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[#1]
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[#2]
Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: OHHH ok because its not a Krink you are ok with a PSA trunnion failing at only 500 rounds...Ok that makes sense. I don't know what I was thinking. You guys are right PSA is proven & just as good as Combloc and Imports. Absolutely nothing wrong with there stuff. They are 100% built to there own specs with the highest quality metal in the industry. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Ok. This discussion thread is on the krink even if it has the same trunnion it's not a krink. OHHH ok because its not a Krink you are ok with a PSA trunnion failing at only 500 rounds...Ok that makes sense. I don't know what I was thinking. You guys are right PSA is proven & just as good as Combloc and Imports. Absolutely nothing wrong with there stuff. They are 100% built to there own specs with the highest quality metal in the industry. So start another thread on 104s from psa and quit trashing this thread. |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#3]
Originally Posted By d16man: He just wants to argue and slam PSA. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By d16man: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: So it's from a 104 and not even from a krink. Same exact PSA 104 trunnion that's in the PSA KRINK WITH ONLY 500 rounds through it. JUNK! Ok. This discussion thread is on the krink even if it has the same trunnion it's not a krink. He just wants to argue and slam PSA. Akfiles guy for sure |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#4]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Originally Posted By d16man: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: So it's from a 104 and not even from a krink. Same exact PSA 104 trunnion that's in the PSA KRINK WITH ONLY 500 rounds through it. JUNK! Ok. This discussion thread is on the krink even if it has the same trunnion it's not a krink. He just wants to argue and slam PSA. Akfiles guy for sure Without a doubt. |
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"Some people have issues. Sounds like he signed up for an entire subscription." ~Brohawk
Proud member of Team Ranstad. Arfcom St Jude Mafia 3 years Arfcom callsign: trenchfoot |
[#5]
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[Last Edit: Norsk]
[#6]
Their, they're, there - let's simmer down.
Some beautiful krinks in this thread. Wonder how long before they will run out of the receiver flats with the wandering selector markings. They're like a mis-stamped coin, it adds character. |
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[Last Edit: KDG_Dave]
[#7]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: So start another thread on 104s from psa and quit trashing this thread. View Quote Oh you its ok for you and others to mention 104 and even post pics of them as well as mention AR Upper PSA products as reliable in this thread but its not ok for me to mention & prove a PSA AK failures in this thread...Got it. |
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[#8]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure View Quote You bet I am. Been on there and others for a while. A lot of assholes like myself on there but at least we are honest and don't brush failures under the rug like it never happened. Its all good though let's bury the hatchet and move on. Like I said you guys are right PSA builds quality AK's and no gun is perfect. All of those 100s and 100's of PSA AK failures on the files is irrelevant. They build solid AK's. Im proud to own mine. Was just really disappointed in it and I think rightfully so. Ill lower my standard a bit and except it is what it is. |
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[#9]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure View Quote We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. |
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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[#10]
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[#11]
Originally Posted By Dragynn: We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Dragynn: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. Not me. And I don’t say that out of malice. It just didn’t offer much when theakforum was in full swing. By the time surplus and imports were dying, it just wasn’t a very interesting conversation. |
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Don't you tell me about galaxies! I walk them in the timeline.
