Palm AK30 or M3 Pmag?

[Gaujo]

I'm trying to get a set of polymer mags with metal locking lugs, and I'm down to these two. What do you recommend?

 

[Uncle Billy]

I wouldn't recommend them......stick to military AK mags.

 

[Gaujo]

I wouldn't recommend them......stick to military AK mags.

Surplus or new built metal?

 

[OldBesty]

Surplus (new built metal from Korea and Croatia are not so great)

I am curious for Uncle Billy to expound on why he doesn't recommend the mags you originally queried. To me they are both acceptable options (the Palm most likely to run issue of tight fit). Bulgarian Circle 10 Waffles are best polymer.

 

[Gaujo]

Yea all I'm seeing for sale are the Korean and croatian.

I'm trying to get 4 that are as reliable as can be for less than $30, and then about 4 more just for range use.

 

[OldBesty]

I would not write off the Croatian mags. Their issue is they are known for having locking lugs being slight out of spec. If you buy some and they have issues locking, they can easily be remedied in few minutes with a file. Once corrected they should be just as good and reliable as any surplus. So if the price is right, I wouldn't hesitate to get some.

Korean mags are however known for cheap, thin steel and really poor finish causing them to rust easily. There have been improvements but they are still subpar and nowhere near as robust as surplus.


You can still find good Polish Radom surplus for under $20.

For range use, Pmag M2 are cheap and reliably. Its not necessary to pay more for the steel reinforced lug.

 

[Deerhurst]

PMags work fine. US Palm are retarded as garbage in the AK world.

The korean mags have 2 distinct generations. Early mags have a grey finish. These are the ones people rag on. I have several and they've never let me down. The new gen mags are more.of a black paint or black epoxy coating. These seem to be liked.

You didn't say if it's a 47 or a 74 or a 101, etc. I mostly run 74s in 5.45. Bulgarian surplus poly mags are my go to there. Not cheap but extremely reliable.

When I competed with my 47 I ran the old korean mags and PMags. Polish are good. Bulgy steel are good.

In reality basically any mag will work.

There is a thread on this exact subject at the AKFiles right now.

 

[Gaujo]

PMags work fine. US Palm are retarded as garbage in the AK world.

The korean mags have 2 distinct generations. Early mags have a grey finish. These are the ones people rag on. I have several and they've never let me down. The new gen mags are more.of a black paint or black epoxy coating. These seem to be liked.

You didn't say if it's a 47 or a 74 or a 101, etc. I mostly run 74s in 5.45. Bulgarian surplus poly mags are my go to there. Not cheap but extremely reliable.

When I competed with my 47 I ran the old korean mags and PMags. Polish are good. Bulgy steel are good.

In reality basically any mag will work.

There is a thread on this exact subject at the AKFiles right now.

Link me up Scotty? What's the word on romanian surplus? That's the only available I'm finding for $22 from apex gun parts.

 

[root]

I love the AC unity mags for the 556/223 and the AK 7.62x39

Bosnia was at war not that long ago and def. got the unity mags right.

And I'm "that guy" that hates poly mags unless that was OEM to the gun like AUG or Glock.

So for me Pmags are out for the AR or AK.

Nothing wrong with poly mags I'm just used to metal or aluminum and prefer them when I can get them.

I also like the NEW korean mags CDNN sells for 9 and 10 bux also.

The AC unity mags have metal tabs molded in and LRBHO feature that is your typical AK holds open till you remove the mag.

I can't speak highly enough about the unity AC mags I have bought.

 

[Deerhurst]

Link me up Scotty? What's the word on romanian surplus? That's the only available I'm finding for $22 from apex gun parts.

https://www.akfiles.com/forums/threads/which-ak-mags-are-the-best-for-stockpiling.430609

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

Romy mags should be fine. For 99% of what most people do with an AK any ol PMag is fine. I cut them down for 20s for my Suchka.


