Not crazy heavy, but I woldn't want to load one all day long. I injured my thumb on one of them darn European drums trying to load it up. The Chinese drums are easier to load. I have one 75 rounder for my AK's and a 120 rounder for my AR-15. Both rattle like hell, but that is the way the Chinese drums are.
I prefer the Chicom to the Euro version. Never really use 'em, just for show and tell mainly. Drums can be finicky, and are a bit on the wide side. I'd prefer 3 30-round stick mags to 1 75-round drum anyday for real-world crisis.
If I had a real AK, i.e. full auto, I'd want one. Since I only have semi-auto AK's (SAR-1 and 2), I'll stick with my 20 and 30 round mags. For what I have, I just don't see the upside to having that heavy mag weighing the rifle down.
I have two Chinese drums. They are heavy when loaded, but not unmanageable. They are very easy to load, unlike the European drums. Mine have been completely reliable.
One other note. The Chinese drums have a spring tension release. You can release the tension on the spring of a loaded drum for storage. When you want to fire, just wind it up!
Pluses:
75 rounds, handy when out of time to put on web gear
Allows getting lower behind cover when prone than 30-rounder
Can be used as a convenient palm-rest for off-hand position
Easy to load/unload fast
Minuses:
Heavier than a 30rd
Wider than a 30rd
Expensive
Rattling stops once the drum is wound. I keep mine un-wound but I wonder if keeping it ready would cause problems in reality. Doesn't with regular magazines, but leaf springs might be different.
I like mine, though it is rather expensive for the results. They used to cost about $40 but run $80-110 now.
I have a stack of 75 round drums. I have 2 that I use and the rest are NIW. It does make the gun heavyer but the trade off is 75 rounds between reloads.
got one with the rifle, 'cause the dealer had run out of 30 rd mags over the weekend. not overly fond of it, though using aimed fire I can shoot a l-o-n-g time before having to do a reload.
I've got a Romanian drum. Yeah, it's heavy when loaded. However, it's SOOOOO much fun! Not only that, you slap a bipod on and you've got what can pass as a light support weapon in a pinch. Ya know, for when those mutant-zombie, biker bears attack out of the sky.
I have a 75 round chinese drum for mine. It is heavy, and rattles a lot. I have no intentions of actually using it...I just got it as a collectable. For all practicle purposes,I prefer the steel 30 rounders over anything.
They are entertaining. I have one chinese and a few Romanian. The chinese is definitely more desirable since its easier to load and unload and dont have to keep spring tension, but they both have worked everytime I have used them. Like I said, they are entertaining....and may be hard to get in the future, so get one now if you can.
I got one years ago just for that I can deal. I was thinking best get one before they get expensive. $39 bucks back then. Who knows may even be a investment factor with the drums.
Heck, here in Kali, I remember when those chinese drums used to cost $24 bucks. I remember passing up on a lot of them as I never thought we would have some stupid 10 round only law. :banghead: :banghead:
Good thing I did buy a couple of the AK ones and one of the AR ones.
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