I have seen where Colt manufactured mags for thier 7.62x39 rifles. On the surface they appear to be very similar to a 20 round 223 mag. Does anyone know what the difference was/is? Was it the follower or actual mag deminsions. Yes, I have a new toy now and am trying to accumulate some mags. Have several USA mags but wanted to see if I could retrofit some of my excess 223 20's to work.
Regards,
C1
Found this on a web site earlier, if anyone cares:
7.62 x 39 magazines for AR-15s tend to be problematic. More and more AR owners are buying spare 7.62 x 39 uppers for their rifles to take advantage of the low cost of military surplus (Chinese and Eastern Bloc) ammunition, or as a means to get a more effective stopper for deer than .223 Remington.
The problem is finding mags that will feed when loaded with more than 5 or 6 rounds. Neither Colt (for the AR-15) or Ruger (for the Mini-30) ever made any high capacity magazines for their 7.62x39s, because neither intended those guns for military or law enforcement sales. (And both being statist/Politically Correct firms in recent years, neither produced high capacity magazines for the civilian market before the 9/94 ban.)
The Colt 7.62 x 39 rifles and clones can *accept* standard 20 or 30 round G.I. magazines, but they won't function reliably when loaded with more than 5 or 6 rounds. With its straight magazine well, the AR-15 is not well-suited to the cartridge. As I'm sure most of you reading this know, an angle builds up to the point where the 7.62 cartridges will jam horribly if you load more than about 9 rounds--regardless of which magazine you use. The cartridge simply works better in fully-curved magazines. And with the AR-15Õs straight magazine well, that problem can never be properly overcome in AR-15s and clones.
Colt-made 7.62 x 39mm magazines differ from standard .223 magazines only in that they have different followers. The 7.62 x 39mm followers are black plastic and have Ò7.62mmÓ in white letters printed on the follower. They appear to be made differently from regular .223 followers. I believe these to be standard alloy M-16 magazine bodies that are assembled with 7.62 followers.
One tip garnered from the net: With the Colt-made 7.62 x 39 magazines, insert the magazines gently with the bolt closed to keep rounds from flying out the top.
Another problem is that the fat 7.62x39 cartridge tends to bulge out or even split aluminum alloy AR-15 magazines. There is a solution for that particular problem: The best magazines that I can recommend for a 7.62 AR-15 are either STEEL original Sterling-made AR-180 magazines (also notched for AR-15 magazine catch), or STEEL original Belgian FNC magazines. Then, if possible, replace the followers with Colt 7.62 mm marked followers. Even with these, donÕt load more than 9 cartridges.
Regards,
C1