I'm glad that I came. across your channel. I've also had issues with the Croatian bolt hold open mags in regards to feeding issues. Everything else I've bought (Russian, Bulgarian, American) have ran just fine in my gf5. Russian slab mags are heavy but extremely durable and run like champs
I’ll also stand behind chicom flatback magazines. Are they heavy? Yes. Are they pricier than current production steel? Yes. But man, they’re durable, have a super thin profile, and are very comfortable to manipulate. I’ve got multiple 30 rounders and one 40 rounder.
Another note about steal mags is when they are dropped over and over again (like if you dry fire and shoot allot) they can get little dents in them that impede their ability to feed. I’ve used 2 KUSA 100 series mags that came with my gun and they work great, but at 25$ a pop they are a little steeper than I’m willing to shell out but we will see.i mostly use the commercial Bulgarian slab mags with the steel reinforcements just because they are really great for the price, they take rust oleum really well, I havnt noticed any poor function in extreme heat but I do have an interesting note about them. I dry fire wayyyyy more than I live fire and mags get dropped allot during reloads, when they are empty the follower can sometimes jump a little bit out of the mag, not enough to shoot completely out but just enough to stretch the feed lips apart so that it can’t be inserted into the gun. The remedy is to simply either push the follower back down or smack the mag against something hard. Doesn’t impede live fire function at all, just a pet peeve of mine during dry fire.
That's a very good point about steel magazines, thanks for bringing that up. Quite a strange issue that the follower on those Bulgarian magazines is partially popping out when dropped. I hadn't noticed it myself on any of those magazines that I own, but I wonder if that might be indicative of a weak point that ends up being a problem for longer-term usage of those magazines. Time will tell.
Nice, I've been shooting more with the KNS (I assume that's what you're referring to since that video just came out and the .308 wasn't in this specific video) since recording the video on it, and it's continued to be really impressive.
Awesome stuff as always. I have a lot of surplus steel magazines but the steel reinforced Bulgarian mags have definitely been my favorites by far and they're cheap enough to stack. I bought some of those Croatian mags a while back that you have to file to fit and even though they work they're heavy and I feel like the metal on them isn't close to as durable as a standard surplus steel mag.
Thank you! Interesting to hear about your thoughts on the metal on those Croatian magazines, is it the thickness or is there something else that makes it less durable? With the Croatian magazine I have, I didn't see a difference in the metal between it and the Romanian surplus magazines I have, aside from the BHO follower.
@@Feldmutze I've noticed that the ones I have seem to get chewed up really badly on the locking lugs and feed lips from reloading where it isn't nearly as much scuffing on my surp mags. It could be I have a different batch but the metal seems to be a little softer but a little thicker. Probably a non issue but I definitely prefer my steel mags. Have you tried the Bulgarian steel commercial mags? If you do they have issues feeding in the cold as well? I wonder if the stell on polymer with the follower would fix that issue
Gotcha. I haven't used the Croatian magazine enough to see it get worn very much, since it doesn't feed reliably already, but if I can get it to feed reliably by maybe changing the follower then I'll keep an eye on the lugs and feed lips to see if I get the same wear. I haven't tried the Bulgarian steel commercial magazines. I picked up a bunch of the polymer ones a few summers ago before I noticed the feeding issue in the cold. I might try out those Bulgarian steel magazines the next time I order a bunch of magazines. I heard they use the same followers as their polymer magazines and I'm unsure if the temperature-sensitive feeding issue is with the follower or the magazine body itself, so there's a chance they might still have issues.
I have a wide variety of magazines, basically every manufacturer, and for price and especially for the quality, best mags, both steel and polymer, are the Bulgarian mags hands down. I have roughly 75-80 mags all together, and roughly 40 or so of them, are Bulgarian steel and polymer mags. Bulgarian steel is very tough, thick and reliable steel, and more importantly, the mag springs are tight fitted (which is what really defines a magazine as reliable). I have kci 30 and 40 rounders, and even though I haven’t had any issues with kci, the steel is more of a cheaper and lighter sheet metal material, and the springs are longer and more loose than your quality mags like Bulgarian mags for example. The same goes for the Korean mags. So I wouldn’t turn to those to trust my life with, but they still work. As with most mags, I don’t ever load my mags completely bc I always tend to have cycling issues. The Bulgarian 30 round polymers, (not the Bulgarian 40 rounders though), are completely steel reinforced. Zastava mags are very good mags as well, but I strictly have the zastava polymers, not the steel mags. Zastava polymers have a steel back lug and a front locking lip, steel bottom plate, but not steel reinforced feed lips. I don’t understand why either bc if they had steel reinforced feed lips, then they would easily be my number 1 top polymer mags. However, the polymers are made with a very thick polymer material and have a rigged waffle design. Plus they’re fully military tested (or so they claim), so the feed lips don’t concern me at all really. They’re a little pricier, around 20 bucks before tax, but it’s worth having a few. Only thing I don’t care for with the Serbian mags, like the Croatian mags, they’re BHO. I just don’t care for the BHO feature, and people just overrate that feature. But to each his own.