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[Last Edit: KDG_Dave]
[#12]
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[#13]
Originally Posted By Dragynn: We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Dragynn: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. Same here. Marketplace was great. Haven't posted over there in many years. Too much drama and bs over there. Like this bunch much better |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#14]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Same here. Marketplace was great. Haven't posted over there in many years. Too much drama and bs over there. Like this bunch much better View Quote Lol, I was checking my old hard-drive earlier and I still have your address from when I bought or sold something to you, can't remember what it was. Sorry about that, I usually delete addresses/names after the transaction for security reasons, and I did so after I found it, but was kinda cool seeing it and trying to remember what it was that changed hands. |
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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[#15]
Originally Posted By Dragynn: Lol, I was checking my old hard-drive earlier and I still have your address from when I bought or sold something to you, can't remember what it was. Sorry about that, I usually delete addresses/names after the transaction for security reasons, and I did so after I found it, but was kinda cool seeing it and trying to remember what it was that changed hands. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Dragynn: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Same here. Marketplace was great. Haven't posted over there in many years. Too much drama and bs over there. Like this bunch much better Lol, I was checking my old hard-drive earlier and I still have your address from when I bought or sold something to you, can't remember what it was. Sorry about that, I usually delete addresses/names after the transaction for security reasons, and I did so after I found it, but was kinda cool seeing it and trying to remember what it was that changed hands. No problem,it's cool. I have moved since then. I do remember buying some things from you when I was heavily into AKs. Probably some ammo or parts knowing me. |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#16]
Originally Posted By fike: Not me. And I don’t say that out of malice. It just didn’t offer much when theakforum was in full swing. By the time surplus and imports were dying, it just wasn’t a very interesting conversation. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By fike: Originally Posted By Dragynn: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Akfiles guy for sure We all were at some point. Back in the day the marketplace was the bomb-diddly for AK parts. Now not so much, and the rest of it turned me into a rager. Logged off more than a year ago and never logged back on, and don't miss it a bit. Feeling much better these days. Not me. And I don’t say that out of malice. It just didn’t offer much when theakforum was in full swing. By the time surplus and imports were dying, it just wasn’t a very interesting conversation. I remember the heady days of AK-47.Net and Campy Bob |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[#17]
Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: I actually picked up these handguards pretty cheap last week from the files, and sling from that forum too. Got rid of 4 of these braces on there a couple weeks ago. Some cool stuff pops up on there. FRT with the ALG for the win! https://i.imgur.com/ESesX0A.jpeg View Quote If you come across another one of those braces, I would definitely buy it |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[#18]
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[#19]
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[#20]
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[#21]
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[#22]
Ummm link?
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[#23]
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[Last Edit: cyclone]
[#24]
Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: More are being made actually. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: Originally Posted By cyclone: If you come across another one of those braces, I would definitely buy it More are being made actually. Same company? Give me a link, I have some money to burn KD GunWerx ? |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[#25]
Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: F*Ck off... https://i.imgur.com/m6vmNHZ.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/4z4fwEy.jpeg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: Originally Posted By DoorKicker: show us the link or get out of here with that BS F*Ck off... https://i.imgur.com/m6vmNHZ.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/4z4fwEy.jpeg Easy guys.....let's please not get this thread locked and I don't want to see anybody get a timeout over differing opinions. Mods have eased up a bit in this section, let's not give them a reason to drop a hammer. |
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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[Last Edit: cyclone]
[#26]
Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: I actually picked up these handguards pretty cheap last week from the files, and sling from that forum too. Got rid of 4 of these braces on there a couple weeks ago. Some cool stuff pops up on there. FRT with the ALG for the win! https://i.imgur.com/ESesX0A.jpeg View Quote What mods did you have to do to make it fit the PSA trunion? Yours looks alot like the one they have on their site |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[#27]
Originally Posted By cyclone: What mods did you have to do to make it fit the PSA trunion? Yours looks alot like the one they have on their site View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By KDG_Dave: I actually picked up these handguards pretty cheap last week from the files, and sling from that forum too. Got rid of 4 of these braces on there a couple weeks ago. Some cool stuff pops up on there. FRT with the ALG for the win! https://i.imgur.com/ESesX0A.jpeg What mods did you have to do to make it fit the PSA trunion? Yours looks alot like the one they have on their site Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#28]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace View Quote "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. |
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[Last Edit: cyclone]
[#29]
Originally Posted By Norsk: "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Norsk: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. They are supposedly in pre production.......coming back out soon as a limited run. They won't fit the PSA Krink without modifications, but they don't tell what they are......at least that's what they said when I looked at it yesterday. That website is weird |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[#30]
Originally Posted By Norsk: "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Norsk: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. Link worked when I posted it. Website looks very suspicious. Buyer beware |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#31]
Originally Posted By cyclone: They are supposedly in pre production.......coming back out soon as a limited run. They won't fit the PSA Krink without modifications, but they don't tell what they are......at least that's what they said when I looked at it yesterday. That website is weird View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By Norsk: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. They are supposedly in pre production.......coming back out soon as a limited run. They won't fit the PSA Krink without modifications, but they don't tell what they are......at least that's what they said when I looked at it yesterday. That website is weird Very scammy looking for sure |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#32]
Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Very scammy looking for sure View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By Norsk: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. They are supposedly in pre production.......coming back out soon as a limited run. They won't fit the PSA Krink without modifications, but they don't tell what they are......at least that's what they said when I looked at it yesterday. That website is weird Very scammy looking for sure Now it works again............ |
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[Last Edit: dryflash3]
[#33]
Originally Posted By cyclone: Now it works again............ View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By Norsk: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Sure does https://www.kdgunwerx.com/product-page/kusa-kp-9-folding-triangle-brace "Product could not be found" - must've ceased production. They are supposedly in pre production.......coming back out soon as a limited run. They won't fit the PSA Krink without modifications, but they don't tell what they are......at least that's what they said when I looked at it yesterday. That website is weird Very scammy looking for sure Now it works again............ Please save the memes for GD, thanks. dryflash3 |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#34]
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Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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[#35]
Added a Tango Down grip. Much better feel than the popsicle stick grip
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#36]
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"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction"
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[Last Edit: FlyLeaf]
[#37]
Originally Posted By cyclone: I've considered doing the same to mine........i hear they are much better grips View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By cyclone: Originally Posted By FlyLeaf: Added a Tango Down grip. Much better feel than the popsicle stick grip I've considered doing the same to mine........i hear they are much better grips Yes much better grip angle. Also has compartment to store stuff https://tangodown.com/bg-ak-battlegrip/ |
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Neotopiaman -"Communism could take over the Sahara and have a shortage of sand."
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM |
[#38]
