I was pleasantly surprised when the magazines arrived. They were used and came in a variety of different phases of abuse. Some of the magazines were well worn with bent floor plates. Everything looked better than I expected to be honest. After a closer inspection, out of the ten I purchased, only three had problems with the follower. I immediately thought this to be an issue with the packaging lubricant or magazine spring and set those particular magazines aside for a future project. Let me say that this isn't anything against Classic Firearms. They are a fine company. I have read where they will replace any item you purchase from them, if it does not meet your expectations. However, I was busy and didn't have time to contact the company. I was anticipating on replacing the springs later anyway. But this is not a review about this fine company. The review is about the replacement magazine springs from Damage Industries, LLC.
Damage Industries (http://damageindustriesllc.com) is not a well known company to my knowledge. I ran across the company while searching for a front rail system for an AK-47. On occasion, I ran across articles featuring other items they manufacture. I had no experience with the company myself but quickly learned that they sell a wide variety of products for the AR and AK platform. After a quick search I discovered that there isn't a lot of reviews on their products. But since their products are manufactured in the US and not sub-contracted, I wanted to give them a shot.
For $36 (plus shipping) you get 12 magazine springs for the AK. These springs are made from 302 stainless steel. From personal inspection, I can honestly say that they seem thicker than the Romanian springs. Upon removal of the two springs from the magazines I was having problems with, I was under the impression that the replacements were longer. After disassembly of the other magazines, I learned that they are the same length as the standard springs. All followers, floor plates, and springs were easily removed. The new springs were installed without a hitch. Though, I haven't fired rounds from the magazines, rounds feed into the magazines as expected. This leads me to believe that there will be no problems when cycled in the firearm.
So, give Damage Industries a call or look them up. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what they offer. This will not be my last purchase from them. I'll go a step further and say look for a future post featuring their Full Length Enhanced Buffer Spring for the AR-15 platform (good for approximately 750,000 cycles). This company may in fact be a dark horse!