a KCI came with my early (sub 600sn) KR103. It works. I like it a little bit aesthetically, reminds me of toy trains for some reason. For some reason, it likes locking into my KR103 easier than the bulgarian steel mags I have. If you cant the magazine a little to the right or left on accident, the bulgarian mags will easily get stuck and won't lock in, but the KCI is a little more immune to that. easy thing to train out but I thought I was losing my mind the first time I noticed
Cool to read about your experience with those magazines. That isn't the first time I've heard of someone having trouble with the Bulgarian magazines locking in the gun. The first time I heard about it was that they wouldn't lock properly into a SLR-107 but I had assumed it was a fluke.
Thanks for a great video. I've noticed that not many magazines can make it through the "Sony Puzikas test" (drop the fully loaded mag on a hard floor), only those with a metall floor plates can. Except the steel mags it would be only Cirkel 10 and bakelite mags, because they got steel floor plates.
I have tapcos currently, and they more or less work fine. They are a pain to load rounds into, and are super tight fitting into my izhmash ak, to the point that I often have to fight them to lock in place. I have an order of bulgarian steel lines commercial mags on the way. Worst part of the tapcos, I paid as much for them as I just did the bulgarians.
Thanks for sharing your experience with those Tapcos. That doesn’t really sound like they’re working fine, especially if they’re troublesome to insert. Interestingly, now that you bring that up, if I remember right, I had some very similar issues with the Tapco magazines I had in the past also being way too tight in my rifle.
@@Feldmutze true, by “more or less working fine” I meant I’ve had no feeding issues once they are in. But definitely not something I would want to rely on in an emergency simply due to how hard they are to seat and remove. Fine for hog hunting I guess, but given they cost as much as the bulgarians, just get the bulgarians and be done with it.
The Bulgarians showed up a week ago. They fit perfectly, are less bulky, and look a whole lot better. I Highly recommend them, especially being $12 each.
At the very top is, any 20 to 50 year old surplus mags from Europe or any comblock country's. There are other good mags made, but they all fall inline behind the surplus mags.
The hole on the back of the mags aren’t necessarily for seeing if your mag is fully loaded bc you can’t tell how many rounds total you have. It’s a drain hole to drain water. Mags that have windows are for showing how many rounds you got
Where did you see that? Not that it can't be a drainage hole, but every source I've read says that's a witness hole to confirm if a magazine is loaded to 30. Also the fact it does line up with your last round when loaded in the magazine lends credence to this.
Thanks! I was considering getting some of the AC Unity magazines a few years ago as having a windowed magazine is quite appealing but those AC Unity magazines don't have any steel reinforcement so I passed on them.
So farcwhat i jave seen based on a limited budget - polish steel mags, Chinese steel msgazines, Romanian steel mags. Polymer Magpuls, Tapcos (both the ugly, and slab sides), Bulgarian polymer mags, some promags being newer generation, Thermold-if made correctly.
I've had no issue with the slab side Bulgarian mags even in my mag finicky PTR 32. I ordered a bunch more because of it and try test those out good too.
Thanks for the suggestions. I did a video on 5.45 magazines a while back: th-cam.com/video/xUO5VZKLnP0/w-d-xo.html I don't plan on doing one on 5.56 though as I don't actually own a 5.56 AK.
@@Feldmutze The options get pretty slim. Bulgarian waffle mags are great, but Arsenal intentionally lessens supply so they can sell them at 70US each. Russian 101/Saiga MK spec mags are unobtainium. Beryl mags generally work in SLR-106/AK-101 magwells, but without a very good reputation for durability. AC-Unities work and are just okay in most capacities. Durability is fine, reliability is *fine.* Very cheap though. Hopefully KUSA makes 100-series style 5.56 mags for their 101 and 102 like they did for their 103 and 104. Time will tell.