Originally Posted By --FLEET--: First test fire with the krink. Didn’t clean or lube it so it’s as it came from the factory. Only had a couple mags worth of tula steel cased but it functioned without issue. Wolf gold seems to run fine in the factory mag and the brown bulgy gun mag warehouse mags. Getting some FTF’s with the plum and Bakelite with the pod arms followers. Might try to file/sand some areas of the followers to present the rounds a bit higher. Happy so far. Irons seem reasonably zeroed but haven’t put it on paper. Was just plinking at pop bottles at 30 yards https://i.imgur.com/1kNr6i7.jpeg. View Quote God kills a kitten every time a 3d-printed 5.56 follower gets put in a 5.45 magazine. Stick with 5.56 magazines - AC-U, polymer Zastava, WBP, FB Radom, Arsenal, PSA, the Bulgarians from GMG. Plenty of choices in the market to avoid that voodoo. |
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Support the Firearms Policy Coalition and help save the Second Amendment: https://www.firearmspolicy.org
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[#39]
Originally Posted By Findsman: God kills a kitten every time a 3d-printed 5.56 follower gets put in a 5.45 magazine. Stick with 5.56 magazines - AC-U, polymer Zastava, WBP, FB Radom, Arsenal, PSA, the Bulgarians from GMG. Plenty of choices in the market to avoid that voodoo. View Quote I have some 556 followers in an East German Bakelite mag (I picked about a dozen up when they were like $12/4pk in pouch from Century back in the day.) and i seem to get good reliability with it out of my Polish Mini-Beryl converted to tradiational Krink. |
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[#40]
If they worked I'd kill about 6 more kittens
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[#41]
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[#42]
Originally Posted By DoorKicker: The two I converted work great. But I have never tried steel case, only brass. Not sure that would make a difference though. View Quote I think this a AKFiles Gunsmithing Forum hallucination part of a belief system there that the Cult members there must recite from the few there that are acting like authorities on the AK subject. You know PSA AKs explode, 556 followers in AK74 mags, 5.45 is actually a poisoned bullet - that kind of AKFiles religion. Lots of people regurgitate internet stupidity vs real experiences. |
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[#43]
Originally Posted By cherenkov: I think this a AKFiles Gunsmithing Forum hallucination part of a belief system there that the Cult members there must recite from the few there that are acting like authorities on the AK subject. You know PSA AKs explode, 556 followers in AK74 mags, 5.45 is actually a poisoned bullet - that kind of AKFiles religion. Lots of people regurgitate internet stupidity vs real experiences. View Quote I'm not from the AKFiles. My opinion is based on being part of the AK community since 2003 and buying 5.56 AKs for 20 years. The followers trick started off with Century trying to resolve limited availability of 5.56 magazines for their imported Romanian SAR-3, since that's about coincident with bakelites being extremely cheap and common (Century would paint a black strip around the bottom of the ones they put 5.56 followers in) and the proper Weiger-style mags being rare. (The SAR-3 being an evolution of an East German prototype that never went into production before the Wall fell.) Maybe the Pod followers have different geometry, but the Century ones sucked. Conflated with case taper of 5.45 and 5.56 leading towards different magazine curvatures being optimal for the cartridges. It was a bad solution then and led to people labeling the guns themselves as finicky and unreliable despite using a garbage magazine. It didn't help that Century's 922R compliance hammer had bad geometry as well, leading to often inconsistent firing pin impacts and damage to the bolt stem. Arsenal came along a few years later with their 5.56 guns (with their proprietary yet reliable magazine design) and magazine availability for them was initially good and affordable. At the time, most people still turned their noses up at 5.56 AKs since they weren't the "classic" commie calibers. That lasted up until about 2008, when Obama got elected and Arsenal started to play stupid games with their pricing and what were $18 magazines became $25 then $35 then $50 magazines. It sucked because they were the gold standard in 5.56 AK mags. But whatever, the other ammo was cheaper and more available so no one really cared. Now with Russian ammo being cut off, a lot of people looking to dabble in AKs are drawn to 5.56 ones. But $50 magazines suck and there's still some availability of surplus 5.45 magazines on the market, so the follower trick comes back. Maybe it was a decent idea in this time period. I invested in Arsenal and had a decent stash of their magazines before they got dollar crazed so I stuck with an OEM design. Century brought in a bunch of surplus Serbian M85/M90 mags in this period as well, but there were probably more mags than Yugo 5.56 AKs to use them in. That situation essentially lasted until a few years ago when the overseas markets finally started responding to the demand. Not sure if it was entirely US commercial market or some global military demand since NATO ammo-compatible AKs made sense for many FSU nations but it doesn't really matter. All those options exist now that are properly designed for the Bulgarian/Russian/Polish/Serbian magazine well, proper curvature to support the stack from the case taper, and proper feed lip geometry to position the case for the bolt to pick up on cycling. Maybe the Pod followers can approximate that. But when properly designed options exist from $11 or so, I would say it isn't the best idea to invest in that. (I gave Magpul a rash of crap