Hey guys I just acquired 2 AK's. A 47 and a 74. Can someone school me on magazines? what to buy and what to stay away from. Also where is the best place to buy magazines and ammo?

Thanks for the input

P mags work fine for the 47 that I have, and academy for 762*39 ammo. Never used the 74 so I am no help there

Thanks!!

Ive seen some 7.62 also at academy but I never think to look for 5.45. The more I research the ak74 the more I like it. Im going to test it on a hog soon. Definitely not a common round.

On the 47s just stay away from tapco. I run pmags, Korean and surplus mags. Metal seem to run better. On the 74, look for Bulgarian slab sides. Bakelites run the best but have gotten stupid pricey. 74 is normally not found in academy’s. I have tons of mags and ammo so if you can’t find any, let me know. I personally am in love with the 74s. I have numerous and can’t stay away from them. Recoil is less than AR. The afghans called it the poison bullet for a reason. It’s nasty when it enters.

Bulgarian polymer mags work in all of mine. Metal mags work in most as do Pmags. Don’t buy Promag, all their stuff is junk.

You can use ammoseek.com for ammo

I have never considered nor will I ever consider a plastic magazine for either. Bakelite is a different story.

The way I would answer the question is to find out what country yours are from. I like to keep it "correct" for the model. I use Serbian/Yugo steel magazines for my O-PAP. A close second are the new production steel magazines from Bulgaria currently available from Atlantic and Palmetto, etc.

When I used to buy OEM ammo I would use SGAmmo out of Oklahoma. Sheesh, right now Wolf steel case is nearly $0.50 per round...

Golden Tiger is the best steel case (as intended) 7.62X39 there is. Get that if you can.

Good info guys thanks. the 74 is an arsenal from Bulgaria and it seems to be much higher quality than the 47. After researching these guns I am really going to focus on setting up the 74 first. I have been looking for a gun to just shoot a lot and cheaply and I think I just found it in this 74. It is badass!

I will purchase a few bakelites for it. I also found an adapter so I can hook my can up to it once it gets out of jail.

It has the side mount adapter on the side so I just need to buy a mount also. Any recommendations there also?

Thanks again guys for the info

Tell us more about the 47.

The 47 was built here in the US. Brand new never been shot before. I could have bought as many rounds for it as I wanted last night at Academy but I am just going to focus on getting myself set up and customized with the 74.

The 47 doesnt have a good way for optics and my eyesight is not good enough for open sights anymore so I really just plan on keeping this one as an investment. I may never shoot it. However the Arsenal has a different and much smoother feel when racking the slide. This is going to be my new shooter. It is light no recoil and I am hoping fairly accurate. ( I have heard on the internet) Doesnt seem like a good round for hogs but I dont care I am going to blast away as soon as I can at them. I never liked the thought of AK's before but having a few in your possession will quickly change your mind.

Think the Blackheart is a turd but if it runs thats all that matters. The Arsenal is a great gun but finish on them is usually not that great. I have an Arsenal Bulgerian that gets scratches in the finish if I sneeze but its amazing otherwise.

The 74s really died in popularity when the spam cans of 5.45 dried up due to Obama. At one point I had 5k rounds if 5.45 stocked with a 74 and an AR upper in 5.45x39. Sold it all for a ton when people were panic buying it.

PMAG for the x39

One thing that is important to note is that there are a couple different generations of PMAGs for AKs. The only one I would rely on is the M3, which has steel locking lugs. I really like the Bulgarian, steel-reinforced poly mags. Aside from that, I mostly have new Bulgarian steel, and a lot of E. European surplus mags from Romania, Poland, etc. Whatever you do, stay away from the new production Croatian mags that go for like $10/ea. They are all around terrible.

Looks like I need to shell out some bucks for some real bakelite mags for the 74. Can anyone recommend a 10 or 20 round mag for the 74? They seem to be non existent.