I've always thought that bakelite magazines looked really cool. I've always thought that they were made solely for the 5.45x39 round. Several years ago I saw a bakelite mag in a SAR-3 rifle (5.56x45 AK). I believe that it was an AK-74 bakelite with a .223 (5.56x45) follower. I've never tried this, but I've heard mixed reports on the performance and reliability. The problem with a standarized 5.56x45 AK magazine is a story in of itself.
Well, I wanted a bakelite 7.62x39 magazine, and until about a month ago, didn't even know that they existed. I found some for sale on Gun Broker. These were made in China and Russia. They both looked great, but the cheapest I could find them for was $70!
Forget that. So, I decided to make my own "fake-lite" or faux bakelite 7.62x39 mags. I used 30 round polymer (Bulgarian and ProMag) magazines and paint them with several layers of Krylon Fusion for Plastic aerosol spray paint. This paint is designed specifically for use on plastic (in this case, poly mags). I still need to work on my painting skills, but I was pretty happy with the way the mags turned out. Now I just need to test them, which I hope to do soon. I will make sure to post a range report on my findings. So, far they are a cheap alternative to the Tula and Norinco real deal.
Well how are the fakelite mags in 7.62x39. I'm interested in a Russian red and a orange one. Not in the waffle but the ones that really do look like bakelite. It's a great Idea because bakelite is kinda of a weak material. Polmer is indestructible.
ReplyDeleteSo what color did you use?
ReplyDelete