Mags into AIA 7,62x39 question

[froggy]

Are any of you guys shooting an AIA in 7,62x39 use real AK47 mags ?
In your experience which ones, ie country/model, are the best in the Aussie rifle ?

I can feed 100% reliably using my one & only AIA made 10 rounds mag. On sunday I needed more than one so I took some Korean mags. They work faultlessly into an AK but not so well into my AIA. The problem seems that the back of the round tilts a bit & does not always sit perfectly horizontally, resulting in the bolt either not catching the round at all or catching it on the side of the case and therefore not pushing it straight into the chamber.

Red bakelite Russian mags not fitting into the AIA I was left with a Hungarian mag (I think ?) that worked ok-ish giving me "only" 2 or 3 mis-feeding over 90 odd rounds. Not perfect but it saved the day.

[bnz41]

Hi froggy,

Found this, useful as a spare for you http://www.gunstar.co.uk/australian-arm ... ies/779889 may not have the capacity your after.

[Sixshot6]

How about some of the magpul or tapco mags? Since they are polymer you might be able to file away when needed to get the amount of play you need? Does that sound a good idea at all?

[Alpha1]

The one on gunstar looks like a original ten round magazine. I went the other way I bought a 5 round magazine for mine. I find the ten round one makes the rifle awkward to shoot off hand. The 5 round one is much better. I can not remember were I got it from unfortunately. I only shoot cast boolits in it any way. I prefer a leisurely shoot now a days rather than ammo intensive sessions.
Must be my age.

[polemass]

Froggy-This mag from gunstar looks the same like I have-10rds from polish ak-gn,black or grey phosfate,if you want one send me pm

[meles meles]

We find most AK type magazines feed awkwardly in our AIA 7.62x39 carbine, and some don't fit at all. Those magazines that don't fit seem to have a slightly thicker rear wall, only a few thousandths of an inch, but it makes them difficult to insert and harder still to remove. Feeding seems to be dependent upon the position of the round in the magazine: those to the left of the stack feed well but those from the right tend to pivot forward slightly and then jam.

We have no problems at all with the AIA magazine.

[Alpha1]

If I remember right I had to do a bit of fettling on the five round one I bought but it works perfectly now. Its as least as good as the original in fact I can not remember were the original is its that long since I used it. I removed the flash hider from mine as well and made and fitted a thread protector. The barrel crown was really grunged up there was all sorts of crud under the flash hider when I took it off. Now that I have the correct boolit mould for it I use nothing but cast in it. It cycles the cast boolits no problem. Its great fun.

[snayperskaya]

Tovarisch Froggy!!!......Russian Bakelites in an Imperialistic Vintovka!!!, some "re-education" may be in order.....

On a serious note would Hungarian 20r "tanker" mags be worth a try and a compromise in size.your problem may be due to the different mag follower types used in AK mags that can position the round slightly differently in relation to the chamber.Whereas this may not be a problem in an AK variant with their more generous tolerances it may be a problem in the AIA which I would imagine has tighter tolerances.
It might be worth trying the AIA follower in an AK mag and see how that goes.

[froggy]

Many thanks to you all Comrads with those many suggestions & help - I most appreciate it


Good find BNZ I will first go down the road of the AIA one on Guntrader & one of those Polish mags & see how they behave in the Aussie rifle .
If that is not satisfactory, you are correct & one of those filed to fit magpul or tapco polymer mag would be also a good option to try.

Alpha, I like the look of the 5 rounds but I do need minimum 10. If you ever find your 10 you know where it could see some active service

We find most AK type magazines feed awkwardly in our AIA 7.62x39 carbine, and some don't fit at all
"So B" , have you noticed a pattern in terms of country's Mdl in those that don't fit at all ? ie should I avoid, lets say the Romanian, Bulgarian ?

Russian Bakelites in an Imperialistic Vintovka!!!, some "re-education" may be in order.....
Don't think I'll need my swimming suit in Siberia ? Anyway , I blame it all on that dammed perestroika !!
Ideally fitting anti-tilting followers, if they existed, would probably sort the prob .

The annoying thing is that all my AK stuff is stored in the Czech Rep including Bulgy polymer I'd like to try in the AIA . Bummer .

[snayperskaya]

"So B" , have you noticed a pattern in terms of country's Mdl in those that don't fit at all ? ie should I avoid, lets say the Romanian, Bulgarian ?

The problem you have there is unless someone is clued up on which AK mags are from which country it is often quite difficult to differentiate between different countries mags, especially 30r steels.Often the diffence can be as subtle as a different shaped "witness" hole (Yugo mags have a more triangular shaped hole) or a slightly different rib pattern or finish or follower shape, even the size/shape/position of spotwelds and whether they have a spine or a "flat-back".
Korean mags are often a greyish phosphate finish and are usually pretty poor, you can't really go wrong with Chicom or Combloc steels.Circle 10 Bulgarian mags are good, either steel or polymer.
As someone else said those T#pco or Magpul mags might be easier to fettle......plus it would keep a couple of them off AKs!!!