Why are bakelite ak47 mags so expensive?

[BushyGuy]

i ordered a bakelite mag for my WASR 10/63 a whopping 89.00 including shipping!!!! whats so great abt them besides the rugged look? i also ordered a bakelite grip for my ak47 as well to match the bakelite mag.

i ordered them form a store over in Europe, the shipping charges was outrageous! i like to know more abt those bakelite mags.

 

[BushyGuy]

does anyone own a bakelite 30 rd mag ? how good are they?

 

[Davek1977]

I can't help but ask--Why would you spend 90 bucks on a magazine you know nothing about? While the bakelite mags are certainly rarer than the oh so common 30 round steel mags that are availble everywhere, they don't DO anything one of the 10 dollar mags will do. If paying 90 bucks to add to the "look" of your rifle is worth it, be my guest, but I personally would rather have nearly a dozen of the steel mags for the same price...epscially for a WASR.....I could understand the need to have the "complete package" if trying to restore a gun to its former glory, but adding a 90 mag to a 400 gun.....with no real reason to do so or knowledge of the $90 mag, just strikes me as odd, but to each their own....

FWIW, if you can find a copy of Guns and Ammo "The book of the AK47" volume 2, tghere is an extensive article detailing the various 7.62x39 AK maga availble worldwide....

 

[benEzra]

They're expensive because they're rare and collectible. They're also lighter than the steel magazines.

 

[ultradoc]

just buy the steel or plastik mags. both work fine.

 

[Jeremy2171]

I've got a couple....I like them and use them all the time..but then again these didn't cost much...

 

[CraigC]

Don't you have to be a licensed importer to order gun parts from overseas???

 

[InkEd]

What a waste of money! $90 AK mags! Yikes!

 

[CraigC]

I seem to recall an Ebay seller who was shipping gun parts from Europe to private buyers in the US. Ebay itself and every single person who bought from him received a visit from the ATF. It is the primary reason for Ebay's policy change regarding gun parts.

 

[nalioth]

Supply and demand.

The great Soviet did not produce them in the numbers that the steel mags were.

They're expensive because they're rare and collectible. They're also lighter than the steel magazines.

They're also more fragile than steel magazines. Proportionally speaking, not as many have survived to present day as their steel brethren.

 

[BushyGuy]

thanks for the replys this is a lesson hard earned! yes they look cool but defintely not worth the price!

 

[migkillertwo]

If you need a lighter magazine, why not just buy the Tapco 30 rounders?

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Are they really made of bakelite?

 

[nalioth]

Are they really made of bakelite?

Yes.

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

Bakelite was pretty expensive to produce, IIRC the Wikipedia article on the substance correctly. I'd probably get one, but not a stack of them.

 

[Finprof]

Bakelite

Bakelite is very expensive to produce. In the 1930s the custom Winston steelhad rods offered a Bakelite reel seat as as extra-cost option over a wood real seat. An the wood reel seats were gorgeous walnut.

 

[HorseSoldier]

7.62x39 bakelites were not made in large quantities, so you're paying for a collectible factor.

5.45x39 bakelites were, at one point, much more common. They're collectibles now, too, though not as expensive.