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Posted: 2/29/2008 2:56:50 PM EDT
| Can anyone speak about the quality of Pro Mag AK mags. And are the clear/smoke mags weaker then other synthetics that they make? |
Hey, if they work for you...great. Replacing floor plates is one thing. Entire magazines is another. They are inferior in that they are made to a price point in order to sell, with functional reliability second. IMO, the only reason one should buy these is if they need the points, vis-a-vie, Sec. 922r. For me they are too inconsistent in their QC to be used in anything other than a safe queen. |
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I don't understand in what aspect promags are inferior. I haven't seen any consistent listing of defects, just a general they're no good- don't buy. Without giving a clear and unbiased reason why they are no good, I believe you are not giving Promag, a U.S. company, a fair review. And, on top of that, if you don't like the performance of their mags, they will repair or replace for free... I say, buy American whenever you can -- Especially when it comes to a product that you couldn't even buy just a few years ago. p.s. -- I'm not a gun dealer, parts supplier or involved in anyway in the retail or wholesale firearm or sporting goods business. |
My personal experience with different promag mags are as follows 1. Bought 2 10 rd Sig P220 mags both had weak springs and neither would feed. 2.Purchased 3 10 round mags for a Star Megastar 45 they didnt fit in the mag well. 3. The Mini14 mags were just junk. Sometimes they would feed but couldnt get a full mag through without a stoppage. Ruger mags work perfect. I buy quality mags because of Murphy's law. I wont trust my life to a substandard product. You should do the same.. |
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FromDLaw: My personal experience with different promag mags are as follows 1. Bought 2 10 rd Sig P220 mags both had weak springs and neither would feed. 2.Purchased 3 10 round mags for a Star Megastar 45 they didnt fit in the mag well. 3. The Mini14 mags were just junk. Sometimes they would feed but couldnt get a full mag through without a stoppage. Ruger mags work perfect. I buy quality mags because of Murphy's law. I wont trust my life to a substandard product. You should do the same.. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ First- If you are using anything other the original manufacturers magazine in a self defense handgun, you are indeed asking for trouble. I have both a P220 and a P229 for self defense/CCW and have never considered using anything other than Sig's equipment in my pistols. You should consider the same approach. However, the discussion was about Promag magazines in AK type rifles. Your list of troubles did not include any failures from that application. Neither I or any of my shooting buddies that use promags in our AK's have had any issues with their product in our rifles. I am sure that problems do occur though and if it happens to me, a call to promag would be my first step in resolving the issue. I believe that if you called Promag about the troubles you have experienced, they would have worked with you to the point of resolution. And in the end, the input that you provide them may produce a better product that all of us would benefit from. |
What part of "THEY SUCK" is so hard to understand? My own experience: Three piece of shit promags + two different Yugo underfolders = a jam about every fourth or fifth round. YES, they work fine for some people, some of the time. If that's the type of reliability you're looking for in AK components, then by all means - buy promags, they're wonderful.  |
Both front an rear locking lugs are plastic instead of metal. They have no metal reinforcement in the feed lips. They have no metal reinforcement along the front inner edge of the mag to keep bullet tips from gouging away at the plastic. They have no metal reinforcement at the bottom of the mag. They have plastic floor plates. They have a high occurrence of not feeding. ETA: They cost more than better quality, more reliable steel magazines. Any other questions?   |
The fact that Promag makes their magazines in the US is only important if you need US made parts on an import rifle/carbine. Like most things 'value' priced, they are designed to separate you from your money. IMO, some work, some do not, still others work half-assed. Is this what you are looking for from a product? Years ago, I used to work for a major gun distributor and bought two BHP magazines because we could get them at wholesale. The feed lips spread, the followers tilled, spilling out the rounds onto the floor at Target World, in Chalfont. IMO, they sucked and would not recommend them to any dealer that called asking about them. I told the sales reps to just read from Promag's ad copy. Fast forward to 2003. I'm at the Allentown Gun Show and I see a large magazine seller who has one of the things I'm looking for (spare Kahr K-9 mags), and I see that they are peddling Promag. I relay my experiences to the woman behind the table and she said that was true....in the past. She said that Promag had improved their QC since the 1990's. Sceptical, but in a 'magnanimous' mood, I bought more mags for my BHP's. Guess what??? They still sucked. Shame me once and all of that. Now BHP's magazines are not AK mags, but I do not have any confidence in the company or product line, so to me, why would I bother with further experimentation/testing just to save a few pennies? I am just giving you my personal, somewhat biased, opinion of them. You can think what you will and do what you want. Good luck with your choices. |
If the AK mags work for you I'm glad. I personally won't spend any more money on Promag unless they seriously revamp their QC issues. |
| I have 5 promags for the AK. All are black 7.62x39 mags. All run 100% on 4 different guns. I have had great luck with them. However I have some promags for the hi point 995 carbine that are shit. And two for the USP 45 that are shit. The AK and Mini 14 mags are the only promags that I have had work with no issues. |
| I use steel Promags with no problems in my S&W 457 and Keltec P11 and got a couple for my thumper Ak.The plastic mags that were the worst brand I ever had came from Eagle for a Mini-30 that split about two inches in front when putting ten rounds in it and had a fifteen round capacity.They have a lifetime warranty but I never wanted to put good money after bad to mail back to them and just get another same POS.I used them for target practice...as the target |
All true. I bought some just to try them out and they worked 100% but I also have a large stash of foreign metal AK mags. I just wanted to see if they sucked but they worked.