Root; as much as I love metal mags they are, in a way, more prone to damage vs the polys. I've had metal mags dent and become non functional when poly mags just bounce off the dirt and come for more. I'm a sucker for bakelite though too. It's so pretty

 

[root]

Ya I kow the plastic mags are OK.
But when I saw a few pix of Pmags split on the net I took all mine NIW to a gunshow last Sept 2019 and as able to trade then 1:1 for surefeeds NIW
I only have like Pmags 3 left & four bulgy composite AK mags.
It's just a mental thing on my part like mentioned I know they work as the AUG, glock & Evo all have plastic mags straight from the 1st design & release.

I've also got ramline mags that have cracked lips from the late 80's for my marlin 70

Mags are disposable just hoard them up so you always have enough.

One thing I will say is no matter what AK mag you get, Buy foreign made ones.
For some reason the USA can not make a decent AK mag and has only made a 1/2 decent AK over the last 10 years or so.

 

[Gaujo]

https://www.akfiles.com/forums/threads/which-ak-mags-are-the-best-for-stockpiling.430609

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

Romy mags should be fine. For 99% of what most people do with an AK any ol PMag is fine. I cut them down for 20s for my Suchka.


Root; as much as I love metal mags they are, in a way, more prone to damage vs the polys. I've had metal mags dent and become non functional when poly mags just bounce off the dirt and come for more. I'm a sucker for bakelite though too. It's so pretty

Cant get that to work. Do you have to be logged in?

 

[root]

Me either and since they got hacked my email is no longer in their system to reset my psswrd

 

[Deerhurst]

Cant get that to work. Do you have to be logged in?

You may need to be logged in after the new board came up theyve been locking down certain sections.

 

[Deerhurst]

Ya I kow the plastic mags are OK.
But when I saw a few pix of Pmags split on the net I took all mine NIW to a gunshow last Sept 2019 and as able to trade then 1:1 for surefeeds NIW
I only have like Pmags 3 left & four bulgy composite AK mags.
It's just a mental thing on my part like mentioned I know they work as the AUG, glock & Evo all have plastic mags straight from the 1st design & release.

I've also got ramline mags that have cracked lips from the late 80's for my marlin 70

Mags are disposable just hoard them up so you always have enough.

One thing I will say is no matter what AK mag you get, Buy foreign made ones.
For some reason the USA can not make a decent AK mag and has only made a 1/2 decent AK over the last 10 years or so.

Only decent US made AK I've come across is the PSA. Century built is garbage. Imports are fine.

There are fantastic US mags. Folks like CSSpecs make mags that are arguably better than the ones from the factory. I run his mags in my vepr12 and saiga 20.

I'm first an AK nut. I collect Russian and Bulgarian AKs and compete with them. Saiga are the majority of my AK collection. Unfortunately I don't know as much about AK stuff as I'd like.

 

[OldBesty]

30 Round AK-47 Mag - Polish Military - New in Wrap Condition - Ridge-Back European Type Magazine


"Polish Military 30 Round AK47 magazines. These are new in wrap condition surplus mags that were made for military use many years ago. Heavy duty true mil-spec mags, not newly made commercial mags."


Pricey and if "NIW" is actually believable.

 

[Gaujo]

Narrowing down to croatian for main and ac unity for range mags. Thanks for all the advice. Any further experience on croatian mags?

 

[OldBesty]

There are videos on youtube depicting where to file material from the top part of the lug if you run into issues with it not clearing the center rivet. It should also be easy to visualize precisely where problem occurs if you look from top with the dust cover off while seating the mag.

 

[Deerhurst]

SGAmmo is doing their panic pricing on everything right now.

I think I'd go croatian over AC unity as I've never tried the AC unity mags. For the price you can't go wrong with PMags.


If they fit, they fit. AKs require more fitting than one would expect. I learned that when building Bulgarian kits.

 

[Bret]

These Bulgarian polymer magazines are good to go and significantly less expensive than the Bulgarian waffle magazines.
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/bulgari...nd-reinforced-steel-lug-polymer-magazine.html