DIY 22rd Magazine

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James7800

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Probably the only thing I don't like about the 15-22 is the length of the magazines. The 25 round magazines are about an inch longer than a typical 30 round ar-15 magazine which to me kinda throws it off aesthetically as well as making it hard to shoot off the bench. I was excited when they came out with the 10 rounders but they are just so short. Anyway tonight I was bored so and decided I was gonna shorten a 25 rounder by about an inch. After cutting off the bottom I realized that I could configure the bottom of a magpul pmag to fit on it.

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I used a dremel tool to cut the notches for the pmag plate to slide onto. I also cut the magazine spring four coils shorter to account for the shorter length.
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If you look close below, the little black piece that acted as the button on the original magazine fits nicely into the front of the slot on the magpul plate.
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After I finished it I loaded it up and found out that it held 22 rounds. It turned out to be easier than I thought. I tried to be very careful shaping the bottom to fit the pmag plate just right and it turned out pretty good. It fits snug with just a tad bit of play if you push on it, so I may end up just epoxying it on or something. I'm not sure if I like how it looks any better, but I think I will like the shorter length better when shooting with a bipod on. I dont have any magpul ranger plates but this would also allow those to be added as well.
 
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Definitely looks better to me! Nice work.

Also, what front sight block is that? I've been thinking of adding one to mine and selling my front MBUS.
 
Very Nice job. I don't see a downside. lose 3 rounds, gain a lot of convenience, and it looks good. It is a shame that the rifle is so AR like in all but this way, but then I am sure that SW went with more capacity rather than exact specs. I hope that SW or Magpul or Black Dog is paying attention...
 
Very cool. I'm in Cali and am stuck with long 10rd mags. I want to shorten them a couple inches because they only hold 10 but are way longer than needed. I'm going to try this method. Where do you buy those plates at? Can you get just the plates or do you have to already have magpul mags?
 
Rustpot said:
Definitely looks better to me! Nice work.

Also, what front sight block is that? I've been thinking of adding one to mine and selling my front MBUS.
Click to expand...
The front sight is made by JP Enterprises JP Enterprises Gas Block with Adjustable A2 Front Sight AR-15 Standard Barrel .750" Inside Diameter Stainless Steel Matte - MidwayUSA
A while back I posted about doing that:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-15-22/132213-finished-my-project.html


Scuds03 said:
Very cool. I'm in Cali and am stuck with long 10rd mags. I want to shorten them a couple inches because they only hold 10 but are way longer than needed. I'm going to try this method. Where do you buy those plates at? Can you get just the plates or do you have to already have magpul mags?
Click to expand...
I just took the plate off a pmag that I already had. I haven't seen anywhere that sells the standard pmag plates separate. However you can get the pmag ranger plates Magpul PMAG Ranger FloorPlate 3-Pack - BLK in a 3 pack and either use those on the 15-22 mag or use them to replace the ones taken off the pmag.
 
If you put magpul ranger plates on the mag you just cut up, wouldnt you be adding length to the mag you just shortened????
 
can some one please verify that this will work with the ranger plates as well. thanks.
 
Yes it does work with the ranger plates, just got some this week. If you do get some make sure you get the ones for the pmags and not the ones they make for the usgi mags. I found that DSG Arms sells them individually so you dont have to buy a three pack.
 
Question for James7800 or anyone who's done this;

Chopped off the bottom of my 15-22 mag (yikes) and I got to the point that I realized the Pmag plate has no lip to grab onto, the 15-22 mag isn't wide enough to cut grooves except at the very front where the Pmag would taper. This doesn't give enough grab and the spring will push it off easily. At this point there's no going back, so I'm considering gluing it on.

Any input on this before I bust out the super glue?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/rustpot/15-22 MOE/IMG_0550.jpg
Ranger plate for Pmag, and the portion of the 15-22 mag cut off.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/rustpot/15-22 MOE/IMG_0551.jpg
Showing the bottom of the mag, the ranger plate just slides off the bottom, all I did was bevel the front of the 15-22 mag to fit the Pmag profile.
 
If you look at my second picture you can kinda see that I left some "lip" on the magazine for the plate to grab onto. I may not have been super clear in my description. Mine held fine without gluing but just had a little bit of play if you pushed on it, so I ended up just epoxying it on there anyway just to make it rock solid. So yeah, gluing it on is probably your best bet.
 
OK, so I just had a little less lip on the front edge.

Got the epoxy on, quickly realized I'm an idiot, took the plate off, installed follower and spring and got it glued and clamped. See tomorrow if I just tossed $20 down the drain.
 
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