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Pro Mag AK magazine are crap. Call them and ask, they'll tell you. Their engineers know that the mags are crap. They know that the mags break. They don't care. The Soviet synthetic "bakelite" type magazines for the -47 and -74 have alot of steel reinforcement inside to keep them from breaking. The Pro Mag magazines don't. I can't think of one Pro Mag product that is good, for that matter. It all sucks. Buy the surplus steel magazines. They work. |
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I have 2 for my slr106 and they both have alot of wobble but functioned 100%. At half the price of the bulgy mags I think they are worth it for range mags. Also have a tan 7.62 mag that functions 100% w/ no noticeable wobble. But steel surplus 7.62 mags are so cheap I don't see any reason to get the promags really. They are cheap feeling and I can see that the locking lugs will easily break off if abused, but for range mags they worked for me so far. |
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My experience with ProMag is fairly typical. I have probably a few dozen of their mags acquired over the years. The good: The AK mags work OK but don't last (as mentioned, no metal reinforcement of feed lips or locking lugs.) The AR-15 9mm mags work OK but don't last (feed lips crack at around 500 rounds so far.) The Remington 597 .22lr mags work great and seem to last - but its .22lr and the magazine springs are really weak - which seems to be a good thing in these as it relieves pressure on the plastic feed lips. The EAA Witness .45 magazines seem to work and last OK. The bad: 10/22 drum, 1911 drum, Hi-Point carbine, Para-Ordnance P10, Star PD and Enfield 2a magazines I have had are terrible. The 1911 drum and Enfield 2a get special mention as they are just unbelievably bad - there is no way to get rounds from the magazine into the chamber of the firearm with these mags. The drum has some horrible design that causes the rounds to nosedive no matter what, and I don't even know where to start with the Enfield magazines - lets just say that if you can get them to retain ammunition in the magazine the rounds are nowhere near the bolt or chamber. On the plus side, they have friendly and responsive customer support. When I have split the feed lips on my 9mm AR magazines they have replaced them promptly. Unfortunately, I am nearly certain that when I sent in a defective drum they sent the same one back without even looking at it. I spoke to one of their reps at SHOT this year - who was showing off their drums - and I commented that mine didn't work and that I had never seen one that worked, so I was wondering if they had made any improvements. His EXACT words: "people don't seem to have very good luck with those." Bottom line for me: their 597 mags work better than the others on the market. Their AK mags are sort of cool because they come in colors, clear and smoke. They are great for display guns or safe queens. They are fine for shooting as long as you understand that they won't last. I have a few because they look good on certain guns. My AK stockpile consists of eastern bloc metal magazines. My AR 9mm stockpile consists of C-Products SS magazines. |
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I have 14 of them - 13 black and one smoke/translucent - all 30-rd AK mags. I have had zero issues with them, and all work perfectly in my AKs. The smoke one looks stupid as heck, but it works fine. They all consistently fit the best of any mag in my WASR with little wobble, unlike my metal Romanian and Yugo mags (wobble, wobble). I don't slam my mags in, so I am hoping the lip on the front or the catch on the back won't ever break. If they do, I'll send them back for free and get a brand new one with their lifetime warranty. I have only had one problem with an AK mag thus far, and it was a Romanian steel mag with an out of spec mag body. A little work with a Dremel and a stone took down the inside a little and allowed the follower that was sticking near the top to clear. I've never had to do that with my Promags - good right out of the bag. I am not a professional soldier and do not rely on my AK for life-saving, but I would buy more Promag AK mags if they were cheaper than the Romanian steel mags AIM Surplus is selling. |
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