The two most common magazines for 7.62x39 ARs are ones from Ammunition Storage Components (ASC) and C Products Defense (CPD). We’ve tested both, and have customers using both. While most run when new, they can take some break-in before they run well, especially 30 round magazines. It’s also common for them to initially not take the full number of rounds until they break in – 30 round magazines may only take around 20 or so rounds to start. There also can be a difference between how many you can fit in the magazine and how many the magazine will feed reliably, until the magazine breaks in.

Things we’ve seen that affect magazine function

- Not getting rounds fully seated to the back of the magazine; the rims like to hang up in the extractor grooves of the cartridges below them, giving the mag a good couple of raps on the back of the spine after loading will help seat the cartridges all the way to the back of the magazine.

- Mold lines on followers not allowing the followers to move smoothly; may wear in, but can be scraped or sanded.

- Spot welds and/or ripples in the sheet metal on the inside of the magazine preventing followers from moving smoothly; may wear the follower enough to start working reliably.

- Springs in backwards, either front to back swapped or top to bottom swapped.

- On older magazines the cutout in the front wasn’t deep enough, and case mouths would catch.

- Stiffening ridges on older magazine feed lips were deeper, and would catch in the extractor groove of the cases.

- Burrs and/or sharp edges on feed lips and in front of the feed lips grab cases.