AK Sponsor
Posted: 2/5/2013 11:01:29 AM EDT
|
I bought a PAP Zastava M70 (CAI) in August. It came with two magazines. I think they are Romanian but I have no idea or how to tell. They fit and function PERFECT and I'd like more of them if I could be sure of what I needed to buy and what to watch out for.
I bought some Low Drag Smooth Side Tapco mags last year and they wouldn't even remotely fit. I eyeballed what I thought was the problem and began filling on the lug until they clicked in smoothly. When I took them to the range they failed to feed 1 out of every 3 or so rounds so I threw them in my "ooops" box. I called CAI today to RMA the rifle so mags would fit (something I heard through the rumor mill, they would do). They informed me, that firstly they only will ensure the factory mags fit, and secondly if they did modify it that this affect the fit of the OEM mags. This rifle is my first experience with a AK variant. So I'm not sure if this is just the nature of AK mags or if I'm being fed a line of bull. I looked around and found this YouTube video showing how to modify Tapco mags for fit. http://youtu.be/l_89_2qrL7Y Questions: What magazines are being included with the PAP Zastava M70's and are they still available? Is there such a large variance in mag and mag well design that one can not expect Tapco and OEM mags to both fit without modification? If yes to 2, is the procedure above the proper way to fit Tapco mags to the rifle? Thanks! |
|
Quoted:
Chalk it up as a lesson learned. Stay away from Crapco or any other US made mags for that matter. Being a big fan of Magpul mags, I'm partial to plastic mags. I'm also partial to the fact that they are still being manufactured. Are they that tabu or do some people run both? I know Magpul was about to start making AK 7.62x39 and 5.45 mags right before the freak out. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Chalk it up as a lesson learned. Stay away from Crapco or any other US made mags for that matter. Being a big fan of Magpul mags, I'm partial to plastic mags. I'm also partial to the fact that they are still being manufactured. Are they that tabu or do some people run both? I know Magpul was about to start making AK 7.62x39 and 5.45 mags right before the freak out. Plastic lugs and non-steel reinforced feed lips are not desirable on an AK. Particularly the locking lugs. They break. Plaastic AR magazines work well because there is very little force on the little shelf that locks the magazine into position, and the pressure is mostly on the steel magazine catch in the rifle. On an AK, the lugs on the front and back of the magazine take the brunt of the pressure and force from pretty much anything. Plastic wearing against the steel on the rifle doesn't hold up, and combined with the lugs actually sticking out from the magazine (making them ideal to shear off) they break. Tapco is alright for range use and plinking, but nobody would recommend them for rough use. If you want plastic mags, then the ideal are real combloc polymer magazines with steel lugs and reinforced lips. |
|
The Yugo PAP hasn't been very consistent when modified from it's original single stack configuration to double stack. I think that's where the problems come in. It's not an AK variant I'm interested in due to a history of problems. Properly built rifles don't need mags to be fitted to the gun. It could be a problem with the mag well not being opened up enough by Century.
Also, tapco magazines have a history of being molded a bit large. They fit tighter than surplus magazines. If possible, find some Polish polymer surplus mags or Bulgarian waffel mags. They have metal locking lugs, unlike the tapco, and are a bit lighter than the steel surplus magazines. See if those options work instead of modifying tapcos. The steel will eventually wear away the polymer lugs, and might cause problems down the line. |
AK Sponsor