AK mags not fitting properly?

[merlinfire]

I have a WASR-10 Romanian AK-clone. When I bought it, the shop owner let me walk around to his mag shelf and try a number of different ones to see the one that fit the best. They had various levels of fit (and I'm only talking the double stack mags here, which is what this gun uses), and some didn't fit at all. Ultimately, I chose the one that fit best. However, this concerns me....

If I mail-order a AK mag, how do I know it's gonna fit? Is this much difference in spec common among ak mags?

 

[PTK]

You bought a rifle that was out of spec. I assume it's a Century build/import. Best thing you can do is ask them to repair it.

 

[walking arsenal]

I've run across that a couple times.

First. Be sure the mags are the correct caliber for the gun.

Second. I'm going to guess they are catching on the mag release making them either hard to remove or hard to get latched in. It's the mag catch then. I just carefully file down either the mag release, the tab on the mag or both until it works.

Then test it.

 

[merlinfire]

I can try the above suggestion regarding filing the the mag release, but still, that doesn't really explain the large variation in fitting of magazines off the same shelf.

 

[SpentCasing]

Look, ill be the first on the century wasr hate bandwagon but not on this one. Mags are a mixed bag for any rifle, especially the AK which is made in sooo many countries. They vary.
Before new year I just picked up 4 Bulgy steel mags from AIM for my MAADI. 2 fit perfect, almost 0 movement, perfectly snug. The other 2 I had to use pliers to get release latch to move to get 'em back out. A little filing (side note: man i need a dremel) later and they fit just as good as other 2. So, point is 4 mags from same country/factory, and half and half on fitting/tolerence. Again, they all vary. Good luck, AKs are awesome!

 

[Quentin]

By various levels of fit, do you mean that most of the mags wouldn't insert at all or were too tight? And a few did fit well? Anyway if it's a common problem odds are that can be corrected with a little careful magwell work. I've bought about a dozen steel comblock mags for my WASR and only one didn't initially fit. I had to file that magazine a little until it was snug but worked fine.

But I wouldn't file the magwell unless you're sure standard mags tend to be tight.

If the ones you tried tended to be just a little tight go ahead and order online for good prices. Throw in a couple extras and odds are you could sell any that don't fit to recoup your investment.

Also the steel military mags are quite uniform. It's the aftermarket ones and plastic that are all over the map. I would want my magwell to fit surplus comblock mags.

 

[AK103K]

Filing the mag release is basically a must do on any AK. By filing, I dont mean hogging away, just taking a jewelers file and "breaking" the edges and removing the stamp flash/edges. Its very lightly done, but smooths things out noticeably. The sharp edges left over from the stamping/manufacturing process tend to grab the mags where they contact, often making the mag hard to remove if left alone.

If the mags are too tight in the well (better than loose by the way), the mags themselves will "show you the way" by the marks left on them. That will show you where you may need to remove some metal. Id wait awhile though and see if they dont work in by themselves as you insert and remove them. You may not need to do anything. If you feel you do, go slow and dont get heavy handed.

Dont modify the mags themselves, or else youll be stuck with gun specific mags.