Hi all, I've seen a few threads on here looking for smaller or flush-fit magazines for the American series with AR-pattern magwells. I've posted some photos of the modified Magpul Pmags I put together and had some interest in how exactly those work. So, here's an overview of how to make some yourself.
Before I started chopping up Pmags, I tried a few of the commercially available smaller mags.
From L-R, the Magnetospeed 3-rd, Brownells 5-rd with the spacer removed, and a Promag. Followers on the last 3 all replaced with Magpul anti-tilt followers. Still, none of these worked very well, mostly with feeding issues.
So, knowing that Pmags have a good reputation for reliability, are cheap, easy to cut and also have thick enough walls to hold together when cut / notched, I figured that was my best bet.
A few caveats:
Next, make some cuts, level with each-other, at the front and rear of the magazine body, slightly above the bottom. These are for inserting the new floorplate as well as supporting it. They should be at least 5mm above the bottom of the mag body for strength.
You’ll also need to cut notches into the internal ribs on the sides of the magazine body, to allow the floorplate to slide in and to prevent it from bending under pressure. I did this by taking the blade off my hacksaw and running it through the cuts at each end.
For the new floorplate, I traced the mag on sheet metal and snipped out the outline. You'll end up trimming this down a bit, especially the sides, until you can slide it in through the rear cut and all the way forward. Once you've got it the right size, drill a hole in the middle.
It should be a tight fit, I sometimes use pliers to start pushing it in and then a screwdriver pressed into the hole in the middle to slide it along.
Make sure it’s wide enough to rest on the rib notches, but not so wide that it pushes the walls outwards. If you notice the magazine is hard to insert/remove later, you might need to trim it some more.
If you don’t have any sheet metal around, I think anything thin and semi-rigid would work here.
Putting the second half of the instructions in another post because there's an attachments-per-post limit.
Before I started chopping up Pmags, I tried a few of the commercially available smaller mags.
From L-R, the Magnetospeed 3-rd, Brownells 5-rd with the spacer removed, and a Promag. Followers on the last 3 all replaced with Magpul anti-tilt followers. Still, none of these worked very well, mostly with feeding issues.
So, knowing that Pmags have a good reputation for reliability, are cheap, easy to cut and also have thick enough walls to hold together when cut / notched, I figured that was my best bet.
A few caveats:
- I've only worked with a 5.56 Ranch rifle and 10-rd, 223/5.56 Magpul Pmags. I'm guessing things will be pretty similar for other calibers / other polymer magazines, but no guarantees.
- This is by no means a professional product, and I'm no expert craftsman. This is just a fun project I put together in the basement with whatever I had lying around at the time. With any luck, someone else will figure out how to do this better and let us all know.
Next, make some cuts, level with each-other, at the front and rear of the magazine body, slightly above the bottom. These are for inserting the new floorplate as well as supporting it. They should be at least 5mm above the bottom of the mag body for strength.
You’ll also need to cut notches into the internal ribs on the sides of the magazine body, to allow the floorplate to slide in and to prevent it from bending under pressure. I did this by taking the blade off my hacksaw and running it through the cuts at each end.
For the new floorplate, I traced the mag on sheet metal and snipped out the outline. You'll end up trimming this down a bit, especially the sides, until you can slide it in through the rear cut and all the way forward. Once you've got it the right size, drill a hole in the middle.
It should be a tight fit, I sometimes use pliers to start pushing it in and then a screwdriver pressed into the hole in the middle to slide it along.
Make sure it’s wide enough to rest on the rib notches, but not so wide that it pushes the walls outwards. If you notice the magazine is hard to insert/remove later, you might need to trim it some more.
If you don’t have any sheet metal around, I think anything thin and semi-rigid would work here.
Putting the second half of the instructions in another post because there's an attachments-per-post limit.