Who has best deal on 74 mags?

I finally got one, got ammo on its way, I even got some striper clips and a guide but not a single mag for it. I see Apex is out of the painted ones and Copes start in the Mid $20ish range. I am not over excited to buy Centerfire's Promags even though they are $16. Anyone know of any source, or even have some painted or not so pretty ones for sale? I am probably going to buy one nice one to use but would like to buy some just serviceable ones to fill the mag pouch just to have. How about those steel ones for the Tantal, are they better than plastic? I am new to the 74s so please point me in a good direction, Thanks

Apex still has the EG/Polish painted mags for $20, and AIM is selling Bulgarian and Russian mags in a variety of colors for just under $20. Can't go wrong with either company.

Serb

Here you go. I got 2 from them and they work just fine. I wouldn't recommend steel mags, I think they're harder on the recievers, but that's just my two cents.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/AK_Surplus_AK74_545x39_Magazines.html

AIM has new and used milsurp mags. I have steel and bakelite. I like the steel ones best. The ProMags work, but they're not something I'd stake my life on. The plastic milsurps have steel reinforcements and the ProMags are all plastic. I think that's a big difference.

It's your choice on steel or plastic, but in any case, the military mags in both materials work well and they are durable. You can't really go wrong. Except to pay too much.

Good Luck.

I just bought steel mags from sales@sigtactical.com for $24.95 each with free shipping. That's a pretty good deal.

Check this post, they have mags.

74 mags (http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55468)

Check this post, they have mags.

74 mags (http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55468)

I just received a Tantal bipod, a brick and a plum magazine from him (John)
and all were as advertised. His shipping to me was very reasonable and it arrived quickly. Sent him a money order Monday morning and got the stuff already. The mags were $19 each (as was the bipod).

Additional, 8/9/09 range report: I tested both the Bulgarian mags I received from them yesterday in a Bulgarian AK-74. Both functioned flawlessly. Then again *every* AK-74 mag (or AK-74 for that matter) I've tried has functioned flawlessly, including Polish poly, Bulgarian poly, steel WASR2 (these don't fit my Tantal mag wells though, but do fit the Bulgie AK-74, even though they both have Nodak spud receivers), steel Polish, surplus Russian poly (Soviet era), etc.

Apex still has the EG/Polish painted mags for $20, and AIM is selling Bulgarian and Russian mags in a variety of colors for just under $20. Can't go wrong with either company.

SerbSerb is spot on, both are very good, very satisfied

Well Shoot, I didn't check this thread before I ordered or I may have done something else. I got 4 in pouch coming from Aim plus f the same accessory kit I just bought from Center Fire with bayonet for $19 for only $14! I hope to build another 74 with a US barrel so I may just order some more anyway. Hey, my Bulgarian bayonet that came with my kit didn't have the little loop deal that holds the handle and attaches to the belt, got any ideas where to get one? Thanks

Hey kans,

Let us know the condition of your AIM mags, please. I just ordered my 4th EG/Polish mag from Apex, so they still have them in stock as of today.

Serb

i got some of the AIM mags. they were used, but still in good condition. still have not used them though

What's good about John (azjogol@yahoo.com) is that he will sort the mags for color. Original Bulgy mags in 4 different colors at $19 ea. Expecting my kit w/barrel,plum furniture,and 3 plum mags tomorrow.From what I've heard,mostly brand new. Plus he's a great guy to deal with,a real gentleman.

Hey kans,

Let us know the condition of your AIM mags, please. I just ordered my 4th EG/Polish mag from Apex, so they still have them in stock as of today.

Serb
Got em today! OK, Got one plumb RUssian, one Bulgarian circle 10 and two that have a double circle with a 21 in the middle (what country is that?) THe Russian is well worn but solid, Bulgarian is not as bad but the corners of the floor plate are well polished and the two 21 mags look almost brand new. I felt I got my moneys worth, hope that helps.

Thanks, kans,

Glad you got some good mags from AIM! Circle 10 was/is made by Arsenal, and Circle 21 was made by NITI Kazanlak...still Bulgarian, just a different factory.

http://home.comcast.net/~shooter2_indy/ak74_mag_guide.html

Serb

I've got a quick question on 74 mags. Is there any reason why "tantal" magazines wouldn't work in a bulgarian ak-74? Would wasr mags work in a bulgarian too? I see them labeled for the rifles they came with, but is there any real difference or reason they wouldn't work?

All 5.45X39 caliber military arsenal made AK74 magazines are made to a standard specification. They are interchangeable in all standard AK74 spec rifles. AK47/AKM mags in 7.62X39 caliber are likewise interchangeable in all standard AK47/AKM rifles. The only mags you typically encounter that don't always interchange are the ones in 5.56/.223 caliber. The Soviets never made a spec for that version so each country made up their own. Some combos fit and feed, some don't.

However, we aren't putting magazines into rifles made by a military arsenal, we're putting them into rifles made from cut up surplus firearms rebuilt on new receivers. Some individual fitting may be required on all magzines. Even the arsenal produced products sometimes need fitting due to production tolerances between different factories and countries.

Thanks alot, I think that answers my question.

