A work friend, knowing I was a shooting hobbyist, asked me “considering quality,cost, ease of loading, and 75-100 round capacity, what drum by which manufacturer would I recommend”.
I had no answer having never owned one or even been in a conversation about it.
So.....I present the question to my knowledgeable Sigforum friends.
Considering his parameters, what would you suggest and as a bonus, where is a good place to buy from?
Many thanks and regards,
Eseaton

Short answer is, drums suck.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Short answer is, drums suck.

End of thread right here.

Outside of a novelty or for fun at the range they have little real-world use. If it's for fun go for it.

If he thinks this is a great option for real-world oh shit times I would suggest moving along.

75-100 rounds of ammo makes a AK a little heavy also.

I like the hinge back Chinese style.

Edit: I think that there are Korean and recent Romanian copies of the hinge opening style, but I have no experience with those.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Voshterkoff,

I've got one for my AR, works well, but makes the gun HEAVY!! Only way it would be useful is with the gun laying on something. I'm a small guy and it would be tough to hold freestanding.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
I like the hinge back Chinese style.

This. I have one drum, and have had it for about 20 years. Truth be told, I never really use it. They are really only beneficial for a fixed position.

In my AK experience, cool, but limiting.

Like stated up-thread, very heavy when loaded and not easy to change in a hurry. I could not imagine a long march through terrain having to carry a combat load of them. That and the drum I was using seemed to not like slow, semi-auto fire and had a tendency to jam up and need some attention way to much.

Bear in mind, any rifle equipped with one will need a bi-pod of some sort or a shooting rest since the fully loaded weight throws off the balance substantially and makes non-prone firing tiresome.

I can see why drums are used in RPDs or SAW type applications as your need for full auto fire seems to be what these are designed for. I would guess when using them full auto, the jamming or hang ups have less chance to happen as the spring mechanism is in constant use and not dealing with frequent stops.

Have one of the Romanian drums that I got a million years ago. Literally used it once.

From what I have read, the "top loaders" are more reliable than the "back loaders", for obvious reasons, but stuffing 75 rounds into a mag from the top is challenging and time consuming, to say the least.

That said, I'm probably off to find an AR-10 drum, now that you've got me thinking about it.

I know absolutely nothing about them. But iirc watching the video. The murderous duo from the comblock in LA used them in their rampage before being taken out thankfully.

quote:

That said, I'm probably off to find an AR-10 drum, now that you've got me thinking about it. Roll Eyes

Oof. Let us know if you find any good deals.