So Why Are Mags Curved | AK Rifles

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So im sitting on my couch watching cartoons eating day old pizze (with sriracha) and it came to me why are mag (over 20rnds) curved? Anyone know? Does It got some thing to do with the spring or follower, #1 · Aug 9, 2007 So im sitting on my couch watching cartoons eating day old pizze (with sriracha) and it came to me why are mag (over 20rnds) curved? Anyone know? Does It got some thing to do with the spring or follower, Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Aug 9, 2007 Line up 20 to 30 rounds of 7.62x39mm or 5.45x39mm, or any tapered cased cartridges, flat down on a hard surface and you'll see why..... :goof: #3 · Aug 9, 2007 I've wondered why they make both straight and curved 20 rounders for the AR, but only make curved 30 rounders? How come they can't make a straight 30 round AR mag too? #4 · Aug 9, 2007 5.56x45mm is still tapered, and when you stack them, they curve. #5 · Aug 9, 2007

micah360 said: I've wondered why they make both straight and curved 20 rounders for the AR, but only make curved 30 rounders? How come they can't make a straight 30 round AR mag too? Click to expand...

Well the bottom of the mag is not straight and the follower is sitting at an angle to the sides of the magazine when there are 20 rounds in a straight sided magazine. In a curved magazine the follower and the bullets should always be at a right angle to the magazine side at whatever position of motion they are in. #6 · Aug 9, 2007 Ahhh... that's right. I forgot about the slant!

#7 · Aug 9, 2007 With the AR, the taper of the cases (combined with the slanted mag bottom) will allow for a straight 20 round mag. That's the limit, though. You won't find a 30 round straight mag. #8 · Aug 10, 2007 I get it, I see what you meant bout the ammo being tapered, I put 10 7.62x39 in a row that mad a nice curve #9 · Aug 11, 2007

micah360 said: I've wondered why they make both straight and curved 20 rounders for the AR, but only make curved 30 rounders? How come they can't make a straight 30 round AR mag too? Click to expand...

The original M16/AR-15 design in .223/5.56 only factored in a 20 round mag. They later found in testing that 20 rounds of .223/5.56 was the upper limit in size to reliably feed that case caliber in a straight mag design. By the late 1969 early 1970 when they wanted to field a 30 round mag, a few million rifle receiver had been built and was more economical to make the 30 round mag a quasi straight and then curved once it left the magwell. Late production curved 20 rounders on the market are only out there because it was cheaper to modify a 30 round stamping die to make new production 20 round curved mags. #10 · Aug 11, 2007 When the M16 was developed, the designers were still coming from the M1 Garand world with it's 8 round enbloc clip. You couldn't 'top off' an enbloc. You had to fire until the 8 rounds were expended. Serious shortcoming. The M14 had been developed and was still considered new and revolutionary. (Which it was at that point in time.) The M14, being cutting edge, had more than two and a half times the capacity of the 8 round Garand enbloc clip! Holy smokes! That's REAL firepower! So...the M16 was developed with a 20 round mag because, at the time, 20 rounds represented 'massive' firepower in the West. Yes. The AK had 30 round mags, but, the East and the West were different worlds with different mindsets that developed at different rates. I believe that the West was 'goaded' into a 30 round mag for the M16 so as not to be 'one upped' by the Soviets. (In the same way as the Soviets developed their 5.45 x 39 round so as not to be 'one upped' by the West.) Anyway, US mags had ALWAYS been straight. 'God' created them that way. LOL! That's just the way the US people thought. And they made the mags...and magwell...with that in mind. I have often wondered what the M16 magwell might have looked like if the M16 had been developed with a 30 round mag from the start. #11 · Aug 19, 2007

Anyway, US mags had ALWAYS been straight. Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a 30 rd mag for an M1/M2 carbine? These are curved & date back to at least 1945. #12 · Aug 19, 2007

p-dog said: Have you ever seen a 30 rd mag for an M1/M2 carbine? These are curved & date back to at least 1945. Click to expand...

Yeah, and they're even designed for straight-walled cartridges. Weird, huh? #13 · Aug 19, 2007 The 16-round magazines for the M1918 Chauchat in U.S. caliber .30 were curved to accomodate the cartridges. (The French 8mm Lebel rounds are much more tapered, so the M1915 model used half-moon shaped mags.) #14 · Aug 19, 2007

p-dog said:
Anyway, US mags had ALWAYS been straight. Click to expand...
Have you ever seen a 30 rd mag for an M1/M2 carbine? These are curved & date back to at least 1945. Click to expand...

Strictly speaking, you're right. Of course. My reference was to a mindset that was present at the time. The mindset of the decision makers and not necessarily even the designers. In a similar vein, many years ago Henry came out with their repeating rifles. Many US generals (the decision makers) opposed them for adoption by the military because they though that the men were incapable of using the increased firepower effectively and would just waste ammo. There was a resistance to change because of the "rifles have always been single shot" mindset. Obviously, this wasn't exactly correct since the Henry repeating arms had been available for some time. Otherwise there would not have been a discussion. My point was/is...the mindset. The 'thinking'. It is the mindset...not the 'facts'...that controls. The current array of US military arms is a direct reflection of pervading mindset of the decision makers. This mindset, of course, changes over time. Mindset follows design and sometimes lags faaaaaaaar behind. #15 · Aug 19, 2007 so you can hit her in the sweet spot... #16 · Aug 19, 2007 ba zing #17 · Aug 20, 2007 the same reason your weiner is curved. #18 · Aug 20, 2007 Let's keep this one out of the Rec Room. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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