Drum Magazine discussion

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Skans

Active member
Some people hate drum magazines; others love them. I admit that I have a "thing" for drum magazines. I try to keep up with all of the different makes of drum magazines, but lately this has been a little more difficult - there are a lot out there.

I have several drums:

3 Chinese drums - 1 for an AK; 2 120 round drums that fit AR style rifles - all of these work flawlessly; I see that similar versions, but made in Romania are now available

USAS-12 Drums - these work well

MGW 90 round drum - doesn't work very well

Betamag for Mini-14 / AC556 - took a lot of trimming of the feed lips to get it to run well, but it does run.

Glock drum mag - this is a newer acquisition; I haven't used it yet, but I'm pretty impressed with its quality given what I paid for it.

I intend on acquiring at least one or two of the X-Products drums - they look to be fairly well constructed.

There are a lot of 12 gauge drums out there - I can't even keep up with those.

So, who else will admit to liking drum magazines? Or, if you really hate them, chime in! Are there any modern-made really good ones that I'm missing?
 
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pelo801

New member
I have two promag drums. One for a saiga 12 ga and one for the 410 model. I went the kushnapup route with the 12 ga and a drum doesnt work to well with the ergos of a bullpup. But i do love using the drum on the 410.
 
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g.willikers

New member
They are intriguing to look at.
But aren't they heavy to tote around, not to mention the effect on the balance of the gun?
 
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Skans

Active member
My AR with one of those Chinese drums loaded with 120 rounds is heavy and a bit awkward. The Betamag is about as heavy (100 rounds) but doesn't feels quite as bulky. The X-products drums only hold about 50 rounds, but they look quite a bit more compact.
 
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Tucker 1371

New member
I'm planning on acquiring a Magpul drum... eventually... Whenever my house, my truck, and my fiancée quit jack hammering my wallet... So probably never.
 
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TheDevilThatYouKnow

New member
They definitely add weight and more than that, bulk.

I have drums for my AK's that I'd only consider if I were in a static position, too much slinging around and rattling if I were on the move.
The 20-round drums for the USAS just make it a pain to pretend I'm patrolling with. Again, static position only for something that bulky.
 
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bamaranger

New member
Thompson

Read somewhere about a WWII infantryman that carried a Thompson sub gun. As I recall, he claimed to like to go in with a drum on the Thompson, and when it went dry, to discard it and go to stick mags. He also claimed that the 20 rd mags worked better for him than the 30's he was sometimes issued, the 30's not locking in place well.

Very hazy recollection, maybe a Brit Commando.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
There are drums, and there are drums.

I bought a 25rnd drum for the 1911A1 at a gun show years ago. Promag. It NEVER WORKED.

I had a couple of the 90rnd drums for the AR and the Mini14 back when they were $50 before the 94 ban. Fully loaded, balance sucked, of course, and they would jam a couple times in the first few rounds. Loaded with 80 or less, function was flawless.

I have one of the 50rnd drums for my Thompson semi auto. It is incredibly awkward to use in the semi auto, requiring a (supplied) "third hand" special tool to remove it from the gun. And so far, its been problematic, which might be my fault. It is complicated to load, rounds are not fed in, the mag faceplate is removed and you place rounds in groups of 5 between the impellers, then replace the plate and wind the mag.

ONLY the commercial models of the Tommy gun will take the drum mag. The military models will only take the stick mags. Many of the commercial models were used in military service, and there was even a 100rnd drum made, although not used by US forces, it was used by the British. There is a famous photo series of Churchill holding a Tommygun with a drum.

According to some sources, British troops in North Africa did not like to carry the drum when they went on patrol. They said it "rattles", and it does.

there is another kind of "drum" I have experienced, which it the "drum" on the MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns. These look like drum mags but are nothing but holding canisters for a coiled 50 or 75rnd belt.
 
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Machineguntony

New member
With a drum mag, you can actually effectively spray and pray. It's fun, until it jams. Drums do tend to jam more often.

The most reliable drums are the nutsacks or ammo carriers on belt fed MGs, but those aren't really drums because they aren't spring activated, even though they function like a drum.
 
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DaleA

New member
Unwieldy is the term I would use to describe drum magazines and I wouldn't ever buy one. Except for a Thompson. If I had a Thompson I'd have to have one. You know. Just because.
 
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4V50 Gary

Staff
I remember back in the late '70s when (50 rd?) drum magazines were scarce for the HK-91. They were in the hundreds of $$$ and that was a lot of money back then.
 
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weblance

New member
I have two of the GSG 110 round drums for the Ruger 10/22. The first one I bought runs flawlessly. The second one wouldnt lock into the rifle, and took some adjusting of the front pin to lock in place. Now that its fitted, it also runs flawlessly. I have only loaded each one to capacity three times, but they work perfectly.

I have a Black Dog Machine 50 round drum for the Ruger 10/22. It has mostly worked well, with a few stoppages,
 
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Road_Clam

New member
I have a 75 round Romanian back loader ak-47 drum I bought many years ago. I've used it once. A 75 round mag dump which put a smile on my face and a deep hole in my wallet. My Opap is heavy to begin with then adding another 5 lbs made it pretty tiring to shoot. Barrel got very toasty as well. Nothing like the unique smell of burnt Cosmo !
 
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44 AMP

Staff
FYI, a 90rnd mag dump through a stainless mini 14 made the barrel hot enough to burn flesh, set the oil to smoking, but was not hot enough to light a cigarette off the barrel! :D
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Not in any way I could tell, Skans.

My stainless mini is "blaster grade" I've never tried to accurize it, in fact, I had the gun decades and never printed a group on paper with it. It hits on, or close to on at every range I usually use it, and that's all I need out of it.

I probably HAVE burnt out the barrel (0or the throat, maybe) but it hasn't shown any diminished performance. If I want tiny varmint accuracy, I use a bolt gun.

Choate folding stock, 90rnd drum, and a flash suppressor/muzzle brake, its my "light" suppressive fire weapon, in case things get really bad, or if I just want to play A-Team. (and use 30rnd sticks :D).
 
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gyvel

New member
The drum for a PPS-50 .22lr that I once had never worked with more than 10 rounds. A Numrich Thompson drum also never worked worth beans.

Ironically, the only good drum I ever had was a WWI Luger 32 round drum that, after I was able to load with a lot of difficulty (didn't have the tool), worked flawlessly.
 
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Skans

Active member
Don't play A-Team....they never hit!
Click to expand...

Sure they did! They hit exactly what they were aiming at - the sky.:D

The only drum that I could not get to work was one of those 90 round MGW drums. Perhaps you are supposed to squirt a bunch of graphite in it to get it to run smooth - I never tried that. Out of all of the drums I have the ones that work the best are the Chinese drums, both on my AR and my AK. I would like to know more about the X-Products drums. They don't hold much, comparatively, but they look compact and well made.
 
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