The Great Sportsman's Guide AK Magazine Lottery of 2006

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Someone left a comment about my casual use of a stamped Chinese AK magazine in my little Krink build, and it prompted me to consider where that magazine came from. I got that magazine as part of what really was a magnificent treasure trove of AK magazines that were imported by Sportsman's Guide back in 2006/2007. They apparently found a warehouse full of AK magazines in Sarajevo, stuff that had found its way into the former Yugoslavia during the wars in the 90s. Sportsman's Guide bought them all up and imported them into the US, where they proceeded to dump them on the market without any sorting or organization.
The magazines were packed 6 per bag, and you could get either 6 or 12 at a time, for something like 6 bucks per mag (less if you were a member of their loyalty program). Opening those bags was like buying collectible playing cards; you never knew what you would get, but you were always hoping for something rare and exotic. The cache was largely generic European mags, but also included Russian steel, Russian bakelite,, slab sides, aluminum waffles, Egyptian, Yugoslav bolt hold-opens, Chinese roll-backs, Chinese stamped, Croatian 2-ribs, Bosnian single ribs, and (the one I really wanted but never did get) Bosnian Fleur-de-Lis mags.
Ah, good times...
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
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Tucson, AZ 85740

[@Mario_bland]

In this video: Ian explains to youngins that lootboxes always existed.

[@angrymetalhead]

At least you actually got *something* for your money back then though. Not just like "ok pay us $5 for your loot box for a 0.0000000009% chance for something insanely good....but mostly there's a 95% chance that you're gonna get something crappy". T'is the way of the online gaming world nowadays though lol.

[@broomhwauser3380]

Yeah too bad magazines are worth something and loot boxes are full of diarrhea

[@daleparker4207]

Canada government has screwed over Canadians even more.

[@daltongarrett7117]

grab bags full of random stuff at the head shop is always a nice "loot box"

[@032adjutantreflex]

Loot boxes of AK mags sounds better than some hot pink skin for a knife

[@paulbarthol8372]

Now we know what Ian wants for Christmas, a Fleur de lis mag.

[@HellbirdIV]

Imagine opening one and it's "Oops! All Khyber Pass hand-fitted mags!"

[@luizftavares]

Taking the guns Khyber Pass has made into consideration I can confirm the mags would make the AK uncycleable and an explosion hazard.

[@moistjohn]

@@luizftavares ehh depends what era of khyber, they got better

[@nathanielwowchuk6880]

Wait. Thats a 303 brit mag

[@Flumphinator]

@@nathanielwowchuk6880 chadyes.gif

[@Elohim100]

@@luizftavares Nah, Khyber pass is good.

[@turbogerbil2935]

This sounds like some of the stuff that was coming out of Albania. Around that time, I was contacted by an international arms dealer who had some surplus .303 ammo that had come from Albania. Military surplus 303 was already scarce back then, so I bought a very large quantity on behalf of some shooting clubs. The ammo turned out to be a skip full (quite literally), and comprised essentially every type of 303 ever made from every factory - every head stamp from pre-WW1 up until the 1960s. Even some MkII from Boer war era. Some was in original packaging, but a lot consisted of ten random rounds tied up in a newspaper packet with brown string - very Warsaw Pact.

[@MatthewCobalt]

Mother of god, that has got the be the ultimate hodgepodge of ammo quality I have ever seen.

[@bigmikeh5827]

I remember when Hanson Cartridge Co was importing ammo from Yugoslavia in the early 90s. I collected the rifles then (8mm,6.5 swedetc…) and it was good but inexpensive. Then the war came and ruined it. Still have some of the .303.

[@cunicularius2064]

Wow, a blessing from the gods for ammo collectors.

[@altergreenhorn]

exept that Albania wasnt in varsaw pact

[@altergreenhorn]

@@TheRealColBosch Actually more a China satelite thats why china mags, planes, etc there. Albanian paranoid dictator had relations only with the China after 1952. Because every other communists were to soft for him after Stalin death. Especially neighbour yugoslavia which was basically a capitalist country pretending to be communist from his point of view.

[@matthaught4707]

I remember a buddy of mine showing me "This weird French AK mag" he got from Sportsman's Guide back in the day. I should have ordered a ton, but I was poor and figured I'd just buy mags when I got around to it.

[@rangefinder3538]

I got ripped off when I ordered a bunch of used Elbonian Magazines. When I opened the crate it was full of old Playboys (Elbonian edition). I do recall Ms July 1967centerfold hobbies included thumb wrestling, cow tipping and competitive goat gelding.

[@Ojthemighty]

Ooh shes a keeper

[@brucebaxter6923]

You sir, Win the internet.

