Question about Saiga 12 magazines

[cbrgator]

Is there a general consensus as to which, if any, of the aftermarket brands for Saiga 12 mags is the best? Surefire, AGP, Promag, whatever. I've seen forum posts back and forth with some people not having any problems with them to people having problems with all of them. But my question is, in general, does one company have a better reputation for the quality of their mags than the others?

 

[Geneseo1911]

I can only speak to the Pro-Mag. The ones I got (about 6 months ago) didn't work AT ALL out of the box. I knew when ordering them that this would likely be the case due to reading at s-12.com. I also knew to remove the follower, heat it (I used a heat gun, others have used boiling water), and wedge a wine cork in the bottom to spread the sides of the follower. Unfortunately this didn't solve the whole problem. Since then I have re-worked the followers to keep them from tilting, as well as coated the followers and bodies in dry graphite. This has gotten 3 of the 4 to work 100% though approx. 80-100 rounds each. The last one refuses to cooperate, although I suspect with a bit more tweaking it would work.

I like to tinker & fix things, so I thought I wouldn't mind working on these for half the cost, but after the trouble I had I wish I had half as many mags that I didn't have to work on. Supposedly PM was re-designing the follower to fix this problem, but I haven't heard if it is out yet.

FWIW, the Taiwanese 5 round mags sold at saiga-12.com are fantastic. They have worked flawlessly from day 1, and frankly 5 round mags are a bit more practical. That said blowing through 10 rounds is hard to beat for grin factor. I'm still saving for my MD-20.

 

[john1911]

FWIW, the Taiwanese 5 round mags sold at saiga-12.com are fantastic.

This has been my experience as well. I've never had any problems with mine.

...frankly 5 round mags are a bit more practical.

Once again I must agree. The 10 round mags hang down a long way.

 

[cbrgator]

How about in terms of American magazines. I was planning on messing with the gun a little bit so I'll need American mags to bring me into compliance. I agree that those hi-cap mags are ridiculously long. My first thought is to go Surefire 8rd. Little more capacity without an obnoxiously long magazine.

 

[post_apocalyptic]

I find 8-round mags to be the ideal combination of reasonable length and decent shell capacity. Izhmash, (OEM), 8-round mags are the best available, but they're extremely scarce in the States, (thank you BATFE), so when some do surface for sale, the usual asking price is ~$120-$150 apiece.

Since I'm not willing to pay that, I bought some Surefire 8-round mags. They work very well. In general, of the US-made mags, I prefer Surefires. ProMags seem to be relatively crappy, AGP's are fine, but I've gotten the most dependable performance from Surefires. Surefire is also the only company that currently makes >10-round stick mags for the S-12... Surefire 12-rounders. Sure, they're long enough that they could almost double as a monopod, but they're great fun at the range.

 

[nalioth]

How about in terms of American magazines. I was planning on messing with the gun a little bit so I'll need American mags to bring me into compliance. I agree that those hi-cap mags are ridiculously long. My first thought is to go Surefire 8rd. Little more capacity without an obnoxiously long magazine.

"Messing with the gun" should bring the required US parts into play (if "messing with" = "converting")

 

[cbrgator]

Nope. Don't plan on going through the conversion. I'm not going to be convinced otherwise. Just not in a place to go through that right now. I wanted to put that Tapco stock with the integrated pistol grip on there.

 

[HJ857]

I have one AGP 10 and five Surefire 12's. I think they work equally well. However I have one Surefire 12 that jams after feeding three rounds. The great thing about the Surefires is that you can cut them at any of the ribs, re-attach the floorplate to become a shorter mag. Better than throwing out a bad mag.

I also use the JT magwell and the Surefires work great in it. There's also a version for the AGP mags, but at the time I got mine the Surefire version was the only one available. No regrets.

 

[Girodin]

I wanted to put that Tapco stock with the integrated pistol grip on there.

It is your gun and you obviously can do as you like with it but I must say to the intrafuse stock. Why bother with it? they really don't add much to the gun, I know looks are subjective but, they look horrible, and they cost $70(+) that you could otherwise spend on something useful. If I didn't want to convert (which having owned/shot various converted guns I cannot understand) I would still not use that stock. If I wanted to run 10(+) round mags I would change out parts like the gas puck and the fore grip.

 

[cbrgator]

I want the stock so I can have a pistol grip without having to do any metalwork.

 

[malix]

I would highly recommend doing the conversion rather than the Tapco stock, but to each his own.

I use mostly AGP mags and i have one 12 round Surefire. Ive never had a problem with either brand.

 

[HardShell]

I want the stock so I can have a pistol grip without having to do any metalwork.

I am personally dubious of owning any firearm where the mag-parts count is required to ensure compliance (be sure to get rid of your import mags, BTW, or at least store them away somewhere), but many folks over on the Saiga board have done that with both shotguns and rifles so, as said above, to each his own.


Just FYI, if you are going to use the mags in you parts-count anyway and don't mind changing out internal parts (no metalwork), there is an import stock with a PG and side-folder that looks/feels way better than the Intrafuse but, of course, won't help toward compliance. Like I said, just an FYI.


As to the mags, I have had great service out of the AGP 10s, and my 20-rd drum works great (one of the lucky ones, I guess!), but I haven't put enough rounds through the Surefires yet to voice an authoritative opinion (but no problems yet).

 

[Girodin]

I want the stock so I can have a pistol grip without having to do any metalwork.

The only "metal work" required is some filing (or grinding) and drilling a few holes. It can be done with a file and a drill. A dremel makes life easier. Its your gun do as you like but the conversion is very easy and the results are light years ahead of the stock pistol grip combo. I am not trying to tell you what to do with your gun but rather put some points out there to possibly make sure it is a well informed decision. There are many posters over on the Saiga boards that I have bought that stock only to regret it and later do the conversion anyways.

As to the question of mags. I have never had an issue with any of the AGP ten rounders that I use.