Ahoy to the forum from the coast of Maine. I hope you find this post interesting and informative…
Like many here, I sure was hoping to get some “true” 10-round magazines from S&W soon. When I first placed my order for 2 of them many weeks ago, that’s what I was told. It wasn’t until the evening of the very day when they had charged my c-card, that I found out there really isn’t a short 10-round mag available yet -- and that I’d be getting some “pinned” Mass-compliant mags.
When the “extra long” 10-round mags finally arrived, at first I was really disappointed... Then I got a little angry, and started thinking -- and those last two are always a deadly combination for me… So I went down into the cellar with the mags and a goal -- but without a plan -- and attempted to make my own short 5-round mag.
Well, as you can see, I finally succeeded after a little cutting and fitting so it can be cleaned like the standard magazines. Here’s a pix of my finished
short 5-round magazine:
Yes, I must admit the removable toe is mounted on “backwards”. It had to be done this way, and I will explain more on how & why on the next reply (to this posting). I’ll also include a step-by-step tutorial with some pictures on how I also made a 10-round medium-length magazine.
Note the blue follower on that mag… I’m guessing this must be a visual indicator to S&W that this is (was) a fixed or pinned 10-round mag built on the 25-round mag body. Who cares really, I just wish the pinned 10-round mags had the follower button to ease loading after #5.
Also note the small cotter pin added near the bottom of the slot. That was installed to remove almost all the tension from the mag spring off of the superglued baseplate (just in case) when it’s fully loaded. I used hobby-grade gel/gap-filling superglue and clamped the pieces together for an hour. (Not sure if that’s better than the thin household superglue, but I’ve always had much better luck with the gel.) I “think” the baseplate is on there for good now, but I really don’t want it popping off while I’m out squirrel hunting. Several coils of the spring are left below the cotter pin, and that puts some pressure on the locking tab to secure the removable “toe” part of the baseplate.
Below is a pix showing you the comparison to a standard 25-round mag, along with the middle piece cut from the original “pinned 10/25” mag which was sacrificed. Note the very sharp and clean cuts that were done with a “plywood” table-saw blade. (You’ll want to use a blade with many small teeth, and not a standard wood-cutting blade.) The cut on back of the middle piece, which didn’t go all the way through, was my first trial cut just to see how the plastic would handle the blade. It worked just fine.
Finally, here’s a right-side view of my M&P with the new SHORT 5-round mag inserted. I’m really happy with the way it looks AND performs, as I range tested it this afternoon and it worked like a champ! Awesome -- no FTEs or FTFs at all!
By the way, the small tactical scope is an NC Star 1.25 - 4X x 30mm with red/green illuminated reticle. The size is just right to me. The low 1.25 power works great for plinking with a view just like iron sights, except for with a crosshair. With the red or green reticle “On” at low power you get the quick-pointing capability of a red-dot, in my opinion. But best of all, you also get the option to dial up to 3X or 4X power for longer-range or smaller, more challenging targets like squirrels -- which I plan to do soon, now that I don’t have a long 25-round “assault magazine” hanging out of the bottom of my M&P.
Stay tuned for a follow-up reply with even more details and pix…
Tight groups!
Old No7
“D I Y” Short 5- and Medium 10-Round Magazines!!!
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