[@Hybris51129]

"Kinky..." ~Hedley Lamar~

[@fleezyp]

Gelding?! Wtf

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

@@fleezyp Yeah, same reaction. I would totally ask what it is if not for the fact I know what that is and I pray it isn't the traditional technique...

[@westoncovey764]

This is why we need to fight all the current import laws. The ability to get stuff into the us really changes the amount of collectibles and even their prices. I feel like all our current importers want the laws to stay the same and stomp out competition

[@user-gu1hl2kx2k]

yep. we can't have American small arms manufactures having a monopoly on the gun market. The monopoly is good for the NRA and manufactures, but not for us working folks.

[@westoncovey764]

It bothers me how I try so hard to get items in as a legitimate business and get turned down at every corner. Only to see people on reddit getting boxes and crates of stuff in through "means". Like gun control, the laws in place are only stopping the people trying to follow the law/do things legally. It's not stopping the people who dont have to do it legally.

[@dustyak79]

Not just the import laws it’s the ability of the ATF to make “determinations” then enforce them with no oversight!

[@xilon56]

The US buying a bunch of old military surplus is even good for Euros, it's better that the yanks buy it than the street gangs over here because those and jihadis are the only other realistic customers.

[@daviec1816]

Yeah, same with the ban on shipping body parts. Shrunken Head Collectors have really been hard up lately, and it only drives up the prices for those oligopoly of suppliers providing synthetics. It's an actual travesty.

[@jamesgates1074]

Great Sportsman: We have random bags of weird magazines Ian: You had me at random

[@jakubas6396]

Fun fact: this year (2021) it's excatly a 74 years from russian army adopting the Ak47 and its 47 years from russian army adopting Ak74. Celebrarte year 2021 for AK!!

[@SomewhereInSiberia]

AK was officially adopted by council of ministries resolution 18 june 1949, not in 47

[@paribasbruh9962]

@@SomewhereInSiberia no it was

[@Ojthemighty]

Thats really cool. I love it

[@dbmail545]

Got 5 5.45 guns. Masterrace!

[@PHIllip324]

That was the most weirdly hilarious intro Ian's ever done.

[@revvyishonisd5027]

I had a single Chinese flat back mag and a Russian drum growing up and had no idea how rare they were, and my dad eventually sold both with the ak. Later buying ak’s and mags as an adult I for the life of me couldn’t figure out why I kept getting mags with this nasty rib sticking out the back. Were all the mags I’ve bought knock offs? Did some research annnnnnnnd shit. The mag and drum both were worth more than the ak we were using them in lol. Also just to rub salt in our wounds, 500 rounds of wolf 7.62x39 was like $34.99 back then too 😭😭😭

[@appalachianexploration5714]

The ammo still is that cheap if you buy online in bulk

[@dbmail545]

My first AK74 was a junky Lancaster build with a garbage barrel. Got considerable sticker shock when I got another 5.45 gun and saw how much the magazines had gone up in price. Don't miss the gun at all, but I sure wish I had the ammo and magazines that I sold with it.

[@XuroX.]

Uhh where is 7.62x39 that cheap buying in bulk, You are lying

[@scruggs6633]

@@appalachianexploration5714 Not even close lol

[@pjm204]

@@appalachianexploration5714 it hasn't been that cheap since 2004 dude.

[@Tx556]

They did the same thing with 74 mags a few months/year later. I remember getting a ton a Russian plums/bakes, lots of circle 10 mags and polish mags too. For the 47 drop I did end up getting a Bakelite and a flour de lis. Sold the Flour de Lis for $200 and covered all my mag purchases. The glory days of milsurp.

[@worldtraveler930]

I truly missed those days!!

[@xxbananaxphonexx]

I remember those days. From 2008 or so until 2012ish. SG Ammo had those $5 all stamped Chinese and the factory 66 spine mags, desert fox sales and some other company did similar stuff with plum 5.45 and 30 round 7.62 Bakelite. The $30 40 round Bakelite mags. The JG sales “Balkan war” lottery mags and stock sets with carvings and shellacked porno cutouts on them. The $80 COMPLETE NOS Chinese wood stock sets. Those were great times. Plus, M91/30’s still being $50 or less, $150 Chinese SKS’s, the $280 VZ2008 VZ58’s, my lord

[@illegalclown]

I was just getting into guns in a serious way back then and bought a bunch of mags from them. I know I have some bakelite, but never looked at the rest to see what they were. They were just AK mags to me and I threw them in a big storage box. I should dig them out to see if any are special.

[@Ojthemighty]

Do it.

[@tristane3444]

Give us an update when you do pls

[@ScottKenny1978]

Do it!