It appears Apex just added brown Bulgarian AK-74 surplus mags for $20 each (they say quantities are limited; Note that John, discussed above, also sells them for $19 each):

https://www.apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/cPath/50/products_id/925?osCsid=bc35f0f41aae8afdaff99006eb82570a

KVAR has a whole bunch of interesting stuff on sale this weekend, including the 45 round Bulgarian AK-74 mags for $35, KVAR NATO length stock sets for $59, AK-74 bulgarian bakelite bayonets for $15, etc. The server appears to be buried, so you may have to retry several times. I got a lot in the way of spare parts (east german bolt repair kits, etc) I had figured on getting eventually, but the price this weekend eclipses their prior pricing on a lot of stuff I was interested in. (The funny little page icons at the bottom of the page move you from one sale page to another):

http://www.k-var.com/shop/home.php?cat=329

Thanks, max,

I was tempted until I found out that that KVAR's shipping costs were still as high as ever. Looks like the best deal is the 4-piece US Warsaw stock set.

Serb

Thanks, max,

I was tempted until I found out that that KVAR's shipping costs were still as high as ever. Looks like the best deal is the 4-piece US Warsaw stock set.

Serb

Yup, they are a bit high on shipping. Seems to be $11-12 for me up to about $100 though, so I try to come in just under $100 (over $100 requires signature shipping and I hate dealing with that). Even with the shipping, if the quality turns out anything like what is pictured, some of the stuff, like the AK-74 bayonets still works out cheaper than I have seen previously, with the shipping factored in, and if you want several, it works out better. In my case it was simple. I have a Bulgarian AK-74 that arrived with Tapco furniture. I found the Warsaw length stock far too short to fire comfortably for me from a bench/sitting. I also found that the handguards without a heat shield, even at a moderate rate of fire, becomes uncomfortable pretty quick. I ordered the $59 KVAR stock set, which has stainless heat shields on the handguards and the 1.25" longer stock. I ordered black, but would have preferred plum (NATO length), which they've been out of for a while now. Still, for that price, I'll live with the black set rather than plum. I did debate the Warsaw length plum set for $59, but the shorter stock length really bugged me while testing out the Bulgarian for function a few weeks ago. There was enough interesting stuff in the sale for me to piece together enough to make the $11-12 shipping to my location worthwhile.

It appears Apex just added brown Bulgarian AK-74 surplus mags for $20 each (they say quantities are limited)
I received the two I ordered today. One is obviously brand new, the other pretty close to new. Both of them were arsenal code 21. They are pretty close to the color of a (milk chocolate) Hershey bar.

I don't know how many times now the mags I've received were far nicer than the pictured one on the ordering page for several AK-74 mag vendors. Do they go through and look for the dog of the bunch to use for the web page or what? (Of course I could just have gotten lucky...) :laugh_sma

Noticed Bulgarian black polymer milsurp AK-74 mags at Apex today for $17 each:

https://www.apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/1266?osCsid=c788ba4e060b9c05c25aae2df058a4e6

Maxhush... thanks for the update. I ordered a few.

Updates on mags and ammo are really helpful. I always check here before I order.

There is a group buy listed in the markeplace AK74 mags $15 each plus shipping.

AK 74 mags group buy (http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56686)

Black, Brick and Tan colors, the alloted plums ran out yesterday. :smile_sma

Most vendors have them for $20 a pop now.

It looks like Copes just dropped the price on their 4 Bulgarian mags in a pouch set to $70 ($17.50 per mag, plus the pouch). They list them as brown or black, mixed:

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=1584

I may need to order one of these just because of the novelty (never heard of a 10 round mag for the AK-74 before this; Checking on it, it appears they make/made these for sale with their rifles, so perhaps less intriguing/scarce):

http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?products_id=1879

(9/12 Update: I just checked, the Copes' bulgarian pouch deal mentioned above seems to be over, it's back up to $79.99 a set).

what a country has bulgarians for $15.

It seems more and more like a pile of Bulgarian stuff is hitting the country and/or demand is weakening. In my tracking of it, What A Country has generally had some of the worst pricing (but had AK-74 mags back when no one else seemed to), so I'd bet we may see a still further general reduction in pricing for AK-74 mags (and maybe other stuff) coming up. Just my theory of the week. (That WAC price of $14.95 is a really good price if you need some now though, for sure, and thanks for pointing it out, as I don't normally track WAC like I do Copes, Apex, AIM, or the marketplace here). All the deals lately seem to be from Bulgaria.

It seems more and more like a pile of Bulgarian stuff is hitting the country and/or demand is weakening. In my tracking of it, What A Country has generally had some of the worst pricing (but had AK-74 mags back when no one else seemed to), so I'd bet we may see a still further general reduction in pricing for AK-74 mags (and maybe other stuff) coming up. Just my theory of the week. (That WAC price of $14.95 is a really good price if you need some now though, for sure, and thanks for pointing it out, as I don't normally track WAC like I do Copes, Apex, AIM, or the marketplace here). All the deals lately seem to be from Bulgaria.

i thought the very same thing but you said it first! if what a country is pricing bulgy mags at $15 then they will go down offered by other vendors, it's a given.

Anyone have experience with the Bulgarian mags in Romanian AK74s? How do they do?

i thought the very same thing but you said it first! if what a country is pricing bulgy mags at $15 then they will go down offered by other vendors, it's a given.

It looks like the $14.99 Bulgarian AK-74 mag price just hit Copes this afternoon (brown, red, dark red, and black available). And of course Copes has the $7.95 shipping. :smile_sma

A guy at the gun show this weekend was asking $70 each for used bakelite mags. Craziness.