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AR/AK Magazines

eagleintexas13eagleintexas13 Member Posts: 56 ✭✭
edited March 2013 in Ask the Experts
I have a DPMS AR-15 in 7.62x39 and am looking for 20 or 30 rouund magazines. I see a couple of folks on GunBroker selling AR/AK magazines indicating that they fit both platforms. Can that be right?

Thanks,
Arnold
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Comments

  • the middlethe middle Member Posts: 3,089
    edited November -1
    If you are asking if a AK mag will work in an AR platform....no it wont.

    I havent seen one, but I do believe that if the mag follower is changed on a .223 AR mag to a 7.62x39 follower, you are good to go, if you have the correct upper, of coarse!

    EDIT....rufe may be correct.....like I said, I dont own one and have never seen one, (an AR set up for 7.62x39 that is)...it may take a different mag for AK ammo......he seems to know better than me.
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  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    All I know is that my standard AR mag will only hold 4 rounds of 7.62 X 39. There have been a number of U.S. manufacturers making AR magazines specifically for the 7.62 X 39 cartridge.

    Because of the 7.62 X 39's taper they are banana shaped like the AK mags. I wasn't aware that the magazines specifically made for the 7.62 X 39, would also function reliably with our 5.56 X 45 cartridge?
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  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,696 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by eagleintexas13
    I have a DPMS AR-15 in 7.62x39 and am looking for 20 or 30 rouund magazines. I see a couple of folks on GunBroker selling AR/AK magazines indicating that they fit both platforms. Can that be right?


    I couldn't find what you are describing on the auction side. Are they actually saying this in their description, or are you just reading titles and seeing both "AR-15" and "AK-47" in the title and assuming that suggests there is a magazine that can be used in both?

    I simply don't see how that would work. The AK-47 has front and rear latch points; it's rotated into place by locking the front in first then the rear. The AR-15 styled 7.62x39 magazine uses the same side latch point as positioned for the 5.56 magazine. I simply don't see how the rear-protruding latch needed for the AK-47 magazine lock up, would fit in a standard AR magazine well.

    Post a link to the auction(s) you're looking at. I'd be curious seeing this if someone does have some way of doing this.

    Thinking more about it as I write this, didn't DPMS make an "AR-15" styled rifle with a non-standard lower specifically for the 7.62x39 round that took standard AK-47 type magazines?
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  • NordicwargodNordicwargod Member Posts: 102 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've seen one but it was a while ago. Its an AR platform with AR type magazines that are tapered or curved so that 7.62x39 cartridges will stack correctly and feed. AK magazines wont work in this AR platform.
    From what I have heard is that they hold about twenty rounds, they are hard to find, and that they are rather expensive. Especially now!
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  • MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 14,124 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    IMHO The only AR 7.62x39 mag worth owning is the C-Products(ASC). I had some "Frankenmags" and sold them during the first AWB mania for triple the cost of the C-Products I replaced them with. I also have some plastic 10 round mags for bench work. Also, standard AR mags will work with only 2-5 rounds before they start doing the nose down dive(failure to feed with nose jammed into front of mag).
    It's not possible to have a mag work in both AR and AK rifles. I think those were the "frankenmag" I mentioned(made by welding the bottom part of an AK mag to the upper part of an AR mag).
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  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ordinary AR platform and AK platform magazines CANNOT be used in the other platform (period).

    The dimensions are different, and the locking mechanisms are different.

    There are purpose built AR-type magazines designed for 7.62x39 rounds (eg C-Products has one). That's optimal, though you can get away with putting a 7.62x39 follower into an ordinary AR-15 magazine if you only load 3-4 rounds in there.

    There are also purpose built AK-type magazines designed for .223/5.56 rounds for AK-platform guns that take them, though these are a little more idiosyncratic as to which guns they'll function in (eg the Galil uses these, and there are several other types).

    The question here is just what type of magazine is this particular DPMS built for? If its designed to take the AR-15 type mags in 7.62x39, then that's what you'll need.


    Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, there used to be a magwell conversion available that let you run ordinary AR-15 magazines in a Galil (which is basically an AK platform gun designed to run ordinary 5.56x45/.223). So it well may be possible to CONVERT an AK-platform gun to accept ordinary AR magazines. The converse won't be true without a major rebuild of the guns receiver since AK mags are dimensionally larger than AR platform ones. Unless your AR gun is designed to accept ordinary AK magazines this doesn't help you.
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  • yoshmysteryoshmyster Member Posts: 21,974 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Way back when there was AR15/Mini-14 combo mags floating around. I figure the way Mini-14 goes in would make a better AK configuration.
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