[@rogainegaming6924]

Update us

[@illegalclown]

I found one box of mags in my garage. They're still in cosmoline. I grabbed a quick sample, most are Romanian, or have no markings, one was Bulgarian, and one was Hungarian. I also have three bakelites. I haven't shot one of my AKs in like 10 years, and I moved 6 years ago so most of my older gun stuff is packed away in storage. Truthfully, life has been busy the last few years. I'm only just now slowly getting back into it, and most of my shooting lately has been .22 plinking with my kid.

[@das_gruuben]

I think that gun collecting anecdotes like this are really interesting. If you have more, I'd like to hear them. Great video, Ian!

[@con6lex]

I remember SKS rifles going for

[@TheBobafett13]

I remember buying 8mm mauser ammo from RGUNs and another distributor years ago and they would ship it to you in a ammo can. It was kind of like how ian described in this video. Piles and piles and piles of all different types of 8mm were sold at once price and it was random what you would get. Sometimes it would be yugo ammo in a american style ammo can. Sometimes it would be czech 8mm in a yugo style post war can. Sometimes it would be original german WW2 armor piercing on machine gun belts in original ww2 german cans. It was wild. Miss those times.

[@deej9367]

Sportsman guide also sold trench art AK wood furniture from that conflict also. I bought 2 sets and got some cool carving

[@themischeifguide]

I got a set too for a Romy, never did get a romy clone, but I bought a set just incase.

[@deej9367]

@@themischeifguide There were some really cool ones people were getting. They had Britney Spears stickers and some had full Yugo crests carved in the butt stock.

[@floridahdshooter]

My treasure story is I walked into a LGS and was looking around and saw a box of clear plastic mags. Picked one up and they were all new unwrapped Sig 550 mags. I had a 550 at the time and asked how much.. They were going for $10.00, could not believe it but bought 5 just to check.. Took them home did some research and sure enough swiss made Sig 550 mags. Next day bought the whole box for I think $400 and sold them at the time for I believe $75 to $110 a piece later. Been kicking myself for selling that 550.. Miss that gun

[@TheCowboyfromhell87]

@@matthewnewman7187 Are you some sort of anti capitalist?

[@marcusborderlands6177]

@@matthewnewman7187 he didn't scalp them, he found them for wayyyyy under current sale prices, and sold them at market price.

[@matthewnewman7187]

Thinking about what you did, I don't blame you!! I take back what I said.

[@floridahdshooter]

@@matthewnewman7187 Someone that reflected on what was said and had the balls to retract.. might be a first on the internet ;)

[@HawkMeyerOutdoors]

Years back a local gun store was selling 40 rd stamped Russian Molot mags for 14 dollars apiece. I was friends with an associate there told him about the rarity of them and he acted like I was speaking a different language, they didn’t care. Oh well, there lose my huge gain. The bulk of my AK mags came from early 2000s Knob Ceek Machine shoot. I would sort through crates of mags for 8 bucks. Found some gems. Back in my day. Haha

[@rkhale02]

i've always lived about 15 minutes away from Knob Creek in louisville ky, i loved watching those machine gun shoots for the longest time. I was late on getting into the gun show, really wish i had gotten to get in on that. Not as good now-a-days but you'll see the occasional deal.

[@HawkMeyerOutdoors]

@@rkhale02 The gun show part was great for many years but as of late it has been over whelmed by jerky, moon rock, and taser booths. When I started going it was amazing. I remember seeing the two rib Bosnian mags for a steal and I didn’t buy them I’m still kicking myself. I was to interested in the cheap stuff. Check it out this year it will be the last one. We will be there filming.

[@HawkMeyerOutdoors]

@@timewave02012 Yes sadly it is. I have been going every year to both shows since the early 2000s. It has changed so much since then. I have always had fun and found something I can live without. But this is it the last one. We’ll be there film this historical event. Haha

[@whiteboyplayz2553]

Yes got the rest of the molot and new in wrap chinese mags from knobcreek somewhere around 2016 2017. Back in the wire cage area in the back room. Very reasonably priced. Enough so I got them all.

[@towakin7718]

Ah, I see, they "found" a warehouse. Good old times...

[@BadWolf762]

The old Sportsman's Guide was always a fun read with Gary always finding dusty old forgotten warehouses full of gun treasures.

[@wpeniche]

I was lucky and actually got like 7 authentic Yugo mags with the last round bolt hold open feed lip from them.

[@hailtothe_rooster1572]

Those are still around. I got like 20

[@appalachianexploration5714]

Those and the Croatian bolt hold open mags are everywhere.

[@chrisreedy5577]

Ehh they’re still around. You can find em in apex, whatacountry, AOA, etc. for around $20 like the other guy said. And those aren’t the Croatians.