I forgot to mention I have a GF5-R from PSA in nutmeg (under folder) so I need to get a 30 round mag because I have a cheap plastic one that came with it (Pmag) I have a 40 round Molot mag coming in tomorrow but it doesn't clear the under folder from what I've seen, but I'm still keeping it
All three are reliable magazines so it would come down to personal preference. If you're into collecting, the slab-side and Izhmash magazines are a bit rarer so there's that to consider.
@@Feldmutze thank you for your advice I got the steel slab Izhmash do you know what is the hole for in the spine of the mag? I just got my Molot 40 round mag today
I have to move to a free state to enjoy shooting these. Great video as always buddy!!!👍👍👍👍
Thank you! And sorry to hear that, magazine restrictions suck.
How are you going to have George Washington crossing the Delaware as your profile pic but comply with magazine bans. Serious cuck energy
I'm glad that I came. across your channel. I've also had issues with the Croatian bolt hold open mags in regards to feeding issues. Everything else I've bought (Russian, Bulgarian, American) have ran just fine in my gf5. Russian slab mags are heavy but extremely durable and run like champs
The best surplus steel mags in my experience are the Chinese Flat Backs, which are very comfortable. Even have one with Chrome follower.
I didn't know those had chrome followers, very interesting. I'll have to see if I can pick some of those up.
Unfortunately their price also reflects their svelte nature
I’ll also stand behind chicom flatback magazines. Are they heavy? Yes. Are they pricier than current production steel? Yes. But man, they’re durable, have a super thin profile, and are very comfortable to manipulate. I’ve got multiple 30 rounders and one 40 rounder.
Another note about steal mags is when they are dropped over and over again (like if you dry fire and shoot allot) they can get little dents in them that impede their ability to feed. I’ve used 2 KUSA 100 series mags that came with my gun and they work great, but at 25$ a pop they are a little steeper than I’m willing to shell out but we will see.i mostly use the commercial Bulgarian slab mags with the steel reinforcements just because they are really great for the price, they take rust oleum really well, I havnt noticed any poor function in extreme heat but I do have an interesting note about them. I dry fire wayyyyy more than I live fire and mags get dropped allot during reloads, when they are empty the follower can sometimes jump a little bit out of the mag, not enough to shoot completely out but just enough to stretch the feed lips apart so that it can’t be inserted into the gun. The remedy is to simply either push the follower back down or smack the mag against something hard. Doesn’t impede live fire function at all, just a pet peeve of mine during dry fire.
That's a very good point about steel magazines, thanks for bringing that up.
Quite a strange issue that the follower on those Bulgarian magazines is partially popping out when dropped. I hadn't noticed it myself on any of those magazines that I own, but I wonder if that might be indicative of a weak point that ends up being a problem for longer-term usage of those magazines. Time will tell.
Solid content! make more vid about AK!!
I have one as well and damn… it was the best upgrade for my AK!
also when you showed the HK .308 my face literally went 0w0 lol
Nice, I've been shooting more with the KNS (I assume that's what you're referring to since that video just came out and the .308 wasn't in this specific video) since recording the video on it, and it's continued to be really impressive.
Love that build
Great vide I just got a kr-103 and I ordered 20 of the Bulgarian mags just so I had some ak mags. Seem to be pretty good good for the price.
Awesome stuff as always. I have a lot of surplus steel magazines but the steel reinforced Bulgarian mags have definitely been my favorites by far and they're cheap enough to stack. I bought some of those Croatian mags a while back that you have to file to fit and even though they work they're heavy and I feel like the metal on them isn't close to as durable as a standard surplus steel mag.
Thank you! Interesting to hear about your thoughts on the metal on those Croatian magazines, is it the thickness or is there something else that makes it less durable? With the Croatian magazine I have, I didn't see a difference in the metal between it and the Romanian surplus magazines I have, aside from the BHO follower.
