Posted: 12/23/2023 9:48:24 PM EDT
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I posted this over in the armory section as well...thought some GD'ers would find it interesting as well. Hi everyone, I thought some of you would enjoy hearing about a recent project I have finally completed that I started earlier in the year with just a concept. Like many that are familiar with the Reising family of firearms (M50, M55, and M60) you are probably aware that one of the BIGGEST complaints is magazine availability - there just aren't a lot of magazines around. This problem planted a seed that turned from just a concept in my head to an actual product (that works!). I wanted something that would solve the issues of trying to find some original magazines (good luck, and not to mention the price) or trying to jerry-rig a modern magazine to fit in the original magwell and hoping that it will function reliably. I present to you - my Reising to Uzi magazine Conversion Magwell. This magwell is CNC machined from a solid piece of steel and later hardened for superior durability. I set out with the goal of creating a magwell that will not only run (and run and run) but will also utilize modern machining and heat treating processes to make a product that will last - compare this to the nearly 80 year old original H&R magwells that are just blued steel or parkerized. While comparing, you will see that the magazine release is also much improved over the original factory method of releasing a magazine. Simply press the button with your left thumb and pull out the magazine - as it should be. This is especially true on the earlier Reisings where you had to pull back the magazine release lever and then pull down the magazine. With the issue of magazine availability (and parts for that matter) at the forefront of this project, I carefully considered what magazines I wanted to make as the foundation of this project. I settled on newly manufactured .45 Uzi magazines from ProMag. From all of my testing I have not had a single malfunction induced from the magazines - and I tested quite a few. Not to mention that ProMag also offers a lifetime warranty on each magazine! Once this magwell is installed, it is essentially "Plug-and-Play" - you can just insert a standard .45acp Uzi magazine without modification and you're ready to go. As you can see the advantages over the original H&R magazines that are almost all 80+ years old is something significant to consider. Aside from that, the parts used in the magwell assembly themselves are widely available if someone wanted to pick up some replacements (it uses standard military issue Uzi parts; mag release button, mag release button pin, mag release button spring, and 2 6/32 stainless set screws you could probably find at any hardware store). Really any original Reising replacement parts are difficult to come by so again this is a significant improvement for anyone that owns a Reising. Again, with wanting to design a durable magwell, I also increased the thickness on the portion that contacts the bottom of the action bar itself. With this, I have also redesigned the taper pins that connect the magwell to the action in the instance that I had to fit the pins to the specific action (ALL Reisings vary slightly in tolerances so this was another hurdle that I had to overcome). On that note;Thank you to all of the members here that provided me with dimensional feedback from their own Reisings!!! The pins that attach the magwell to the action are also precision CNC machined and made out of 300 series stainless. All together, this magwell is about 3x the weight of the original factory magwell (~13.5oz vs ~4.7oz), the added weight under the action does add to enhanced recoil mitigation which is another positive in itself. Here is a video of it being demonstrated (sorry it's just semi - my range doesn't allow for FA fire)  Reising to Uzi Magwell Conversion Here's a video from one of the members here running a few magazines through the new magwell on FA!  Reising SMG with Uzi .45 magazines From all of my testing I have NOT HAD A SINGLE MALFUNCTION! That includes with the action feeding or extracting and with the actual magazines themselves. Other Reising owners that have used these have reported the same back to me. Other Reising owners that have used these have reported similar results back to me (once tuned to their specific gun). And in some cases even make the gun run MORE reliably. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about these magwells, my inbox is open. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed seeing my project - I spent a lot of time bringing it to reality. Stay tuned, I plan on continuing to develop and produce other exciting upgrades for the Reising in the future.    