[@chrisreedy5577]

@@johndoe-so2ef ehh I only like using them on my yugo just to try and keep everything original. But outside of that, I would never use them. I’m sure there’s gotta be a downside to your bolt slamming against the follower.

[@geodkyt]

Thats about the period where I scored a box of Suomi drums for (I seem to recall) about $15 apiece) for a planned "let's kitbash a Sten drum for shiggles" project to go with a planned semiauto Sten build. Since this was about the point where AK parts kits were starting to dry up, I scored a *ton* of AK steel mags to go with the several $89 AK parts kits i had. I also remember getting a Romanian RPK drum about the same time for basically scrap metal prices. Good times, good times.

[@geodkyt]

@Clint EastwoodenDoors WTF?

[@FoxtrotFleet]

@Clint EastwoodenDoors Someone's gotta keep the Syrup Menace in its place.

[@KILLERGRAVITY-sb3bh]

@Clint EastwoodenDoors your so damn salty and jealous 😂 get your money up and stop being a hater all that goes to your kidneys bozo

[@Immafraid]

@Clint EastwoodenDoors Look over there! It's a Native American woman!

[@LordVladimort]

I was born in Bosnia and lived there until i was a teenager. I remember military warehouses full of just random stuff like vehicle parts, motor oil, and sometimes other stuff i didn't recognize at the time, like magazines. Up until about 2005 most people could just walk in as these were abandoned and anything"dangerous" was taken out. After they actually cleaned these up. I bet there's still some that are just forgotten about, waiting until the next war.

[@LordVladimort]

@Ghost that treats objects like women Nadajmo se, ali nikad se ne zna. Znaš kako je na Balkanu....

[@jacobmerritt2483]

Thanks for the insight, friend.

[@marks1638]

I remember that sale when I was a member of Sportsman Guides Club, but since I didn't anything for a AK I never bought any mags. I do remember the glory of the 1980/90's sales where everything from Philippine WWII Garands to Soviet Capture 98K's for less than $150 and Chinese Pre WWII C96's (some Chinese and some German) for $125-200, including a couple of nice examples of 45 ACP C-96's made in China. We all wish we could go back and get the stuff that we didn't buy.

[@BadWolf762]

I'm still kicking myself for not buying the SVT-40 I had in my hands at a gun show with a price of $299.

[@gunsnchoses8309]

That was a great lottery... Oh when parts were still cheap and plentiful! I got a few good mags from those, still have some of 'em. They were some of the first reliable sources of slab-sided magazines, aluminum waffles, 2-ribs (of which I still have one) and ChiCom flatbacks! I remember when Sportsmans Guide actually had cool milsurp.

[@worldtraveler930]

I missed those days!!

[@gunsnchoses8309]

@@worldtraveler930 I wish I had thrown more money at stuff and held on to more. Most of what I got cheap I let go just as cheaply thinking I might be able to get more or not caring enough about it at the time. In the words of Michael Scott, "How the turntables have turned." Now people are fighting over parts kit scraps at 500% markup. It's insane.

[@worldtraveler930]

@@gunsnchoses8309 All to True!!!

[@jacknelson8601]

During Desert Storm I came across some AK mags that had been burned in the killing zone at Al Mutla pass north of Kuwait City. The rounds had exploded inside them during the fire, swelling them up like bananas (actually blew some holes out the front with sharp pieces of metal hanging on like portholes). For kicks, I picked a few of them up, emptied out the sand and debris, cleaned them and after reloading them I placed them in a Chinese Type-56 and a Hungarian AKMS. Holy crap......they still worked! Wish I had kept a couple for shots and grins.🌴

[@randomnobodovsky3692]

To quote a great man: "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought using AK magazines".

[@828enigma6]

If I'm not mistaken, I ordered a dozen. In one of the bags was a magazine I found most interesting. It was a steel 7.62 AK mag with a 7.62 bullet hole midway down the side of mag. The spring was intact AND IT STILL WORKED FINE. No blood stains noted. I still have it.

[@509Gman]

Probably shot by whatever the Balkan version of Carl is.

[@moosemaimer]

I ended up with a bunch of G3 mags from them... They were selling them for $3 so I figured what the heck, I'll get 6. Couple months later, they're selling bundles of six mags for $3.

[@driftertank]

Tangentially related, I bought a PTR-91 about 11-12 years ago, and got lucky in my timing, in that CTD had a big lot of G3 mags that they were clearing out of old German army warehouses. I got 40 steel body mags for $2 ea. Some were just garbage, with bent feed lips, rusted bodies, etc. Some were moderately used, with scratches, missing finish in spots, and so on. But I ended up with about a dozen new in wrapper magazines, with the paper and preservative oil, all stamped either Rheinmetall or HK. I stripped the nasty ones for parts, gave a few of the "meh" shooters to friends with HK clones, and ended up with about 28 or so nice steel G3 mags. Last time I saw original G3 mags for sale at a gun show, they wanted about $25 each for aluminum ones...

