Information on converting 10-round mags to standard capacity for post 9/14/04?

[TheOtherOne]

Does anyone know if there are any webpages or info out yet on what magazines are going to be able to be converted "at home" to their regular capacity after September 14th?

We should get something going if it's not already.

I know the 10-round mags for a Browning Hi-Power in .40 S&W will be able to be converted to 11 rounds by filing down the feet on the bottom of the follower.

I'm really interested in the Walther P22 mags though. They seem plenty long enough to take another 10-15 rounds but from looking at the huge follower and the way it is setup, I'm guessing there won't be any easy conversion. It would probably take new parts from Walther/S&W.

 

[JamisJockey]

I'm not falling for it, Agent Schmuckatelli!

 

[natedog]

Most, if not all, post-ban 10 round magazines have small dimples built into the body of the magazine, which prevents the follower from going down far enough to accept more than 10 rounds. Around the dimples there are cuts built into the magazine, so if you try to pound the dimples off the magazine will break in two at that point.

I don't know how you could work around that You could just remove the spring, follower, and baseplate and then get new magazine bodies.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

Perhaps it would be best to close this thread for the next 28 days or so?

 

[TheOtherOne]

Around the dimples there are cuts built into the magazine, so if you try to pound the dimples off the magazine will break in two at that point.

Of course they had to do that. It's a vast conspiracy to make us buy brand new ones instead of cheaply converting the old ones. The only other gun I have with magazines not meeting their potential is the CZ-75 and those have a plastic base that makes up the bottom half of the mag. No converting those. Oh well.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Perhaps it would be best to close this thread for the next 28 days or so?

I don't see why. Nothing is illegal about information, especially when it's in preparation for the near future.

 

[JamisJockey]

I don't see why. Nothing is illegal about information, especially when it's in preparation for the near future.

Until someone uses the information in an illegal fashion, then it becomes a criminal conspiracy.



I strongly urge the moderators to remove or at least close this thread.

(Even if I have to resort to posting porn links or half naked chicks )

 

[AZ Jeff]

When the 10 rd. limit went into effect in 1994, ATF required each manufacturer of magazines that orginally held more than 10 rounds to submit samples of the now-altered 10 round versions.

Among criteria ATF used to "approve" such magazines was the EASE OF CONVERSION. If the conversion to more than 10 rds was possible to do with a minimum of work, then the magazine was deemed unacceptable in the eyes of the ATF.

This is why any of the 10 round magazines you see don't have simple limitations to their capacity such as blocks in the lower part of the mag. It would be just "too easy" for someone to remove the block, and render the magazine capable of more than 10 rounds.

Thus, conversion of 10 rd. mags to something more is problematic. Virtually any 10 round limited mag would be destroyed in the process of making it hold more than 10 rounds.

After September, anyone who wants more than 10 rds in his mags would be best off just buying new standard capacity mags.

 

[bogie]

I'd suggest just waiting to buy new standard capacity mags...

And pack the reduced capacity ones where they'll be safe - they may be worth some money as collectors' items.

 

[Matt G]

Okay, here's the deal:

Conversion of 10-round magazines to standard capacity (A.K.A. "High Capacity" ) prior to the sunset on the bill is big-time illegal. Don't do it. It's just not worth it.


Now, that said, I certainly don't see it as being on thin legal ground to disseminate information on how to do something that is to be made legal in a month. For example, it's illegal to hunt deer out of season, but we can talk about the hunt in the weeks prior to hunting, yes? [Shrug.]Just don't do it in the mean time until "Opening Day."

Finally, I have to agree with AZJeff that even after the ban lifts, it's just not worth it. Folks, the single most common source of feeding problems in an auto pistol is your magazine. Would you rather have a stone-reliable 10-round magazine, or a questionable 15-rd magazine that's been converted?

What with the PreBan, LEO, and Post Ban magazines all being available for the open market soon, I can't see how the price on Standard Capacity magazines couldn't drop within a few months of the ban being lifted.

 

[Benjamin]

several posters on various threads and boards have mentioned Brownells carries new magazine bodies.

The only ones I've seen are Scherrer glock magazine bodies.

Does anyone know stock numbers? Some other pointer in the right direction?

Hope this wasn't too far OT.

 

[GigaBuist]

I've taken apart Glock mags waiting for this day to come. Since they're identical to the regular capacity ones with the addition of 2 "ribs" on the inside of the mag well it seems like it would be possible. I've got a few of them laying around that I would like to try to fix on Sept 14th.

At the very least it would make it easier fit the full 10 or maybe even 11 into the reduced capacity Glock mags. They're pretty tough to load up IMHO when setup this way. Far easier to get 13 in a 13 rounder than 10 into a 10 rounder.

If it works I'll try and post instructions... but that's 28 days away.

 

[AZ Jeff]

I have studied how Glock achieved the reduced capacity on their Klinton-approved magazines.

Those "ribs" in the Glock 10 round magazine are also formed into the METAL LINER of the mag. To make the inside dimension of the magazine big enough to hold substantially more cartridges will require removal of LOTS of plastic and metal, and the creation of a SMOOTH surface. Good luck.

 

[Trebor]

Sell your neutered mags to people in those states that still have a 10 round limit and then use the cash to buy new standard capacity mags. That's the best way to turn a low-cap into a standard cap.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Nothing is illegal about information...

Not yet.

 

[Jim K]

In most magazines, those "dimples" are not just dents to limit capacity. They are the means by which a solid bottom piece (plastic or aluminum) is attached to the top part of the magazine body. So removing the "dimples" won't leave you with a hi-cap magazine, it leaves you with two pieces and no magazine.

If the ban expires and Kerry is not elected, there will be plenty of hi-cap mags available. But I doubt very many manufacturers will leap on the bandwagon to produce new mags even if the ban expires, until they see if Monsieur Kerry will be elected and able to get the ban re-enacted and expanded. The most likely bill, which Kerry supports, includes a ban on ALL semi-auto weapons, including handguns, and another proposal he would likely support limits capacity of all guns to 6 rounds.

Jim

 

[mattx109]

The most likely bill, which Kerry supports, includes a ban on ALL semi-auto weapons, including handguns, and another proposal he would likely support limits capacity of all guns to 6 rounds.

That made me uncomfortable.

Could I get a link to the texts of these bills/props?

 

[GigaBuist]

If the ban expires and Kerry is not elected, there will be plenty of hi-cap mags available. But I doubt very many manufacturers will leap on the bandwagon to produce new mags even if the ban expires, until they see if Monsieur Kerry will be elected and able to get the ban re-enacted and expanded.

I find that hard to believe personally. Anybody making a weapon that can take +10 rounds of ammo is already tooled up to make normal capacity magazines for the LEO's of the country. There's really zero investment for them to crank out the LEO mags for civilian use on Sept 14.

Actually, is there ANY reason they can't be doing that now? Stop making the neutered mags, and just stockpile the normal mags. On Sept 14th they become legal for civilian sale and grandfathered in. If not, well, they just sell them to LEO only.

Doesn't Para Ordnance still sell one regular capacity mag and one neutered one with their firearms? My CZ-75B I got in 2001 came that way too. Who, seriously, thinks that these manufacturers in foreign countries ACTUALLY stockpiled that number of mags before the ban? Our laws are only against manufacture -- so they're untouchable. I think they're still making them and dribbling them over pretending like they pre-ban to tell the truth. That's just me though.