Can you block a 17 rd magazine down to 15 rd?

[MASTEROFMALICE]

My brother bought a new M&P online from Florida. The problem is, he lives in NJ where the 17 rd magazines are illegal. The dealer agreed to send him the pistol and sent the magazines to me in VA where they're legal.

Is there a way to block the magazines so the capacity is reduced to 15 rounds? My first idea is to modify the follower somehow, lengthening the skirts.

Any ideas? Has this been done?

Oh, and since I know someone will mention it, no he's not moving out of NJ yet.

 

[joab]

Has this been done?

yes, in reverse

A friend bought a Marlin Camp Carbine in 9mm
I believe the mags are Smith 5900 series
The 10 rounder that came with the gun was identical to the 15 round mags he bought except for capacity

I pulled the floor plate and found a spacer of sorts,( but I can not remember what it looked like) and removed it

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

Was the spacer attatched in any way or was it just a sleeve free-floating inside?

 

[joab]

As best as I can remember it was a simple metal tab that attached to the spring and took up the space of five rounds
It was very crude and took about a second to disable

The owner of the mag is not answering his Nextel
I do remember that he saved the spacer in case any legal issues arose from modifying it to hi cap

A plug made from a dowel similar to shotgun plugs would work

 

[rcmodel]

I'm no expert on NJ law, or a lawyer, but I believe even a blocked a 17 round mag would still be illegal. I would bet money a simple "plug" would not pass muster under the eyes of the law.

I think your best bet would be to call S&W customer service and see if they will swap them out for NJ legal mags.


rcmodel

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

I checked with Smith and they want $30.00 for ten round mags. I've got to find the NJ law and find out if a "temporarily" blocked magazine like a dowel or a sleeve is enough.

If it isn't, I may purchase some extra followers and permanently extend the skirts, thereby making them permanent 15 round mags.

 

[joab]

Pick up an old ten round smith mag somewhere and transfer to plug

That way you have two hi cap mags

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

I spoke with NJ state police firearms division. The Sgt Detective said the only guidance from the AG was that it now had to be "permanent" (temporary blocks were allowed until recently.) He mentioned riveted or welded.

I asked if a super glue would be allowed and he said "that would be open to interpretation."

So I told him that, with my career and freedom on the line, I'd like the AG to give me a definitive answer. He said I shouldn't even bother calling because they wouldn't even talk to me.......he was right.

So, when asked, the Attorney General of NJ, the chief law enforcement officer in the state, wouldn't even tell me if I was about to break the law or not.

I think that bears repeating: I CALLED THEM SO I COULD ADVOID BREAKING THE LAW AND NO ONE WOULD TELL ME HOW TO NOT BREAK THE LAW!!!

And suddenly I remember why I left NJ.

 

[Tetraptous]

My gut feeling would be that if you epoxied your plug in, it would probably count as permanent. In the long shot case that you got "caught" with your modified mags, you might still have to go to court to prove it. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide if it is worth the legal risk. Personally, I'd probably do it because the chances of anyone ever even noticing are slim to none, and I believe it to be both legal and ethical.

 

[rcmodel]

They problem is, if you epoxy the plug in, how are you going to get the floor-plate back on, or off again.
The floor plate has to be able to slide on or off to take the mag apart, and it won't with a plug sticking out of it.


rcmodel

 

[Jim K]

I doubt that anything readily removable or changeable would be acceptable. That would include a crimp that could be ironed out, a follower that could be cut down, or even something using rivets that could be drilled out. If you look at the reduced capacity magazines allowed under the old AWB, they had bottoms that were solid and could not be altered.

Jim

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

The whole magazine capacity issue is a problem, start to finish.

Perfect example. Let's say I have a 30 round AR magazine. Illegal, right? But what if it's NOT a 30 round .223 mag but is actually a 10 round .458 Socom mag? Now is it legal because I'm calling it something else?