Steel Bulgarian AR-15 mags

Exspiravit

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People over on the AKFiles have been all aflutter over these things so I thought I'd buy a batch to see what the hubbub was about.

rE4IojG.jpg



These are steel, heavy duty, and feel substantial in the hand. As someone who is more familiar and used to AK mags, this feels on par with surplus kalash mags, and not light and delicate like commercial aluminum mags.
Finish is great- it seems like paint over park, and these come sealed in plastic bags, heavily oiled.

BQkwAFX.jpg


Floor plates are more AK than AR. Takes some muscle to slide them off. Entire inside of mag body is dripping with oil.

XVIONBb.jpg


PATM2QK.jpg


Follower is close to the old green style from the top, but are again, more like and AK follower once you take it out and look at it. It rides in one of the grooves of the mag body and should keep it from tilting.

yoqMO3z.jpg


All in all, very impressed with construction. Mag exhibits no flex when squeezed in the hand, locks in tight on the two rifles I tried it on and activates bolt hold open. It will be a while before I can try them out, but I'll update when I do.

If you have an account over on the files, you can see what people are saying over there:
http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386433

Same guy posting on Arfcom:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/Bulgarian-Steel-AR15-Mags/17-742628/

Clearview Investments seems to be the best source for them at the moment.
http://www.clearviewinvest.com/ar1522330rdmagazinesbulgariannewinplasticwrap.aspx
$9.24 a piece. Numrich wants $16.

Supposedly, the Bulgarian factory told Clearview that these were part of an Israeli order, but that can't be confirmed. One member on the 'Files did find this pic from the Ukraine:
Y1hgPb4l.jpg

Does appear to be the same magazine.

Possibly related, the Ukrainians are producing a licensed version of the Tavor. Maybe the Israelis threw in some mags or they were just bought from Bulgaria. Could be both. Arms trading around Eastern Europe is a convoluted mess.
 
The first pic in your post reminds me of a 30-round M1 carbine magazine

I recall many years ago when all the Brit steel AR mags hit the market. I wonder if these will become a mainstay...
 
Pmags are cheaper and don't rust or bend. IDK I use metal mags in AKs and plastic mags in ARs, several major wars have proven each just work.
 
Pmags are cheaper and don't rust or bend. IDK I use metal mags in AKs and plastic mags in ARs, several major wars have proven each just work.
These would actually be great to pair with an AK that has an AR mag adapter.
 
and...some people just like things because they look cool or want a bit of variety. $10 for a good steel mag isn't terrible.
 
Update on these. I've only got one cleaned up and out of plastic, but using it yesterday I was getting random FTE/double feeds on the last three rounds. Not sure what the problem is, need some more time to play with it see if I can replicate the malfunction every time.
 
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