[@killersp1974]

Back in the day Cheaper than Dirt way before they took to major price gouging--> circa 2006ish had G3/HK 91 from the 1960-70's for .99 Cents each! Yes most were scratched up dented and so on and yes some were still new in the wrapper.

[@driftertank]

@@killersp1974 Yessir. When I bought mine they still had their aluminum ones available for 99¢ apiece. I just spring for the steel ones because they're incredibly stout.

[@claygoodwin8108]

Bought a lot of the g3 mags for.99 just to fill out orders

[@farmerbrown84]

Yeah, I scored a heap as well in magazine pouches - and upon opening discovered many of them were new in plastic.

[@slavsupreme5129]

Best deal I EVER got was when I walked into a local shop, and mixed in with all their random mags, I got two Bakelite East German AK-74 mags for ~$20 total. The best part is that this was only a couple of months ago 😁

[@henryrodgers7386]

Tragically, the local pawnbroker / gun shop owner here watches this channel religiously... I REALLY wish I'd kept my damn mouth shut and never told him about Ian... I can't rip him off anymore! Though, he did sell me a Romanian WASR-10 for $500, right as the prices were spiking a few years ago. It came with a good Russian mag and a perfectly usable Chinese one, and about 100 rounds. Damn good deal. - The bastard still refuses to let me shoot his DP26, though.

[@member5488]

I remember when you could buy 10 round magazines for the PS90 for way less than the 50 round ones. It took like 10 minutes of work to make a 10 round a 50 round.

[@TransistorBased]

They're all the same price so I can't understand how the 30 round even sells anymore. Obviously the tens are still needed for those states where they'll shoot your dog for owning a 50.

[@awgmax]

Is is some deep gun nerd shit. I love it.

[@justthetip7136]

Man there used to be some wild deals in those old "Shotgun News", "Sportsman's Guide", and "IMA-USA" papers.

[@GunFunZS]

I used to see M3 grease gun mags and Thompson mags sold in bandelier's loaded for basically the cost of the ammo in them.

[@BadWolf762]

Back when surplus ammo was stacked deep and sold cheap. Good times.

[@jameswoods7276]

I had to pause after the intro I was laughing so hard. Made my morning!

[@adeptuslatrina2307]

Ian I remember this and Bought like 5 packs of AK mags. I ended up with 90% Generics but I did end up with a Bakelite and two of the Flur De Lis.

[@Tinblitz]

*IAN MCCULLOM WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION*

[@davidpage4005]

@@Tinblitz he's already on his way.!!

[@adeptuslatrina2307]

@@Tinblitz Emporer Protect me....

[@kanan348]

@@adeptuslatrina2307 You will wake up tomorrow to find that one of the Flur De Lis mags is gone.

[@offdeadeye88]

@@kanan348 in its place, a chauchat mag

[@baileysquire3110]

And here I was buying aluminum waffle mags for $110+ like a clown lol. Wish I could’ve experienced cheap AK stuff.

[@themischeifguide]

Those were days of thunder, I'll tell you what. I had just started collecting at that time.

[@DPiercy0069]

I've got a small fortune in ak mags too! Lol Couldn't ever imagine paying 100-200$ dollars for a single mag but I have quite a few times after actually getting into AKs, Shit some of the mags are nicer than the guns lol. Its like a disease.....

[@calvingreene90]

The great joy of getting what you paid for and a bonus all-in-one. Like finding a pearl in your oyster stew.

[@nicolaiby1846]

Old Ian is my favorite fucking character ever. I burst out laughing as soon as I heard him imitate an old guy.

[@jacobwilbers6461]

my now passed grandfather back in about 2007 had a couple drum mags he got from this deal he used to keep pet geese in the city a couple rabid dogs got into are backyard and started killing his geese i had just pulled in the driveway i see my grandfather outside shooting at the dogs with his ak with drum mag and another on the hood of his car and that moment a cop drove by he was 80 at the time luckily he only spent a night in jail for shooting inside the city limits

[@Topo842]

Ian always said life was like a box of AK Mags... ...you never know what you are gonna get.

[@jimmarcum7362]

Back before 1994, I had a friend who owned INTRAC Corporation. He sold me AK steel mags for 50 cents a piece, new in cosmoline. He also sold me a Maadi AK for $60.00. The first time I ever bought a rifle and case of ammo, where I paid more for the case of ammo than the gun.