for their inability to timely release new products or seemingly innovate anymore, but they do get magazine geometry down to a science. Compare the designs of their various 5.56 magazines between AR, AUG, G36, etc and they are consistent. Then compare to their 5.45 AK mag. Note how different they are because they need to be. Anyone that's played with 5.45 ARs has experienced this as well, 5.45 does not feed very well in 5.56 mags.) I would say purchasing a handful to convert because it looks cool is fine, God knows I have some sketchy yet cool-looking magazines. Or maybe you stacked deep when ORF blew out the surplus 5.45 mags so it doesn't really cost anything to try it out. Someone new coming into the community might think it's a great approach without knowing it stands a good chance of requiring tweaking or flat not working at all. So I try to be cheeky and say "God kills a kitten" and suggest other options because I've seen several cycles of people condemning 5.56 AKs as crap when dodgy magazines are used. I'm not trying to be an authority - I'm trying to share twenty years of observations that the follower route is likely to be disappointing and frustrating when here in 2024 we have a variety of excellent purpose-designed magazines available. |
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Support the Firearms Policy Coalition and help save the Second Amendment: https://www.firearmspolicy.org
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[#44]
Originally Posted By Findsman: I'm not from the AKFiles. My opinion is based on being part of the AK community since 2003 and buying 5.56 AKs for 20 years. The followers trick started off with Century trying to resolve limited availability of 5.56 magazines for their imported Romanian SAR-3, since that's about coincident with bakelites being extremely cheap and common (Century would paint a black strip around the bottom of the ones they put 5.56 followers in) and the proper Weiger-style mags being rare. (The SAR-3 being an evolution of an East German prototype that never went into production before the Wall fell.) Maybe the Pod followers have different geometry, but the Century ones sucked. Conflated with case taper of 5.45 and 5.56 leading towards different magazine curvatures being optimal for the cartridges. It was a bad solution then and led to people labeling the guns themselves as finicky and unreliable despite using a garbage magazine. It didn't help that Century's 922R compliance hammer had bad geometry as well, leading to often inconsistent firing pin impacts and damage to the bolt stem. Arsenal came along a few years later with their 5.56 guns (with their proprietary yet reliable magazine design) and magazine availability for them was initially good and affordable. At the time, most people still turned their noses up at 5.56 AKs since they weren't the "classic" commie calibers. That lasted up until about 2008, when Obama got elected and Arsenal started to play stupid games with their pricing and what were $18 magazines became $25 then $35 then $50 magazines. It sucked because they were the gold standard in 5.56 AK mags. But whatever, the other ammo was cheaper and more available so no one really cared. Now with Russian ammo being cut off, a lot of people looking to dabble in AKs are drawn to 5.56 ones. But $50 magazines suck and there's still some availability of surplus 5.45 magazines on the market, so the follower trick comes back. Maybe it was a decent idea in this time period. I invested in Arsenal and had a decent stash of their magazines before they got dollar crazed so I stuck with an OEM design. Century brought in a bunch of surplus Serbian M85/M90 mags in this period as well, but there were probably more mags than Yugo 5.56 AKs to use them in. That situation essentially lasted until a few years ago when the overseas markets finally started responding to the demand. Not sure if it was entirely US commercial market or some global military demand since NATO ammo-compatible AKs made sense for many FSU nations but it doesn't really matter. All those options exist now that are properly designed for the Bulgarian/Russian/Polish/Serbian magazine well, proper curvature to support the stack from the case taper, and proper feed lip geometry to position the case for the bolt to pick up on cycling. Maybe the Pod followers can approximate that. But when properly designed options exist from $11 or so, I would say it isn't the best idea to invest in that. (I gave Magpul a rash of crap for their inability to timely release new products or seemingly innovate anymore, but they do get magazine geometry down to a science. Compare the designs of their various 5.56 magazines between AR, AUG, G36, etc and they are consistent. Then compare to their 5.45 AK mag. Note how different they are because they need to be. Anyone that's played with 5.45 ARs has experienced this as well, 5.45 does not feed very well in 5.56 mags.) I would say purchasing a handful to convert because it looks cool is fine, God knows I have some sketchy yet cool-looking magazines. Or maybe you stacked deep when ORF blew out the surplus 5.45 mags so it doesn't really cost anything to try it out. Someone new coming into the community might think it's a great approach without knowing it stands a good chance of requiring tweaking or flat not working at all. So I try to be cheeky and say "God kills a kitten" and suggest other options because I've seen several cycles of people condemning 5.56 AKs as crap when dodgy magazines are used. I'm not trying to be an authority - I'm trying to share twenty years of observations that the follower route is likely to be disappointing and frustrating when here in 2024 we have a variety of excellent purpose-designed magazines available. