I've picked up a used DPMS .22 upper, and am interested in getting the mag apart to see how adaptable it is for converting a Fab 10 for .22 use or for making a standard lower that will only take the .22 mags.

It's got a screw in one side that comes out easily enough, but there's also a little blind pin that seems to hold the side plate on.

Since these puppies are a bit pricy, I'm hoping for some guidance before I go in further and break something.

Anybody have any experience taking them apart?   I'm worried that the blind pin will be tough to get back out if I drive it in.

Also, anybody know what the mag enclosure material is?  It feels like Delrin, except maybe too hard.  One of mine is pretty dirty, and if I can't get it apart, I'd like to flush it with gunscrubber or something similar if it's not going to melt it.

Thanks,

max

I have two DPMS mags at home.  I had them apart not too long ago.  I did not have a blind pin on mine.  I took out the screw and seperated the two shells.  There is a pin on the left side shell on the inside.  That is what holds the steel mag in place on the shell.  Just lift up on the steel mag and take off of the shell.  Watch out for the spring, as there is no floor plate on the mag.

Hope this helps.

Brad

Just push the blind pin in enough to get the mag apart.  Once apart, you can remove the blind pin and throw it away.  The only thing I can think of is that ATF wanted DPMS to put the pin there to prevent someone from opening the mag up, removing the little spacer at the bottom, and then reassembling the mag so it would hold a whopping 11 rounds.

Thanks to both of you for the advice.  It turns out the hole's not deep enough to drive it all the way in on mine, and I managed to crack the opposite side trying, but I don't think it will affect it structurally.  It was so crudded up that the baseplate pin didn't budge when I took it out, and I had to push it out from the top.

It did give me enough gap to get a Dremel cutoff wheel in there and cut through the pin.  It's a pretty stupid design for a relatively expensive mag that's designed to fire dirty ammo, as there's not a very good way to flush it.

It's definitely not a good design to convert into a sleeved mag/adapter combo, and even the inner mag is too long to fit into a Fab 10 magwell.  It seems the most logical approach to a Fab 10 .22 would be to mill out the lower enough to fit the whole mag in, then pin it in place with the existing hardware.

I think I'll drill the others out if I need to get them apart.  A bit more trouble, but easy enough once it's set up.

max

One of my mags the pin pushed through. the other cracked the inner piece. The hole wasn't deep enough. It's no big deal, they still work.