AK Bolt Hold Open Magazines

[salvo]

Check this out.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=55&t=84152

[elgoatropo]

interesting. Food for thought. I think Mr Kalash knew best, though. A bolt hold open feature is one more thing to cause a malfunction.

Ever trip the slide catch up on a 1911 while your mag was still half full?

[salvo]

I agree, just thought it was interesting what people come up with.
There was a post a wile back about AK Mods, when I read about this one I had to post it here.

[MTMilitiaman]

I don't see how that helps much. If you are firing under stress in a hostile environment it just gives you one more thing you have to remember to do for very little gain. The magazine will hold the bolt back, but if you don't push the selector up to grab it, it is still going to slam home when you take the magazine out. You then have to remember to push the selector back down to release the bolt. I think any time saved by having the BHO feature is probably lost to these two additional steps, or at the very least, it's covenience is largely negated. A BHO may be nice, but I don't view it as a serious disadvantage in and of itself for a weapon to not have one, and certainly not worthy of adding more steps to your manual of arms.

If you want a BHO get a FAL or an M14.

[jrs93accord]

You can buy Yugo mags. They allow for the bolt to hold open after the last shot. They work!

[graveman]

Other than for "extremely anal" range use, I do not see the purpose of either a home-made BHO or the Yugo BHO mags. The bolt will still slam home when the magazine is removed, or if the BHO lever is not depressed. Too much fumbling. If you practice enough, you can drop an empty, grab a fresh, put it in and chamber a round in less than five seconds.
Neither my Uzi nor my AK need a BHO since they weren't designed for one. "If it ain't broke, don't F#^* with it !"