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Posted: 11/24/2009 6:02:51 PM EDT
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Anyone ever seen a Romanian 30rd mag that was slotted on the back? I've never seen one before, but these may as common as dirt, I dunno. if nobody has seen one, I'll post a pic later. Looks like the Romanians wanted a visible way to count rounds. The slots are about 3mmX.75" or so. There are 10 (5 each side) in a staggered arrangment with the last slot ending at the witness hole.  |
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Ok, finally found time to take some closeups. I can see that the slots were formed before the mag was finished because there is no shiny metal indicating cutting after being in-service. Also the inside it is smooth and devoid of any burrs or sharp edges inside and out. As you will see in the first six pictures, the slots not only act as a window, they act as a round counter. This was certainly thought out. I am satisfied that this is a factory produced mag. It could be a prototype that never went into production being that this is the first that anyone who has commented here, or elsewhere, has ever seen one before. I am fairly certain it's Romanian. Being that the follower is identical to other Romanian followers in this batch of mags. I think the marks are Romanian also, but you be the judge. It also appears Romanian in other respects of the design, however, the stampings are different than the other positively ID'd Romanian mags. Ok, here are the pics. Let me know what you think. Enjoy Pic #1 with 30 rds  Pic #2 with 25 rds  Pic #3 with 20 rds  Pic #4 with 15 rds  Pic #5 with 10 rds  Pic #6 with 7 rds  Pic #7 Close up of slot (top)  Pic #8 Close up of slot (mid)  Pic #9 Close up of slot (end)  Pic #10 Closeup of witness hole  Pic #11 Mark 2/0 in triangle with "3" beside  Pic #12 Another occurance of "3" on down the spine  Pic #13 Sideview  Pic #14 Inside A  Pic #15 Inside B  So you have it. If someone wasn't another angle, I'll try to get it. If anyone has a guess at the value, I'd like to here that too. |
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Do my eyes decieve me or are some of the slots round at the end while others are square?
Similarly, it appears that the slot above the bottom one on the right side narrows at one point and then is wider at the end. Is this so, or merely an illusion due to camera angle, etc.? |
| With the better photos shown, it appears to be Romanian. And due to the varying cuts - some ends straight and others more rounded, and the legthwise/width of the cuts not appearing to be straight/same throughout - I'm leaning toward the magazine being something "one off" and used for some sort of classroom training. Perhaps it was modified by a unit level armorer or shop, refinished, and used for classroom instruction and/or basic rifle marksmanship training. |
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