@@Feldmutze I've noticed that the ones I have seem to get chewed up really badly on the locking lugs and feed lips from reloading where it isn't nearly as much scuffing on my surp mags. It could be I have a different batch but the metal seems to be a little softer but a little thicker. Probably a non issue but I definitely prefer my steel mags. Have you tried the Bulgarian steel commercial mags? If you do they have issues feeding in the cold as well? I wonder if the stell on polymer with the follower would fix that issue
Gotcha. I haven't used the Croatian magazine enough to see it get worn very much, since it doesn't feed reliably already, but if I can get it to feed reliably by maybe changing the follower then I'll keep an eye on the lugs and feed lips to see if I get the same wear.
I haven't tried the Bulgarian steel commercial magazines. I picked up a bunch of the polymer ones a few summers ago before I noticed the feeding issue in the cold. I might try out those Bulgarian steel magazines the next time I order a bunch of magazines. I heard they use the same followers as their polymer magazines and I'm unsure if the temperature-sensitive feeding issue is with the follower or the magazine body itself, so there's a chance they might still have issues.
I have a wide variety of magazines, basically every manufacturer, and for price and especially for the quality, best mags, both steel and polymer, are the Bulgarian mags hands down. I have roughly 75-80 mags all together, and roughly 40 or so of them, are Bulgarian steel and polymer mags. Bulgarian steel is very tough, thick and reliable steel, and more importantly, the mag springs are tight fitted (which is what really defines a magazine as reliable). I have kci 30 and 40 rounders, and even though I haven’t had any issues with kci, the steel is more of a cheaper and lighter sheet metal material, and the springs are longer and more loose than your quality mags like Bulgarian mags for example. The same goes for the Korean mags. So I wouldn’t turn to those to trust my life with, but they still work. As with most mags, I don’t ever load my mags completely bc I always tend to have cycling issues. The Bulgarian 30 round polymers, (not the Bulgarian 40 rounders though), are completely steel reinforced. Zastava mags are very good mags as well, but I strictly have the zastava polymers, not the steel mags. Zastava polymers have a steel back lug and a front locking lip, steel bottom plate, but not steel reinforced feed lips. I don’t understand why either bc if they had steel reinforced feed lips, then they would easily be my number 1 top polymer mags. However, the polymers are made with a very thick polymer material and have a rigged waffle design. Plus they’re fully military tested (or so they claim), so the feed lips don’t concern me at all really. They’re a little pricier, around 20 bucks before tax, but it’s worth having a few. Only thing I don’t care for with the Serbian mags, like the Croatian mags, they’re BHO. I just don’t care for the BHO feature, and people just overrate that feature. But to each his own.
The steel reinforcements that are non-magnetic are stainless steel
a KCI came with my early (sub 600sn) KR103. It works. I like it a little bit aesthetically, reminds me of toy trains for some reason. For some reason, it likes locking into my KR103 easier than the bulgarian steel mags I have. If you cant the magazine a little to the right or left on accident, the bulgarian mags will easily get stuck and won't lock in, but the KCI is a little more immune to that.
easy thing to train out but I thought I was losing my mind the first time I noticed
Cool to read about your experience with those magazines. That isn't the first time I've heard of someone having trouble with the Bulgarian magazines locking in the gun. The first time I heard about it was that they wouldn't lock properly into a SLR-107 but I had assumed it was a fluke.
@@Feldmutze yeah, just have to keep the magazine 90 degrees to the rifle.
US Palm doesn't feed my AK because the thick lips mean that the cartridge is inserted insufficiently into the gun. The bottom of the lip is too low.
Thanks for a great video. I've noticed that not many magazines can make it through the "Sony Puzikas test" (drop the fully loaded mag on a hard floor), only those with a metall floor plates can. Except the steel mags it would be only Cirkel 10 and bakelite mags, because they got steel floor plates.
I have tapcos currently, and they more or less work fine. They are a pain to load rounds into, and are super tight fitting into my izhmash ak, to the point that I often have to fight them to lock in place. I have an order of bulgarian steel lines commercial mags on the way. Worst part of the tapcos, I paid as much for them as I just did the bulgarians.
Thanks for sharing your experience with those Tapcos. That doesn’t really sound like they’re working fine, especially if they’re troublesome to insert. Interestingly, now that you bring that up, if I remember right, I had some very similar issues with the Tapco magazines I had in the past also being way too tight in my rifle.