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Findsman: Originally Posted By cherenkov: I think this a AKFiles Gunsmithing Forum hallucination part of a belief system there that the Cult members there must recite from the few there that are acting like authorities on the AK subject. You know PSA AKs explode, 556 followers in AK74 mags, 5.45 is actually a poisoned bullet - that kind of AKFiles religion. Lots of people regurgitate internet stupidity vs real experiences. I'm not from the AKFiles. My opinion is based on being part of the AK community since 2003 and buying 5.56 AKs for 20 years. The followers trick started off with Century trying to resolve limited availability of 5.56 magazines for their imported Romanian SAR-3, since that's about coincident with bakelites being extremely cheap and common (Century would paint a black strip around the bottom of the ones they put 5.56 followers in) and the proper Weiger-style mags being rare. (The SAR-3 being an evolution of an East German prototype that never went into production before the Wall fell.) Maybe the Pod followers have different geometry, but the Century ones sucked. Conflated with case taper of 5.45 and 5.56 leading towards different magazine curvatures being optimal for the cartridges. It was a bad solution then and led to people labeling the guns themselves as finicky and unreliable despite using a garbage magazine. It didn't help that Century's 922R compliance hammer had bad geometry as well, leading to often inconsistent firing pin impacts and damage to the bolt stem. Arsenal came along a few years later with their 5.56 guns (with their proprietary yet reliable magazine design) and magazine availability for them was initially good and affordable. At the time, most people still turned their noses up at 5.56 AKs since they weren't the "classic" commie calibers. That lasted up until about 2008, when Obama got elected and Arsenal started to play stupid games with their pricing and what were $18 magazines became $25 then $35 then $50 magazines. It sucked because they were the gold standard in 5.56 AK mags. But whatever, the other ammo was cheaper and more available so no one really cared. Now with Russian ammo being cut off, a lot of people looking to dabble in AKs are drawn to 5.56 ones. But $50 magazines suck and there's still some availability of surplus 5.45 magazines on the market, so the follower trick comes back. Maybe it was a decent idea in this time period. I invested in Arsenal and had a decent stash of their magazines before they got dollar crazed so I stuck with an OEM design. Century brought in a bunch of surplus Serbian M85/M90 mags in this period as well, but there were probably more mags than Yugo 5.56 AKs to use them in. That situation essentially lasted until a few years ago when the overseas markets finally started responding to the demand. Not sure if it was entirely US commercial market or some global military demand since NATO ammo-compatible AKs made sense for many FSU nations but it doesn't really matter. All those options exist now that are properly designed for the Bulgarian/Russian/Polish/Serbian magazine well, proper curvature to support the stack from the case taper, and proper feed lip geometry to position the case for the bolt to pick up on cycling. Maybe the Pod followers can approximate that. But when properly designed options exist from $11 or so, I would say it isn't the best idea to invest in that. (I gave Magpul a rash of crap for their inability to timely release new products or seemingly innovate anymore, but they do get magazine geometry down to a science. Compare the designs of their various 5.56 magazines between AR, AUG, G36, etc and they are consistent. Then compare to their 5.45 AK mag. Note how different they are because they need to be. Anyone that's played with 5.45 ARs has experienced this as well, 5.45 does not feed very well in 5.56 mags.) I would say purchasing a handful to convert because it looks cool is fine, God knows I have some sketchy yet cool-looking magazines. Or maybe you stacked deep when ORF blew out the surplus 5.45 mags so it doesn't really cost anything to try it out. Someone new coming into the community might think it's a great approach without knowing it stands a good chance of requiring tweaking or flat not working at all. So I try to be cheeky and say "God kills a kitten" and suggest other options because I've seen several cycles of people condemning 5.56 AKs as crap when dodgy magazines are used. I'm not trying to be an authority - I'm trying to share twenty years of observations that the follower route is likely to be disappointing and frustrating when here in 2024 we have a variety of excellent purpose-designed magazines available. One caveat/addition on the Arsenal mag pricing. It took them a bit to corner the market (Chief Thunder, etc.), but ultimately they still had many years of quasi-surplus supply (Gen 1) before they were forced to move to purchasing new production from the factory (Gen 2). Once we started to see bespoke (non military) colors (plum, green), we were fully into higher cost US market specific products. |
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Don't you tell me about galaxies! I walk them in the timeline.