[@Gatman0311]

Unfortunately I was like 10 in 2006 but I do remember my dad getting a shit ton of milsurp around this time period for very cheap. Boy have times changed…

[@Woistdeingott]

Various places will still have surplus for cheap, just gotta keep an eye out. Sportsman’s guide, Numrich, Hessan Antinque, and Varusteleka all occasionally have great collectible surplus for cheap, but the rarer stuff usually sells out fast

[@provenancemachining]

Non-firearms related surplus is still fairly cheap and plentiful due to less interest, but the firearms accessories, parts kits, and most of everything else is long gone.

[@DGARedRaven]

For the first few secs, I thought I was on the wrong channel. Thank you very much for the good laugh, Ian! I needed that today. :D

[@jvleasure]

I remember flipping through the Sportman's Guide with great enjoyment in those days.

[@fscreations7373]

I really enjoyed this video, thanks for making

[@devikwolf]

In this video: confirmation that Sportsman's Guide never cared.

[@quarkbent9165]

A lovely diversion, Ian, as usual. Thanks for sharing :)

[@eamonwright7488]

My buddy scored one of those Bosnian Fleur de lis mags. I remember pointing out to him that BIH's crest is a shield that has 2 sets of 3 Fleur de lis on it. I believe he still has it. I traded him 3 Polish 30 round aluminum waffle mags for a brown Bulgarian steel reinforced polymer AK-74 mag and 2 Russian tula AK 74 bakelite magazines. I miss that Sportman's guide "mixer-sixer" loot crates.

[@GKBigmack]

About 10-12 years ago, Cheaper Than Dirt had Aluminum G3 mags for about 2 bucks each. They were immaculate, plastic wrapper, piece of MFG dated cardboard around each. I ordered 400. Story was that they had bought whatever the Bundeswehr had left over and shipped them stateside by the 40ft conex box full. Every single one I have is factory new, and either HK or Rhinemetall marked. The RM mags are mid 60s, various dates. HKs are early/Mid 70s, Various dates. I use about 30 or so of them, rest are packed and stored.

[@gansior4744]

When I was oppening packages with football cards, Ian was opening AK Mag bags

[@BootedVulture]

Cool to get a response video about something in a previous video so quickly.

[@JRassi_Militaria]

I got 2 fleur mags in my order... both springs were completely bad, and at the time the cost of a rebuild kit was more than just buying another mag from SG so I threw then away. Had no idea they were collectable.

[@tommystone4563]

I got a lot of AK magazine from the Sportsman's Guide back then too...

[@jsquinlan]

In the 90s one of the great places to buy surplus ammo was from Old Western Scrounger which advertised in the back of ‘The Shotgun News’. After I bought a SMLE No 1 Mk III from Big 5 Sporting Goods for $79, I would call Old Western Scrounger to order ammo. They sold .303 Brit on stripper clips in a cloth bandoleer with 60 rounds for $12.

[@stevenrledoux]

When you are so used to Ian being so straight faced, it throws you for a loop when he does a comedy bit, be it "Gun Jesus" for halloween or "back in my day"

[@theblindsniper9130]

It absolutely breaks my heart knowing that I missed out on the golden age of surplus. Didn't stop me from picking up enough surplus to make myself a gun channel, though.

[@alexwieland-ducher8792]

I cry in Zoomer every day too :(

[@John.VanSwearingen]

Missed out on the “golden age of surplus,” born at the right time to get accessible internet everywhere, commercially-available pistol-mounted optics, and expansive carry rights. It’s a pretty fair trade.

[@alexwieland-ducher8792]

@@John.VanSwearingen I must say I'm a lot more interested in surplus guns then making a monstrosity of a CCW.

[@nobodynoone2500]

Don't tell anyone, but we are in a mini-golden age now. buy what you can.

[@Immafraid]

@@nobodynoone2500 Hey, Berthiers, random Mauser variants, and Carcanos are still a decent price. Sometimes you can find decent deals for old guns at a Cabela's.

[@berniestraight126]

Right on gotta love sportsman’s guide thanks for that history

[@Angrymuscles]

More mag talks, we're hungry for more. Technical videos or just stories about mags, we love it all.

[@chadnoneya4164]

Ian jokeing around. Instant like

[@harbl99]

Between this and the Elbonian retrospectives Ian is low-key hilarious.

[@PandaLuv925]

This is why I sub to his patreon, for a quality content like that

[@JJW3]

The best I got from those were the two-ribbed Croatian mags. They look great in my my NPAP that I dressed up in Balkan trench art M70 wood furniture. The other good score from about that time were those black "Bulgarian" AK74 mags. They were coated in a thick black paint and had a "Made in Bulgaria" sticker on the side of them. If you used some paint stripper, you were treated to a nice plum Russian magazine. Most were sanitized, but some of them you could still see the Izhevsk mark.

