can I get a little clarification on the magazine modification issue?

[roscoe]

I have a Saiga .223 (poor man's AR) and, naturally I want to use high-capacity magazine that are available. The problem is that they require a bit of tweaking (need a feed ramp).

So, I understand that it is illegal to modify a magazine to take more than 10 rounds, but I don't understand how it can be illegal to modify it merely to work in another firearm, if it is already above a 10 round capacity.

All these people who are putting pistol-grips on their Saigas change a certain number of parts to make the rifle compatible with importation laws. OK, but the magazine is different, and not really part of the rifle, since the magazine capacity is the issue.

People are constantly tweaking magazines: changing springs, putting different followers on, without breaking the law. Why would putting a feed ramp on a magazine be breaking the law?

So, if I keep my Saiga with a rifle-style stock, why would I need to change the number of US parts in the gun, and go through all that rigamarole? Or do I? Can I just futz the magazine to my heart's content and go for it?

 

[Preacherman]

The rule for a magazine is: if it can still function IN THE GUN FOR WHICH IT WAS DESIGNED, you are free to use it in another weapon. However, if you modify the magazine so that it will no longer work in the weapon for which it was designed, you have effectively "manufactured" a new high-capacity magazine for another weapon, and this is illegal.

Examples:

1. The .40 S&W magazines for the Springfield XD hold 10 rounds of ammunition in that caliber. However, they also hold (and will reliably feed) 15 rounds of 9mm. ammunition. So, if you buy a .40 magazine and use it in the 9mm. XD, even holding 15 rounds of ammunition, you are not doing anything illegal, because the same magazine still functions perfectly in a .40 XD with 10 rounds of ammunition.

2. It is possible to adapt M14/M1A magazines for use in some other .308 rifles. However, in some cases, the magazine has to be modified (feed lips altered, new follower, and perhaps a different location for the mag catch). If these modifications mean that the magazine will no longer function properly in the M14/M1A, this modification is regarded as the illegal manufacture of a new high-capacity magazine, and you're in deep doo-doo.

I understand that the Saiga can be modified with a feed-ramp, and can then accept 30-round AK-74 5.45x39 magazines. However, I'm not sure whether the magazines have to be modified to fit the Saiga. If they do have to be modified, they're legal as long as they will still fit and function in an AK-74. If they won't, they're illegal.

Hope this helps...

 

[roscoe]

Aahhhaaaa - thank you.

 

[TimH]

Roscoe Try poking around here:

http://forum.saiga-12.com/

Lots of info in case you're interested in doing this mod