@@Feldmutze true, by “more or less working fine” I meant I’ve had no feeding issues once they are in. But definitely not something I would want to rely on in an emergency simply due to how hard they are to seat and remove. Fine for hog hunting I guess, but given they cost as much as the bulgarians, just get the bulgarians and be done with it.
The Bulgarians showed up a week ago. They fit perfectly, are less bulky, and look a whole lot better. I Highly recommend them, especially being $12 each.
At the very top is, any 20 to 50 year old surplus mags from Europe or any comblock country's. There are other good mags made, but they all fall inline behind the surplus mags.
The hole on the back of the mags aren’t necessarily for seeing if your mag is fully loaded bc you can’t tell how many rounds total you have. It’s a drain hole to drain water. Mags that have windows are for showing how many rounds you got
Where did you see that? Not that it can't be a drainage hole, but every source I've read says that's a witness hole to confirm if a magazine is loaded to 30. Also the fact it does line up with your last round when loaded in the magazine lends credence to this.
Great Video! Good variety of magazines reviewed. Any thoughts on AC Unity magazines? Reviews seem mixed from others.
Thanks! I was considering getting some of the AC Unity magazines a few years ago as having a windowed magazine is quite appealing but those AC Unity magazines don't have any steel reinforcement so I passed on them.
I also have had feeding issues when using the Croatian mags. I cannot recommend them at all.
Nice review
So farcwhat i jave seen based on a limited budget - polish steel mags, Chinese steel msgazines, Romanian steel mags. Polymer Magpuls, Tapcos (both the ugly, and slab sides), Bulgarian polymer mags, some promags being newer generation, Thermold-if made correctly.
I've had no issue with the slab side Bulgarian mags even in my mag finicky PTR 32. I ordered a bunch more because of it and try test those out good too.
excellent video.
Would it be possible for you to give me the measurements of the Mag "KCI"?
Thanks! I can probably do that.
What measurements were you looking for on that mag specifically?
You should try out the KUSA Polymer mags.
I'll check those out.
@@gopnikgoblin That's good to know, thanks for mentioning that! Gonna pass on those, in that case.
I perfer the Chinese AK Steel Magazine...
I've heard good things about the Chinese magazines, but what's your reasoning for preferring them over others?
@@Feldmutze Lol look at his name
Have you tried the new production Bulgarian steel mags?
I haven't. I might try a few the next time I order magazines.
@@Feldmutze Well worth the money in my opinion. Also, have you heard anything about the new batch of Wasr 3 rifles that Century is importing?
I hadn't heard anything about the WASR-3 being imported again prior to you mentioning it in your comment. That's cool to see.
will you be doing a videon on 5.45 and 5.56 mags for ak aswell?
Thanks for the suggestions. I did a video on 5.45 magazines a while back: th-cam.com/video/xUO5VZKLnP0/w-d-xo.html
I don't plan on doing one on 5.56 though as I don't actually own a 5.56 AK.
@@Feldmutze The options get pretty slim.
Bulgarian waffle mags are great, but Arsenal intentionally lessens supply so they can sell them at 70US each.
Russian 101/Saiga MK spec mags are unobtainium.
Beryl mags generally work in SLR-106/AK-101 magwells, but without a very good reputation for durability.
AC-Unities work and are just okay in most capacities. Durability is fine, reliability is *fine.* Very cheap though.
Hopefully KUSA makes 100-series style 5.56 mags for their 101 and 102 like they did for their 103 and 104. Time will tell.
@@007turtle1239 Have you tried the Zastava steel 5.56 mags? I don't own a 5.56 AK, but I've heard good things about them.
@@tj36b6 They don't fit in normal magwells, Yugoslav 5.56 magwells are different.
I want to get a Russian 30 round mag should I go for Molot or Izhmash? Or Izhmash steel slab? I barely got into AKs 🤎👌🏻
I forgot to mention I have a GF5-R from PSA in nutmeg (under folder) so I need to get a 30 round mag because I have a cheap plastic one that came with it (Pmag) I have a 40 round Molot mag coming in tomorrow but it doesn't clear the under folder from what I've seen, but I'm still keeping it
All three are reliable magazines so it would come down to personal preference. If you're into collecting, the slab-side and Izhmash magazines are a bit rarer so there's that to consider.
@@Feldmutze thank you for your advice I got the steel slab Izhmash do you know what is the hole for in the spine of the mag? I just got my Molot 40 round mag today