[@Kelnor277]

2006 on a firearms historian’s channel. Me: *cries in old*

[@colchronic]

If there's anything I learned from this its that theres always someone who has more mags than you

[@redstickrant]

My dad bought about 12 mags from Sportsman’s Guide back then. He got a Croatian “2-Rib” and an East German in that one haul. The East German one was blued and beautifully made. Like a Rolex in a pile it Timex’s.

[@Goldchaingarcia]

In my home town, there was a Big 5 sporting goods store. I remember in 2007-2010, they got ahold of some military surplus in great condition. Like it hadn't even opened since they were manufactured condition. But also the stuff they got in was from eveerryyywhereee. Mosin Nagants, Lee Enfields, M1903, etc. But one thing that makes me smacks my head every time i think about it, was the Mosin Nagants they had for sell. For $97, you basically buy a unopened, unused rifle. With its cleaning kit, and all the extra accessories it came with out of the factory. They had little pamphlets that instructions on how to clean and breakdown the rifle. I begged my mom and dad to buy me one, because i was so obsessed with Mosins from playing Call Of Duty: Finest Hour. Never got one and i still think about those rifles.

[@pmc9088]

I kept the Yugo bolt hold open and an aluminum waffle out of the ones I bought. I traded or sold the rest. I'm pretty sure it was SG that I got my lifetime supply of new Hungarian 20's from as well. I'm with you on the 20's working well with a short AK or for that matter any AK shooting prone.

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Some say that crazy old prospector Ian McCollum is still out there looking for French 7.65 Long

[@d.e.a.t.h.i.s.n.e.a.r.9344]

I wonder if you can play the drums but with a drum magazine

[@WhitzWolf92]

You could...once...and it'd go out of tune pretty quick.

[@LUR1FAX]

"Hey, I'm the new drum magazine player here to audition"

[@eternalrecurrence6042]

when ians not educating us hes a part time drum mag drummer.

[@daltongarrett7117]

@tom allen how about binary akm's?

[@daltongarrett7117]

@tom allen good answer!

[@lowtdave]

Omg...a video on this. Thats awesome. I got in on the lottery back then. I learned a lot about cleaning cosmoline that year.

[@harrisonlewis6853]

Thanks Ian, for this video on AK mags. I've never been interested in AK platform weapons, but listening to you talk about collecting various mags from around the world firearms was interesting.

[@BadWolf762]

I got 12 AK mags from Sportsman's Guide during that time, 2 packs of 6 in white plastic, and to say they were doused in cosmoline is an understatement.

[@paranoiia8]

Back in '90 I could find those mags in most of garages in my city... I was like 8yo and used them to get springs for some weird toys that we make with friends...

[@hdbanana464]

its amazing how much history and variation there is to ak mags that its possible to have a lottery for them

[@ericplaysbass]

I always looked forward to getting my Sportsman’s Guide catalogs!

[@hansheden]

That start could be a taste of things to come.

[@ericsundell9978]

While I didn't get in on this deal, I do recall it. What I keep kicking myself for is not getting more of the hungarian 20rnd "tanker" mags when they were cheap. I honestly like shooting my AK with them more, easier to shoot prone. But at todays prices, no way would I go looking for more. I missed my window....

[@Isaac-ho8gh]

True, they also look pretty nice on AKs as well to me at least.

[@donwyoming1936]

Like when Tapco was clearing out the warehouse back then. Bags full of L1A1, AK & Mosin parts for a couple bucks. G3 mags, box of 50 for $25 delivered. Rare mags galore. I still haven't sorted through it all yet.

[@bubbamr33]

I started my business selling preban magazines in MA were we still live in 94 and I cought the oddball mag collection bug, they now decorate my shop with my AK mags being some of my favorites. Still looking to score a fleur-de-lis lol

[@thatsuaveraptor4297]

I found one of those Chinese milled spineless magazines at an auction here in Scotland. Bought a lot of cheap british military surplus, webbing gear, helmets, gas masks etc. It was in the pocket of a black duffel bag, judging by the age of the gear I'd say it's a souvenir from iraq. No idea if owning a component of a firearm is an offence in the uk, but I've got it on a shelf in my room lol

[@truecrimson1]

Cope's Distributing had something similar back in 2008 or so but they were "slightly rusty" for $4.00 IIRC. That meant anything from a few in perfect condition to a few in junk condition with most being functional but needing a little TLC. I cleaned up, both figuratively and literally. I don't know enough about AK mags to tell them apart so I don't know what any of them are, but I got a bunch.

[@nedemas]

back in my day the sportsman's guide sent you 25 catalogues a month, same stuff different page.

