I just picked up a 75(or who knows how many) round drum as part of a big package trade.  Several questions:  

1) Whats the 36 inside a triangle mark mean, ie where does it come from.  Its not bottom loading, so I guess its not Chinese?  That leaves Romanian and Russian right?

2) Why in hell wont it fit into my Norinco!  Seems like the back-locking-dealy is too fat/long wont allow the mag release to close, so it will not lock into the gun.  Weird.

Any ideas?

It is Chinese. The 36 in the delta is the arsenal mark I believe.  It should fit in if you line it up right. Tighter fit than double stack mags but should fit.

It wont go into my norinco standard AK or norinco 86s I have right here! this is quite annoying...any ideas?

Looks like the drum is ruined... I will buy it off you for a fair price, you know, to reduce your loss .

Seriously, the drum is fine. It needs to be a tight fit, remember, that is 4-5 pounds hanging on those magazine tabs and if it wobbles or can bounce back and fourth then it would be just bad news.

If it doesn't fit, you could sell it ($100-$150 is the going rate for a Chinese 75 round drum) or file one of the locking tabs on the drum. However, keep in mind you should refinish the mag after this to prevent rust and keep up looks.

Have to add one more thing- you sure the drum is the right caliber for your AK?

I know the AK is 7.62x39, and im pretty confident the drum is too...I suppose i dont know for sure though. It will accept 7.62x39 ammunition...

Whats frustrating is not that its a tight fit, its that it WONT fit in my Norincos.  I took off the dustcover/pulled the bolt group out then tried to insert it.  The problem isnt the back of mag dealy, its that it wont clear the support post inside the magwell.

I suppose filing it down ruins its collector value...super.  Q gunner if you actually want it, and want to FTF to make sure it will fit your rifle, PM me.  

Quoted: I know the AK is 7.62x39, and im pretty confident the drum is too...I suppose i dont know for sure though. It will accept 7.62x39 ammunition... Whats frustrating is not that its a tight fit, its that it WONT fit in my Norincos.  I took off the dustcover/pulled the bolt group out then tried to insert it.  The problem isnt the back of mag dealy, its that it wont clear the support post inside the magwell. I suppose filing it down ruins its collector value...super.  Q gunner if you actually want it, and want to FTF to make sure it will fit your rifle, PM me.

What support post inside the magwell? Please post some pictures so we can tell what your talking about. If your AK is 7.62x39 and the drum is 7.62x39 then you should not have any problems. If you can't figure it out I will be second in line for you to send me the mag and I will figure it out...

Sign_Wolfman

Ok, so I loaned out my digital camera last night, but I think I can make my problem clear with some pics I found on google:

Heres the problem pin in the AK :


Heres the problem piece with the drum:


I'm assuming that this is a problem with the drum, since I have 2 Norinco AKs here that it refuses to fit into.  

That pin is the center support pin. I’m starting to think you may have a 5.56 drum. Have you compared to feed tower of the drum to the top of a regular 30 round mag? Do they look the same? You may want to try loading the drum with 7.62 ammo and see if you can get the drum to feed by hand. If the rounds will not fit past the feed lips, they are too big around. They try some 5.56 and see if they will feed by hand. Don’t be to discouraged  if it’s a 5.56 drum then it is worth big bucks to someone with a 5.56 rifle. There were not very many 5.56 drums imported. You might want to check this post for more information: http://www.ak47.net/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=55&t=77978

Please let me know what you come up with.

Sign_Wolfman

Deffinatly 7.62.  

.223 falls out of it.  

Oh well, to the EE it goes.

IM sent to anr6t

Sign_Wolfman

Hey Ill take it... dang it, am I too late? If it isnt claimed already, what is the price?

Im sent to:  Q-gunner2

Sign_Wolfman