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[#45]
Originally Posted By Findsman: I'm not from the AKFiles. My opinion is based on being part of the AK community since 2003 and buying 5.56 AKs for 20 years. The followers trick started off with Century trying to resolve limited availability of 5.56 magazines for their imported Romanian SAR-3, since that's about coincident with bakelites being extremely cheap and common (Century would paint a black strip around the bottom of the ones they put 5.56 followers in) and the proper Weiger-style mags being rare. (The SAR-3 being an evolution of an East German prototype that never went into production before the Wall fell.) Maybe the Pod followers have different geometry, but the Century ones sucked. Conflated with case taper of 5.45 and 5.56 leading towards different magazine curvatures being optimal for the cartridges. It was a bad solution then and led to people labeling the guns themselves as finicky and unreliable despite using a garbage magazine. It didn't help that Century's 922R compliance hammer had bad geometry as well, leading to often inconsistent firing pin impacts and damage to the bolt stem. Arsenal came along a few years later with their 5.56 guns (with their proprietary yet reliable magazine design) and magazine availability for them was initially good and affordable. At the time, most people still turned their noses up at 5.56 AKs since they weren't the "classic" commie calibers. That lasted up until about 2008, when Obama got elected and Arsenal started to play stupid games with their pricing and what were $18 magazines became $25 then $35 then $50 magazines. It sucked because they were the gold standard in 5.56 AK mags. But whatever, the other ammo was cheaper and more available so no one really cared. Now with Russian ammo being cut off, a lot of people looking to dabble in AKs are drawn to 5.56 ones. But $50 magazines suck and there's still some availability of surplus 5.45 magazines on the market, so the follower trick comes back. Maybe it was a decent idea in this time period. I invested in Arsenal and had a decent stash of their magazines before they got dollar crazed so I stuck with an OEM design. Century brought in a bunch of surplus Serbian M85/M90 mags in this period as well, but there were probably more mags than Yugo 5.56 AKs to use them in. That situation essentially lasted until a few years ago when the overseas markets finally started responding to the demand. Not sure if it was entirely US commercial market or some global military demand since NATO ammo-compatible AKs made sense for many FSU nations but it doesn't really matter. All those options exist now that are properly designed for the Bulgarian/Russian/Polish/Serbian magazine well, proper curvature to support the stack from the case taper, and proper feed lip geometry to position the case for the bolt to pick up on cycling. Maybe the Pod followers can approximate that. But when properly designed options exist from $11 or so, I would say it isn't the best idea to invest in that. (I gave Magpul a rash of crap for their inability to timely release new products or seemingly innovate anymore, but they do get magazine geometry down to a science. Compare the designs of their various 5.56 magazines between AR, AUG, G36, etc and they are consistent. Then compare to their 5.45 AK mag. Note how different they are because they need to be. Anyone that's played with 5.45 ARs has experienced this as well, 5.45 does not feed very well in 5.56 mags.) I would say purchasing a handful to convert because it looks cool is fine, God knows I have some sketchy yet cool-looking magazines. Or maybe you stacked deep when ORF blew out the surplus 5.45 mags so it doesn't really cost anything to try it out. Someone new coming into the community might think it's a great approach without knowing it stands a good chance of requiring tweaking or flat not working at all. So I try to be cheeky and say "God kills a kitten" and suggest other options because I've seen several cycles of people condemning 5.56 AKs as crap when dodgy magazines are used. I'm not trying to be an authority - I'm trying to share twenty years of observations that the follower route is likely to be disappointing and frustrating when here in 2024 we have a variety of excellent purpose-designed magazines available. View Quote I did it solely for the Bakelite looks cool in a 5.56 Krink So I can impress others. But it did happen to work well enough. At the moment I don't think 5.45 mags are cheaper or easier to get than 5.56 so why bother mixing it up. I have mostly Beryl 5.56 mags = no complaints. I think I also have some Bulgarian 5.56 mags. Ironically I do have a bunch of those ORF surplus 5.45 mags for guns in that flavor. You remember the good ol days. |
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[#46]
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[#47]
Originally Posted By cherenkov: "Chief Thunder" OMG - https://media.tenor.com/B8KbgdhKkiUAAAAe/theres-a-name-ive-not-heard-in-many-years.png I wonder what he has done since he had a stint in Jail for gun charges. View Quote It’s been long enough. I want to hear him tell the story of that “Wild West” era. |
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Don't you tell me about galaxies! I walk them in the timeline.
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[#48]
I have lamented we need a new Chief Thunder but I’d settle for the old one getting back into business.
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Support the Firearms Policy Coalition and help save the Second Amendment: https://www.firearmspolicy.org
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[#49]
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Don't you tell me about galaxies! I walk them in the timeline.
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[Last Edit: --FLEET--]
[#50]
Originally Posted By cherenkov: I did it solely for the Bakelite looks cool in a 5.56 Krink View Quote Thats what I was going for. I have plenty of proper 5.56 mags but was hoping at least one bakelite and plum would work well for my krink just for funzies. Considering my stack of 5.45 mags go unused at this point. |
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