[@lucaspeterson5269]

Great video Ian, I love to hear stories from the Golden age of surplus

[@chincemagnet]

That’s really cool, I have to imagine the collapse of the Soviet Union probably had AK Mags going for dirt cheap at that time. Too bad I didn’t get a few hundred at $2 a mag, my God, what a deal.

[@mcmelonmaster]

Ian, you are gonna make me tear up. I had so many rare ones. I ditched them over the years not knowing what I had.

[@prowokator]

If Finland ever switches to 5.56 0r something else than 7.62 you'll be getting few hundred thousand AKs and their mags on the market. I bet we have stashed some funky random mags in the vaults..

[@oregonborn9769]

More! More ian sportsmans storys lol. Those were the days. Parts kits to so many different guns. Surplus clothing etc....

[@RealFakeGuns]

This happend at Zib militaria in hamburg a few years ago. I got alot of those too, chinese whole stamp, chinese flatback, russian type 1, yugo bolt hold open etc. I also got a pack with slings that had all sorts, egypt and so on. All for very cheap and from the balkan war. Now they cant legally sell mags any more sadly but i got a lot of fun stuff, chinese 75rd drums and so on, good times.

[@HughesEnterprises]

Back in my day Suomi KP-31 parts kits were $49.99, Suomi drum mags $19.99, Suomi Sticks $9.99 at cheaper than dirt. Still have a big box of all that stuff covered in some horrific whale oil base cosmoline.

[@jwc00789]

Way back in the mid-199o's, I bought a bushel basket of Russian Steel Magazines for about $30 shipped, off of an ad in Shotgun News. They still work great in my Egyptian MAADI AKM. Thinking about painting them, as the Blued Steel tends to rust. I also have Bolt Hold Open Followers to install in ten of them, thanks to AKOU.

[@TheCowboyfromhell87]

I remember this. I didn't even own an AK at the time and bought a dozen. Got 1 Tula and 1 Izhmash bakelite out of the batch. I need to go dig them out and see what else I got. Never bother to pay much attention to them other than the bakes.

[@brittongolfwang]

my grandad has one single ak and about 90 mags for it that i remember him buying from sportsmen’s guide when i was younger. now i know how he acquired them

[@aethertech]

Funny anecdote, I went down to the Sportsman Guide outlet store here in Minnesota today.... decided to check out the surplus ammo cans. Decided to....open one. Decided to immediately shut said container and rush outside to find fresh air.

[@509Gman]

Dookie receptacle?

[@ivikhenry2424]

I remember looking through the HQ Sportsman Guide magazine and seeing those bundle-packs when I was just starting middle school. Fml

[@cammobunker]

I wound up buying something like a hundred of these mags. I kept some really nice ones: Chinese flat backs, Russian, Egyptian, Yugo BHO, Hungarian, Chinese all-stamped, East German, two rib "Croatian" etc. Of course I got more than a few Romanian mags as well, and I had a pile of the duplicates of most of them that I later sold off, paid for all of my mags, and showed a nice profit. The largest percentage seemed to be Romanian, followed by Yugo BHO (as you might expect), Russian, and then smaller numbers of the others. I kept some of the Romanian mags for range mags, as they are perfectly good and common mags, and built myself a nice little collection of various mags. Sadly I did not get a Bakelite or one of the Fleur-de-lys mags, which even then were worth a good bit.

[@mikestanmore2614]

Some people buy lots of cornflakes to collect the toys, some eat lots of happy meals, Ian organises a group buy of AK magazines.

[@vietec]

Next time on FW: Ian explains to the exact same crowd about times where people paid copious amounts of money for a small packets of apparently collectable cardboard.

[@MonkeyDespot]

Cool Blast from my past here. I didn't order a ton, but I think I ordered a dozen of them, maybe two. I got one of the all stamped Chinese mags and some of the standard Chinese ones, along with five of six of the BHO Yugo mags, and a few generic Romy's. One of the ones I got must have been heavily bled on because it had a crazy corrosion pattern on the outside, and the inside was pristine.

[@ketchman8299]

Now we need Othis doing a "Don't understand Ian" short for this.

[@johnniefreitas3055]

Thanks for sharing

[@samohteel4393]

I can't remember if It was Sportsman Guide or not but I remember seeing some of the most cursed "prop-guns" in magazines when I was a teen. Wish I had the images, I would always beg for my uncle to buy me one of those 2 inch double barrel shotguns pistols. lol ah good times. Thanks Ian

[@michaelsamilo3043]

Not gonna lie, the intro caught me of guard haha.

[@dizzious]

I remember looking at my dad's sportsmans guide catalogs back in the 1990s and seeing all kinds of cheap surplus stuff and taking the prices and availability for granted. Never thought all the cool old milsurp would dry up like it has in the past decade.

[@m39fan]

Those were the days. Wish I had kept even half the stuff from back in the day.....