Thread: Calico helical magazines and Bizon builds

Retrieved: 12/07/2013

I searched through the Bizon threads and didn't find anyone who'd scored a real Russian magazine. However, Calico's web site now lists their 50-round helical 9mm magazine for $132 and the 100-round one for $157. From comments I found on some older threads on the web, this is about half the price they used to be.

Web searching returned lots of complaints about Calico's service and back order problems, but if they actually have the things in stock now... if someone is stalled on a Bizon build, it might be worth a call.

I realize the Calico mag doesn't look quite like the Bizon mag, nor will it fit a Bizon receiver, but some Bondo to smooth it out and some magwell fangle might make one a workable substitute until the real thing came along. Or if you just wanted to build a 9mm with a hairspray-can magazine, you might not care.

The Calico mag sits behind the breech and the Bizon sits ahead, so the cartridges are pointed in the opposite direction. From the exploded views, it doesn't look like it would make any difference in the Calico mag.

TRX
09-19-2009

I'd assumed the whole feed lip arrangement would have to be redone to adapt it to an AK setup. Still a lot easier than building your own helical magazine from scratch.

TRX
09-25-2009

Y'know, if you wanted to use the Calico magazine without modification, you could make your own inverted receiver bullpup configuration... the centerline between the hammer and trigger pins and the barrel shouldn't be too tall to be a problem, and the magazine could tuck into the bottom of the stock.

I can't seem to figure out how to get Gimp to draw curved lines, but these three blocks show the basic layout. Without the gas piston and using a flatter bolt/carrier unit, the mag could snuggle right up to the correct position to feed the chamber.

Think taking a Calico pistol, inverting it, and implementing it with a bent sheet metal receiver. Of course, with a buttpad, pistol grip, and other minor details, my artistic masterwork would look even better...

TRX
10-14-2009

$20 more for the 100 round! I think I'll see how much is in the piggy bank...

Uh... anyone know how long that 100 round mag is? And the 50, for that matter?

TRX
10-17-2009

If you insist on a full Bizon clone, yeah. I was thinking of a workalike.

I just wandered through the ATF web site and didn't come up with anything... why can't someone just email Izhmash and buy a real Bizon mag?

TRX
10-22-2009

I got out a ruler and did some experimenting with my AK. A buttplate, a 12+ inch mag, and space for my wrist moved the rear grip pretty far forward, even for my apelike arms. I punted and ordered the 50-round mag.

TRX
10-27-2009

Looks like the short magazine will be perfect. Length is 7-1/4", but the diameter is less than I thought - only 2-1/4". It's about the same size as some of those "energy drinks" in the aluminum cans, or maybe a large pepper grinder.

If you want to flip the cartridges around to feed Bizon style, you *might* be able to grind a bit and make it work, but it looks like you'd need to grind the existing feed lips away and make a 1/4" or 3/8" high tower. The plastic magazine is plenty thick; I'd figure two or three 8-32 screws on each side would be sufficient.

The end of the magazine is relieved slightly so the cartridge doesn't have to pop all the way out the top before the bolt strips the cartridge off; that's why a short tower would be handy if you were stripping in the opposite direction.

The Calico mag is kindasorta octagonal, with thick longitudinal ribs, and looks nothing like a smooth Bizon mag, though as I mentioned earlier a little cosmetic work might make it a bit more similar.

TRX
03-26-2010

Someone on theakforum.com pointed this out: BISON-2 SMG deactivated

Might be worth checking to see if they had any spare magazines they might sell... one comment said the UK demill procedure might involve cutting the feed lips off the magazine, but that might be worked around.

TRX
01-20-2011

I'd read there were some patent disputes between Calico and the Russians. There might be some implementation details to squabble over, but it turns out that rifles with helical magazines were made over 130 years ago.

The Evans Repeating Rifle held 34 cartridges in the buttstock in a helical magazine, with a central rotor and guide strips. It's apparently fairly well known to the old-rifles and cowboy-action guys, but I just now learned of it.

Here's a picture of the Evans receiver/magazine unit:

TRX
01-20-2011

Hmm, some new stuff from Wikipedia:

One of the Bizon's more unusual features is the magazine, which is often confused for a grenade launcher.[2] The cylinder below the barrel is in fact a 64-round helical magazine, similar to the type used in the American Calico M960 submachine gun.[2] The magazine is made from a durable glass-reinforced polyamide and mounts under the handguard in line with the barrel. This layout makes the weapon more compact and concealable. All cartridges are aligned nose forward in the Bizon magazine and cannot be loaded incorrectly.[2][3] Early magazines were fabricated from aluminium tubing and had a capacity of 67 rounds.[2] The production magazine capacity of 64 was selected as 64 is a multiple of 16, and 9x18mm Makarov rounds are packaged in boxes of 16.[2] The magazine has hooks on top of the front end that engage a pair of pins under the front sight, and the rear end of the magazine interfaces with a Kalashnikov pattern spring-loaded paddle type magazine catch/release located in front of the trigger guard.[6] Some magazines were produced with indicator holes allowing the user to verify the amount of ammunition loaded; these are spaced at 4, 24, 44 and 64-round increments.[3]

TRX
02-03-2011

If the Wikipedia article is correct and early Bizon magazines were made from aluminum tubing, they'd probably look more like the Evans - smooth on the inside, with a helical guide strip, as opposed to the Calico's molded-in guide strips.

I could see making an aluminum mag by cutting the tube in half and tack- welding in pieces of bent aluminum. The Evans' guide strip must have been cast, as far as I can see. You can't form a strip into a helix like that, as far as I know. It has to be either cast or machined from bar stock.

Moving on to the Calico, I was looking at the pictures Coils posted of the inside of his. I haven't had the cojones to take mine apart yet... anyway, the curved guides mean it's not a simple injection molded part. The guides would keep the part from being removed from the mold since they would wrap around their forming blocks. Looking at the shape, I would guess separate loose blocks assembled into the die, then removed after the part was molded.

That's from my position of ignorance, anyway. If anyone here has any die- making experience, I'd welcome their input.

TRX
03-16-2011

More unobtainium: Chinese Chang Feng SMG in 9x19.

from Modern Firearms - Chang Feng