5.45X39 drums? 45 rd bakelites still available?

[KernelKrink]

Working on my first '74 build and was wondering about mags. Picked up some nice 30 rd Bakelites (Thanks kfranz!) but was hoping to find a few reasonabley priced 45 rd mags. KVAR is sold out, but I found a link for a russian one they forgot to wipe the price off of. $129 seemed a little steep for an extra 15 rds. Anybody still have the 45s? Prices?

Did anybody ever make drums for the '74? The 7.62 drums are everywhere, but I cant seem to recall ever seeing one in 5.45X39. KVAR had the RPK-74 kits at one time, so I would think that drums do exist for these. Maybe they are post-ban?

KernelKrink

[16r40]

the 45 is the mag they made for the RPK74........as for the drums, I haven't read or seen any pictures of them in any of the russian or other eastern european countries weapon manufaturers sites, or in any news reels. but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

and yes 129 is a steep price, but considering the rarity of them here that is why they go for that much....... they are by far the most difficult to find, because they don't come up that often, or in any quanity.......a run of the mill 7.62 soviet bakelite mag is also up there in price, most folks buy the 45 round, and 7.62 ones because they are just scarce as hens teeth . so unless you want one real, real bad....you are going to pay whatever the market will bear, it's basically a take it or leave it proposition .

you probably can make your own 45 round mag, by taking 2 30s and chopping them up, and epoxy them together.....I've seen 40 round steel mags that have been made from 2 30s. I figure it would probably be easier to put together 2-74 30 ones then metal mags, since they are of a material that can be glued together........ so that maybe one way to get a 45 round mag, on the cheap.

[coltshorty14]

Last 5.45 drum I heard of sold for $3500.00 There is also a quad stack 60 round mag, but unfourtunatly they are unavalible in this county as well..

[DoubleA]

You know, for the current going price of about $12 a piece, I would stick with a bunch of 30 rounders. Kinda like Beta C for ARs, 500 bucks each is a little too steep while the new Labelles are going for $20 each.

[16r40]

You know, for the current going price of about $12 a piece.

gunshows around here have them for 9 bucks a piece......which besides having good prices on ammo, are the only real deals to be found

[KernelKrink]

Found a couple sites selling used 30s for $6, but by the time you add shipping for 10 probably close to $8. Very reasonable for a milsurp mag. I could see paying $30-40 for a 45, but $100+ for an extra 15 rds puts these into the realm of a collector's item, not a range mag. The drum price quoted just blows my mind. You can almost get a transferable full auto M11 for that $. Maybe after the September sunset prices will get down to a sane level. Should be able to import all sorts of banned mags at that point. A couple of those quad stacked 60s would be cool!

[JohnLewis]

the cheapist way to get a 45rd 5.45 mag is....Joe Ken firearms makes them out of 2 east german 30rd and charges 31.99 + postage the stock number is #HC6AK7445 (www.joeken.com)they also do 20 and 40rd versions as well.1-928-289-6429
and sell a lot of other AK parts and the prices seem to be decent :small_gri
they allways have a full page advert in shotgun news

[16r40]

the cheapist way to get a 45rd 5.45 mag is....Joe Ken firearms makes them out of 2 east german 30rd and charges 31.99 + postage the stock number is #HC6AK7445 (www.joeken.com)they also do 20 and 40rd versions as well.1-928-289-6429
and sell a lot of other AK parts and the prices seem to be decent :small_gri
they allways have a full page advert in shotgun news


I wouldn't buy from JOKING if he was the last person selling any products for firearms......there are too many people that have reported getting their CC charged and not receving their items, lame excuses, unanswered e-mails in regards to where is my stuff, and just overall shitty customer support. you would be better to make one yourself then deal with these sorry assclowns.

[JohnLewis]

sorry, did'nt know... just thought I would mention as they are the only one avertizing a 45rd mag.

[Packrat]

I knew a guy who wanted a 15-rnd AK-74 mag, so cut down 2 mags to make the shorty. Then he decided to use the remainders, and assembled a 40 (I think) out of them. He said the job was pretty easy, and you had to be looking for the join to see it. He cut an angle so there was plenty of material for the glue to bond to. The little 15s were convenient for bench shooting, too.

As far as I know, the high-capacity magazines (quad-sticks and drums) were all experimental. The drums were similar to Lewis or Dagteryev drums, except that they were under the barrel (under the forearm). I don't know exactly how they fit, but the cartridges pointed toward the center and apparently rotated around to the feed tower, then moved up till the bolt scooped them up into the barrel. It seems like they would interfere with gripping the forearm, so they may have been just for the RPK-74.

[DoubleA]

gunshows around here have them for 9 bucks a piece......which besides having good prices on ammo, are the only real deals to be found

You're right, I've found some brand spanking new Bakelite ones for $10 plus a rain drop pattern mag pouch thrown in the deal if you buy 4 :p .

[Darkmatter]

The drum price quoted just blows my mind. You can almost get a transferable full auto M11 for that $.

Please tell me where can I find a transferable full auto M11 for ~$500.

[Packrat]

The drum price (and supposed price for M11s) was $3500, not $500.

[Darkmatter]

Ohhhh... I thought he was referring to the AR15 Beta C mags! Haha...

$3500 for a M11 is kina high. Maybe this is a good deal then:

http://www.subguns.com/classifieds/index.cgi?db=nfafirearms&website=&language=&session_key=&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=long&db_id=4040&query=retrieval

[coltshorty14]

That aint even a good deal... last year I had a deal for a NIB M-11 with coastal can fro $1279 OTD, excluding the two tax stamps to the ATF...

I decided against buying it because I really did'nt want a M-11, when I could save about $600 bucks more and get a Sten...

Damn, See what a year can do.....

[m03]

That aint even a good deal... last year I had a deal for a NIB M-11 with coastal can fro $1279 OTD, excluding the two tax stamps to the ATF...


That's pretty bad. I had a similar experience at a local shop just a couple of months ago, right as I got interested enough into looking at getting a machine gun. The shop had two M-10s (9mm from RPB and a .45 from Jersey Arms if I remember correctly) for about $1,400 each, and a fullsize IMI UZI for around $3,000. Of course, I go to look at MACs one day and notice that they've already been sold, but an apparently unfired RPB M-11 .380 was put up on the rack in their place for $1,400.

By the time I had researched how good of a deal that was and got back to the shop to put my money down, it had been sold. I had seen all the machine guns up on the rack for months prior to that untouched, but as soon as I start looking at them, they sell them all!

[Packrat]

People are thinking about how much they've seen FA prices go up, so even bad prices now are going to be a bargain in a couple of years, maybe only one. So they buy, and that fuels the increase that much more. This same thing happened a few years ago with automobiles--people who knew (or cared) nothing about cars started buying them as an investment, because an investment councilor recommended them, and the ones who bought first were caught in the price increase as other people recommended them as investments, and soon cars were going for 10x what they should have been worth. But the investors weren't going to sell when the prices kept going up, and they didn't care about what they had, only that it was worth a lot. So prices are high, and going higher. The same thing with FA arms, and antique and "collectible". And since they aren't making them any more, it's a safe investment.