Tango Down AK Mags

[Failure2Stop]

These sound really good, but one of the primary plusses for the AK was the fact that in dire straits one could easily beat someone to death with a steel AK mag

[Falboy]

Brownell's will have them in 6-8 wks. I just e:mailed my rep last week, so 5-7 wks I guess. Anybody know if they're gonna do O.D.?

[infidelprodigy]

I don't know if OD is on the horizon, right now it is just black and FDE. And trust me, there is steel in the feed lips. I would equate its construction to a glock mag (steel with polymer overbody) then anything else.

[tomalibrando]

There is no actual steel in the feed lip itself, just the bearing surfaces for magazine retention. Just to make sure, I contacted the mfr for clarification. Either way, they are pretty bomb proof. They were initially made for Scottsdale Gun Club (which is the primary vendor for now). Eventually, they will filter out to other places.

[LHS]

At $30 each, they're somewhat pricey for AK mags. Hopefully economy of scale will pull that down. TD makes good product, though, so I'm likely to buy a few.

[Toonces]

And trust me, there is steel in the feed lips. I would equate its construction to a glock mag (steel with polymer overbody) then anything else.

Really?

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=55&t=126305

This is so easy to put to bed. All US Palm needs to be do is show a picture of the metal cage before it is molded into the magazine. Or an X-ray next to a Circle-10 Bulgarian Waffle for easy comparison.

For $30 each, why should trust be needed on this particular issue? US Palm needs to prove it. In the threads I've seen, they have declined to provide any proof on the AK Forum or arfcom, and now a lot of people think they are liars.

[infidelprodigy]

Toonces,

My apologies, I typed my last post off og my phone and didn't proof read it properly. The AK30 has a solid metal cage around the top of the magazine from the front locking lug to the rear locking tab. However, the steel cage stops as the feed lips curve up. THe Circle-10's feed lips do have steel extending all the way up.

On the other hand, the Circle-10's utilize IIRC 4separate metal parts in the construction of their magazine (front lug, back tab, feed lip cage, front spine). The AK30 is of a more simple contruction. The steel cage is one piece that emcompasses the front lug, rear tab, and the side reinforcements around the feed lips and top of the magazine. It does not have a front metal spine because the floorplate is one with the mag body, thereby making a stronger structure (4-sided vs. 5-sided).

I have all three types of mags. I have dented and bent steel mags, I fractured a Circle-10 by using it as a makeshift hammer, causing a chunk in front of the feedlips to go flying and causing the follower to stick out, I have also beat the living shit out of the AK30's in front of the US PALM guys (and for free no less) and am satisfied with their ruggedness.

US PALM's polymer is far superior in strength of construction then the Bulgarians. It is just like the difference between an Orlite M4 mag and a Pmag. US made polymers are plain tougher.

All being said, I have a mix of US PALM and Circle-10's that are being used together. I am satisfied with both, however if I had to drop coin on more AK mags, I would go with US PALM based on the years of experience garnered with the AK and witnessing/participating in extensive testing of the various types all without anyone putting any $ in my pocket.

For everyone that refuses to progress past the steel mag mindset, can I interest you guys in NIW H&K M-4 mags? I would like more of the flimsy unreinforced Pmags........

[Toonces]

Toonces,

My apologies, I typed my last post off of my phone and didn't proof read it properly. The AK30 has a solid metal cage around the top of the magazine from the front locking lug to the rear locking tab. However, the steel cage stops as the feed lips curve up. THe Circle-10's feed lips do have steel extending all the way up.

On the other hand, the Circle-10's utilize IIRC 4separate metal parts in the construction of their magazine (front lug, back tab, feed lip cage, front spine). The AK30 is of a more simple construction. The steel cage is one piece that emcompasses the front lug, rear tab, and the side reinforcements around the feed lips and top of the magazine. It does not have a front metal spine because the floorplate is one with the mag body, thereby making a stronger structure (4-sided vs. 5-sided).

I have all three types of mags. I have dented and bent steel mags, I fractured a Circle-10 by using it as a makeshift hammer, causing a chunk in front of the feedlips to go flying and causing the follower to stick out, I have also beat the living shit out of the AK30's in front of the US PALM guys (and for free no less) and am satisfied with their ruggedness.

US PALM's polymer is far superior in strength of construction then the Bulgarians. It is just like the difference between an Orlite M4 mag and a Pmag. US made polymers are plain tougher.

All being said, I have a mix of US PALM and Circle-10's that are being used together. I am satisfied with both, however if I had to drop coin on more AK mags, I would go with US PALM based on the years of experience garnered with the AK and witnessing/participating in extensive testing of the various types all without anyone putting any $ in my pocket.

For everyone that refuses to progress past the steel mag mindset, can I interest you guys in NIW H&K M-4 mags? I would like more of the flimsy unreinforced Pmags........

Great response, and no apologies needed on my account.

I recall reading something on the US PALM website that said the feedlips were steel reinforced, but there were no pictures or proof. This, combined with when people got their mags and there was no steel in the feedlips, helped things turn ugly on the other sites.

I'm not saying the Circle-10s are the best, but they are a good baseline, well known and respected. They are also an old design, so it should be possible to better them with today's technology. The question is can the new mags better them enough to justify the price tag?

I wish US PALM all the best, but they would have been better off with steel in the feedlips IMO, even if their polymer is so strong it is not needed (it's like a 3000 mile oil change). If they had done that, the only major complaint would be price, and that is flexible if the production volumes can be increased. These mags are not being compared with USGI AR mags, they will be compared against $9 steel mags. Unless three AK30s are better than 10 steel combloc mags, this is going to be a tough sell.

[Moose-Knuckle]

They look promising and I will get at least one in every color for my collection, with that said...

I wonder what would happen if you had an over pressure round since the floor plate on a typical AK mag is designed to blow down and out away from the shooter? With the mag body being one piece I would assume that it would blow out to the sides showering the shooter with plastic and metal shards.

[The_War_Wagon]

Those ARE nice! Now I wish I didn't already own some 3 dozen Chinese & Combloc mags for my one AK!