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Quoted: I’d be interested in one if you get it to a point you are comfortable selling them. Not sure of minor changes over time with these guns, but if you also want to test on another gun I’d be happy to do it if no permanent modifications are involved. Good work! I am, I have an ad posted in the EE as well. Just wanted to post here as more of a FAQ type post. ETA; I actually designed this to be basically a "drop in" fit with no real modification to the original gun as possible. However, you may have to slightly sand the magwell cutout in the stock to fit the new magwell (30.5mm is about the sweet spot). I even designed new pins so you don't have to modify the originals. |
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Quoted: That’s kinda awesome Quoted: Awesome. Very useful idea and very well constructed. Thanks guys! Quoted: That's awesome! I loved my Reising, it was a minty PD gun in a fitted hard case. I had, IIRC, two 20s and one 12 round mag for it (or vice versa, this was back in the 90's so my memory is a little dim). Would have been much more fun with more/larger mags. More magazines are definitely always a good thing. |
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Quoted: I'm amazed ProMag makes a magazine that's not a complete pos Keep in mind any firearm or accessory issue is magnified on ARFCOM. I've used several ProMags and sold dozens and had a problem w/ exactly one - which they replaced. SARCO has replaced one of their mags for me and I have a GI surplus mag in my bin that needs a new mag spring or follower. Most of the time, guns just work. ARFCOM has terrible luck, which we then dissect, pile on, and amplify. |
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Quoted: I'm amazed ProMag makes a magazine that's not a complete pos Quoted: Keep in mind any firearm or accessory issue is magnified on ARFCOM. I've used several ProMags and sold dozens and had a problem w/ exactly one - which they replaced. SARCO has replaced one of their mags for me and I have a GI surplus mag in my bin that needs a new mag spring or follower. Most of the time, guns just work. ARFCOM has terrible luck, which we then dissect, pile on, and amplify. I'm aware and was very cautious when I decided to use the Promags. Luckily from my first hand experience they functioned fine without any issues. I do think people tend to be a little overly critical sometimes. |
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Quoted: I'm aware and was very cautious when I decided to use the Promags. Luckily from my first hand experience they functioned fine without any issues. I do think people tend to be a little overly critical sometimes. Quoted: Quoted: I'm amazed ProMag makes a magazine that's not a complete pos Quoted: Keep in mind any firearm or accessory issue is magnified on ARFCOM. I've used several ProMags and sold dozens and had a problem w/ exactly one - which they replaced. SARCO has replaced one of their mags for me and I have a GI surplus mag in my bin that needs a new mag spring or follower. Most of the time, guns just work. ARFCOM has terrible luck, which we then dissect, pile on, and amplify. I'm aware and was very cautious when I decided to use the Promags. Luckily from my first hand experience they functioned fine without any issues. I do think people tend to be a little overly critical sometimes. Promag has an issue in that they make a lot of magazines for obsolete firearms that are often in poor repair. You finally get a mag for grandpa's cheap old gun, and the gun doesn't work. You blame the new mag instead of the old gun. That harms their reputation. Then you have periods of poor customer service when someone does have a common mag that has tweaked feed lips and they don't answer the phone or return calls, some of their reputation they did to themselves. If ProMag, Uzi mags, and you had been around in the 2nd WW, the Reising might have had a much handier reputation. |
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Quoted: any other Reising owners here???? Quite a number posted in this thread: https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_22/548805_Thoughts-on-WWII-SMGs.html |
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Bump....here's a video of one of the members here running the new magwell on FA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEnFsUmbD8 |
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Quoted: Bump....here's a video of one of the members here running the new magwell on FA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEnFsUmbD8 Reising SMG with Uzi .45 magazines |
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Quoted: Absolutely under appreciated. Picking up a WW2 smg used by the USMC for under 10k? Unreal. I can't recall how much I paid for mine back in the mid-90's, but is wasn't much (perhaps $1K more or less, that was a long time ago and my memory is dim). As I mentioned above, it was a PD gun in a fitted hard case, nicely blued and in amazing condition. That thing ran flawlessly. I'd take it over a Thompson any day (I never owned one, but have fired an associate's A1 and hated it). |
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Quoted: I can't recall how much I paid for mine back in the mid-90's, but is wasn't much (perhaps $1K more or less, that was a long time ago and my memory is dim). As I mentioned above, it was a PD gun in a fitted hard case, nicely blued and in amazing condition. That thing ran flawlessly. I'd take it over a Thompson any day (I never owned one, but have fired an associate's A1 and hated it). Quoted: I can't recall how much I paid for mine back in the mid-90's, but is wasn't much (perhaps $1K more or less, that was a long time ago and my memory is dim). As I mentioned above, it was a PD gun in a fitted hard case, nicely blued and in amazing condition. That thing ran flawlessly. I'd take it over a Thompson any day (I never owned one, but have fired an associate's A1 and hated it). Reisings do seem to be very smooth when they run. Haven't fired a Thompson firsthand but they do appear to be a little more "clunky" appearing when they are fired? Quoted: Not a Reising owner, but THAT IS OUTSTANDING! You have skills, OP. Thank you, a lot of time and learning went into designing, prototyping, and doing all the finish work. I learned a lot. |
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Quoted: Reisings do seem to be very smooth when they run. Haven't fired a Thompson firsthand but they do appear to be a little more "clunky" appearing when they are fired? Thank you, a lot of time and learning went into designing, prototyping, and doing all the finish work. I learned a lot. The Thompson is iconic, but heavy, the length of pull is way too long (at least for me) and of course you've got the open bolt making it hard to get off accurate single shots. I suppose more complexity and (from what I've read) more hand-fitted parts (and previously) magazine capacity are the Reising's weaknesses. 12 round mags don't last long, even the 20s go pretty quickly. |
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