Mini-Review of CDNN AK-74 Magazines

       CDNN Sports has Bulgarian manufactured AK-74 magazines available in black or brown.  Current price is $14.95 each for either color (I had ordered mine a couple weeks ago when the brown were being sold for $8 apiece--I only ordered two because I wanted to test them before deciding to purchase a larger quantity and I've been waiting to get my hands on the Magpul AK-74 PMAG to try).

       These are not Circle-10 manufacture, but are nevertheless very good quality and much less expensive. The body of the magazine is polymer, with steel reinforced feed lips lightly covered with polymer. The base plate is also metal. In fact, comparing them against the surplus military magazines, they appear on casual inspection to be virtually identical. However, there is two significant differences. First, the steel reinforcement in the military grade magazines is much thicker. Second, the genuine surplus magazines are metal all around the top of the magazine, including the tabs. These magazines, however, appear to only have plastic tabs.  I don't know whether this will make a difference in long term durability.

     Fit and finish is as good as you would expect with a polymer magazine. I noticed a bit more side-to-side play compared to the military surplus magazines, but I'm not sure why because the lock up was secure and the dimensions appear to be identical. Nevertheless, when I tested them this weekend (shooting from a rest and from a standing position), they worked without any feeding issues.

      So, in short, if you want low-cost but decent quality AK-74 magazines for use at the range, these might fit the bill.