear to be a glass filled nylon and are undoubtedly stronger.

The polish mags should be fine for normal use but would undoubetdly not take the abuse of a glass filled nylon mag.

Posted: 7/30/2003 12:09:47 AM EDT

[#22]

I bought 50 of these and they arrived today. I've opened two five round packs so far. 7 of the 10 were cracked. The cracks are very small and are all at the back of the feed lips. I wouldn't worry about function for the time being because where cracks are on my mags, the plastic is just a covering for the steel lip inserts. The cracks are very hard to see - very thin - but they ARE cracks. Compress the lip inward and the crack disappears. Pull out HARD on the lip and the crack widens slightly. I bought these for myself and my sons (12 and 1 yr olds). Like I said, I'm sure they will function fine now, but I'm a tad worried about the long haul.

Any opinions would really be appreciated. I might be calling AIM tomorrow to find out about a refund.

Thanks

Posted: 7/30/2003 9:24:13 AM EDT

[#23]

Just took a look at AIM's return policy online. I pay return shipping and get charged a 3% refund fee since I paid with a CC. I know AIM's profit margin isn't high, and returns are costly, but this still sucks. I opened the package and they were that way.

I have no idea how you guys bought ten packs and didn't get even one mag with a hairline crack?????

Anybody interested in new Polish syn mags for $11.26 (that's what they cost me) per + shipping?

M4_Aiming_at_U - please don't delete or lock. I'm not offering the mags for sale - just want to know if there's any interest while trying to decide if I want to incur further expense of returning to AIM.

Posted: 7/30/2003 10:24:52 AM EDT

[#24]

Update on the update...

Just called AIM and they will reimburse me for return shipping on the cracked mags. They said the disclaimer on their website was to prevent folks from ordering merchandise and then deciding "nah - I don't want this" and returning it on AIM's dime.

They also will treat the order as 50 separate pieces instead of one bulk order. This will allow me to keep the uncracked mags and give my mag pile a little more diversity.

As for the 3% CC refund fee, I asked if I could use the balance they owe me for ammo purchases in order to get out from under the 3% fee. They said that would be fine. Can never have enough ammo.

I am very happy with AIM's customer service and will assuredly buy from them in the future.

Posted: 7/30/2003 3:56:55 PM EDT

[#25]

I'd say this is a classic case of mass hysteria. I have examined my 10 pack of mags. Yes, I found tini "cracks", or at least the beginning of "cracks" near the back of the feed lips. I've seen a lot worst on my Bulgarian mags which have been used.

Fact kids: Polymer and Plastic mags tear up. They will not hold up as well as steel. It is a trade off (weight/durability).

The Bulgarian ones do seem "tougher" but it is a different design. It weighs a little more and is less slick. Over all I'm glad that I have some of each.

FWIW, my polymer 5.45mm bear many of the same signs of wear as the Polish 7.62x39mm mags. I figure they will wear out. But it's still nice having an extra 10 mags, even if they aren't all that durable.

I wouldn't worry about it. The mags probably aren't as good as Bulgarian ones, but right now Bulgy's cost about $6 bucks more a pop. If the price on Bulgarian mags comes back down to 10 bucks, then I'll buy more.

You should have at least 33 polymer mags and 33 steel ones (in case you wanted to know).

Posted: 7/30/2003 6:48:45 PM EDT

[#26]

"You should have at least 33 polymer mags and 33 steel ones (in case you wanted to know)."

I'm working on it.

Posted: 7/30/2003 7:18:23 PM EDT

[#27]

I still have my polish synthedic mags, they still holding up nicely.
Just recently purchased some Bulgarian Waffle mags, their alot better than the polish ones.

TG

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Warning On Polish Synthedic Mags

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