Attention S12 Owners, Steel Mags Review

[ChileRelleno]

Attention Saiga12 owners!
High quality & reliable steel mags, that are 'Made In The USA' for the S-12 are a reality.

Manufactured by CSSPECS, http://stores.csspecs.com/
Saiga 12g, 8rd, steel magazine, http://stores.csspecs.com/saiga-12-gauge/



I've waited a long time to see reliable steel mags... Heck, any steel mags, for the S12 to become a reality. Well, here is my reality slap!
I now have six of these mags and let me sing their praises to you.
They are fantastic, from the fit, finish & function, to the aesthetics.

Lets unwrap one.
They are well packaged, paper wrapper around a plastic bag, the mag within wrapped in a anti-corrosion paper an lightly oiled.






This is what CSSPECS has to say about their product.

Long awaited stamped steel magazine for saiga 12 shotgun.
Magazine is all metal. Extra thick welded feed lips for long service life.
Finish is black nitride on magazine body, floor plate and spring guide.
Finish of follower is black oxide.

Magazine can be loaded with 9 shells on an open bolt. Or 8 rounds on a closed bolt.
Magazine is made for both 2 3/4" & 3" shells.
Some of the longer roll crimped 3" may not be compatible.

Magazine is slightly smaller than a 40 round AK magazine,
and could be compatible with web gear for RPKs.

Follower and feedlip assembly is not compatible
with factory LRBHO mechinisims.
And we have no information about function/alteration with magwells.
We are working on a fix for this for future batches.

Fitting is highly likely. Expect to file these to fit your shotgun.

Some pics showing the robust construction of these mags.

The Black Nitride finish is very tough.
When fitting the mag to the gun, just getting through the finish takes several swipes of the file.
Fitting if needed, is very easy and is done on the rear lug. Five minutes is all it took me to fit each mag.

The only Con I could find on these is the rib on the back.
It is very pronounced an can bite into the webbing of your hand during mag changes.
A strip of automotive door trim solves this issue.







2.75" Buck & Slugs




3" Magnum Buck.

 

[Sam Cade]

CSSPECS is a member here and I wouldn't mind a bit of technical commentary if he was so inclined.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I can provide a link to discussion between him an his Beta Testers over at Saiga12.com.
All the technical goodness you could desire.

Start reading here, all the R&D, good stuff starts in post #103
1st prototype is unveiled in post #110.

It gets very in-depth with testing results on ammo loads, redesigning followers, feed lips, technical aspects of manufacture and more.
Well worth reading the whole thing.
http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/81417-steel-s12-mags/page-4

 

[ChileRelleno]

Xrays of these mags... Yes, real Xrays, cool eh?

 

[csspecs]

CSSPECS is a member here and I wouldn't mind a bit of technical commentary if he was so inclined.

I'm happy to answer questions.

What would you like to know?

 

[ChileRelleno]

Well... Perhaps just pick something to comment on

 

[mac66]

Why 8 rounds instead of say 10?

My plastic 10 Saiga mags work pretty well, why would I spend $57 on a mag with more weight and fewer rounds?

 

[csspecs]

8 rounds was picked for the first run because its the original factory size.

I want to make a run of 10s, but I need to change my primary stamping press as it does not close on anything longer than 9 rounds. I have the replacement picked, its just insanely expensive.

Non-reinforced magazines can crack. It has happened to a number of people I have spoken with, some report rather catastrophic failures with the all poly magazines.
For the entire time we worked designing this magazine, we watched people practically trample each other to get the factory 8 round magazines for $150+ each, because it was metal reinforced.
Yes they do weigh more, however they are lighter per round than the drums, which people seem to like.

They are a higher labor item to make, so the pricing is going to be what it is.. Apparently its not a problem, since I'm well on my way to selling out of the first batch.