Sticky: Making AK "Bolt Hold Open" Magazines

[stargazer]

A lot of folks are building and buying the Yugoslavian version of the AK-47 rifle, the M70 AB2 underfolder and the M70 B1 fixed stock version. These rifles use AK magazines that have a bolt hold open provision built in to them. The only difference between these and a normal AK magazine is the follower. It is designed to come all the way to the top of the magazine after the last round is loaded and when the last round is fired the bolt comes back and "catches" on the follower back and stops there. These followers are no where to be found other than in overpriced Yugo magazines. But there are ways to convert your existing AK magazines to have this bolt hold open feature with ANY AK varient.

I have discovered (2) ways to do this. One is very inexpensive but you will lose (1) round of capacity. Take a spent case and basically "glue" it to the follower top so the bolt will catch it when the last round is fired. Normal glue will not work but if you sand off the finish at the top of a follower and sand the finish off of the spent case you can now use JB Weld to "glue" this case to the follower. If the surface is prepared correctly like sanding to bare metal and cleaning off the surface with Acetone/Naptha or something similar, the JB Weld will hold forever. I have done this to all of my followers and tested each by ramming the bolt with full recoil force of the spring onto each one over (50) times with no ill effects whatsoever. If you choose this route you must dent the case mouth down some so the bolt will ride over the top of the case when it comes time to try and load it. Do not try this with a plastic follower, the JB Weld will not adhere to the plastic. See the image below to see what they will look like. Also, if you do this route, keep an eye on the position of the case as JB Weld takes a while to set up hard and the case may slide from where you want it. Prop the follower up so the case is level while the JB Weld dries for 24 hours. You will lose (1) round of capacity by doing this but if that really bothers you, trim off 3/8" from the bottom of the follower. In the image notice how the followers are propped up slightly on a tablet so they will be level. Now the followers are ready so only one more step to do on the magazine to be finished. You must remove the stop "bumps" at the top inside of each magazine. A file would do it, but a dremel tool with a small grinding stone is much faster and easier. See the image to find out where the "bumps" are and just grind or file them away. Be sure to clean out the magazine body of the filings after you are done.

JB Welded empty cases on AK followers.


Comparison of followers


Where to remove the stop "bumps".



The other way to make a bolt hold open magazine costs a little more but takes a lot less time and work. Find some Chinese made magazines that have the followers in them that have a tall back. The Yugo followers have a solid back to them but the Chinese ones have an open back but come up just as high as the Yugo versions. The shape and height of the back portion of the follower is the key here. You can just take those Chinese magazines and remove the "bumps" and now you have a BHO magazine. Or, to convert ANY AK magazine, purchase some Chinese followers or copies of the Chinese followers and remove the "bumps" and install these followers to get the same effect as the Yugo versions. Falcon Arms sells USA made copies of the Chinese followers and also floorplates so if you choose to purchase both you have (2) USA parts taken care of in the compliance area.

After installation of the Chinese followers.



Now when you remove the magazine the bolt will slam shut. What you can do and some Arms factories are doing this to production AK's is to notch your selector so you can have a manual hold back feature once the magazine is removed. I used a dremel tool cut-off wheel to make the notch, but again a file could be used. I placed the notch in the same place the Factory does. Once you use this a few times it becomes second nature to reach over with your right hand thumb to pull the charging handle back and with the right hand fingers slide the selector lever up to engage the notch to hold the bolt back.

Image showing where to notch an M70 selector.



Image showing notch engaged and bolt held back.



Image showing where and how to notch a SAR or WASR's selector.



So there you have (2) ways to make your own Bolt Hold Open AK magazines that does not cost very much and can be used in almost any AK rifle made.