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Star AK-47 Mid-Cap Magazine Review
Review Written by Mark Gesiakowski
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When I was initially looking at what
AEG to buy, one of the selling points for the AK-47 was the 600
round high-cap magazine. So naturally, once I had gotten my AK-47 I
had to get a high-cap (and I did) and life was pretty good. Of
course, anyone who has used one of aforementioned high-caps knows
about the joys of winding (especially in a heavy firefight) but I
really didn’t want to fall back on the 70 round standard magazine
that came with the gun, and the thought of spending over $100 on one
of the drum mags (the ones that you assemble yourself and require
butchering a standard mag anyway) didn’t really appeal to me (or the
wife’s ideal of what was a reasonable amount to spend on a hobby!)
so I kept my eyes and ears open. That’s when I heard about these
Star™ magazines that were selling 10 for $50, and that appealed to
me (and the wife) as a decent amount to spend. When I looked them up
on the web, I was disgruntled to find that these were “true load”
capacity (i.e., they hold 30 BBs, just like the real steel mags). It
didn’t seem worth it, especially with the high rate of fire that you
can pump out of a stock AK-47 with a 9.6v battery, but that’s when I
spotted the “Star™ AK Midcap (Black)” (more on the color options
later)on Airsoft Extreme’s online store for $25 each. There was a
G&P brand one as well, and when I called them I found that the real
difference (other than cosmetic) was the capacity: G&P midcaps hold
150 and Star holds 160. Not much of a difference, admittedly, but
hey …10 BBs is 10 BBs. So I placed an order for 2 of the Star AK
Midcap (Black) and one arrived before the next weekend, just in time
to haul it out to the desert for the big game (the other one was on
backorder).
Upon pulling it out of the package, I carefully examined it and
compared it to the standard mag that came with my gun. The midcap is
plastic (I would assume fairly sturdy, I haven’t tried standing on
it or anything) and it’s an AK-74M style (flat sides instead of
ridged). The other color option is the bakelite (?) version of the
same mag (the brownish-orange one, which apparently is more orange
than brown on the Star replica). There were a few small mold lines
that were easily taken care of with a modeling file from my toolbox.
Other than that, it seemed like a great little mag. I put it in my
gear bag and didn’t think another thing about it, glad to have a
third mag for the game.
Out in the desert, I filled it up with my speed loader without any
major hitches and popped it into my rifle, where it seemed to lock
into place without any issues. When I went to test fire the rifle,
it fired 1 round and then started dry firing. When I went to release
the mag, it slid out with barely touching the mag release, and 3 or
4 BBs fell out. I shook it real fast, checked to make sure my gun
wasn’t jammed, and popped it back in. That’s when I realized that it
wasn’t actually locking in place. After jiggling the mag a little
bit, rocking it forward and backward, slapping it in, and everything
else I could think of, the mag still didn’t want to lock in.
Frustrated, I tossed the mag into my gear bag and slapped the high
cap into place, sighing at the thought of another day filled with
winding and listening for the dread “WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHR” that means
I’m a sitting duck.
Later that weekend while I was performing minor repairs on my gun, I
happened to have the lower body sitting next to my gear bag. “Hmmmmmmmm,”
I thought, glancing at the headache-inspiring mag. I slipped it into
place, looking at where the front locking tab sat in relation to the
little thing inside the body (no idea the technical terms).
Apparently, the front tab wasn’t quite short enough to lock in, so I
grabbed the file again and got to work, filing off about 1 or 2mm
before slipping it back in. I heard the distinct “click” of a happy
connection and proceeded to tug gently on the mag, checking to make
sure it actually had locked in place (it had). YAY!
Now that the mag was engaging with the gun properly (and my gun had
survived the minor surgery I subjected it to) it was time to see how
well it worked. Once again, I loaded the mag, popped it in, and
proceeded to my firing range (aka: the closet!) and set it for
semi-auto. I pulled the trigger once and a BB shot out into my
“target” bucket and I heard the distinct plastic on plastic sound of
a hit. The second shot was a dry-fire, as were shots three, four,
and five. I pulled the mag and a few BBs fell out (again), and again
nothing was jammed inside the gun. I tapped the mag against my leg
and put it back in, this time setting it for full auto (wondering if
that might have something to do with it) and pulled the trigger. A
single BB shot out, a dry-fire, 2 BBs at once shot out, and then 2
or 3 more dry-fires before I stopped. Pulling the mag had the same
results as before. It was all I could do to keep from throwing the
mag across the room. Unfortunately, the second mag was en route,
according to UPS tracking (damn! Too late to have them change the
order to the G&P for the same price!). Realizing I was about to have
2 craptacular mags, I decided to make the best of a bad situation
and start searching the internet, and here’s the condensed version
of what I found: the springs in the midcaps are longer than standard
and highcap mags. The majority opinion was that they needed to be
broken in.
So, I loaded and unloaded the mag 3 or 4 times (as was suggested),
put a little silicone oil in it (also suggested), and then loaded it
up one more time and let it sit, loaded, over night. Just as a note,
it still doesn’t work reliably. I have not been able to fire more
than 5 shots before it jams up on itself, no matter what I’ve done.
However, the other one that came I loaded up and, on a whim, decided
to fire it off and see if it needed to be broken in as well (an
interesting side note: the second mag fit perfectly right out of the
package and needed no filing to lock into place). I fired off the
entire mag with only one hiccup about three quarters through the mag
(estimating shots fired), which corrected itself (I didn’t need to
pull the mag to get it to resume firing. It was like an “empty” spot
where a BB should have been).
So, I have mixed feelings overall on the Star AK midcaps. Having two
of them and only one of them works right out of the package and the
other seems like a complete and total dud, I might or might not get
more of the Star ones. The AKM style is different enough that you
stand out (especially with a slant break muzzle). I like the fact
that they’re lightweight, inexpensive (wife likes that aspect,
too!), and basically double your capacity from a standard without
the hassle of winding from a high-cap. I am SERIOUSLY disappointed
with the locking and feeding issues that I have encountered with the
one though, but it’s entirely possible it’s a fluke (or maybe I need
to open that puppy up and tinker with it!). Overall, it’s not a bad
product for what you pay (it’s the same price as one Marui standard
mag for double the capacity), but you have to keep in mind the old
saying, “You get what you pay for.” |
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