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Posted: 8/25/2007 9:32:59 PM EDT
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hi, new to the the 45 acp uppers. which lower does it work on and who makes mags and the mag block? thank ahead for any knowledge. ac |
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AR-45 lower that takes Grease Gun magazines. Mags are available in as brand new mil surplus from Numrich, on the used marketplace, or aftermarket new. Lowers are 10% completed by cncguns and sent to Khalan for finishing and ultimately delivery to your FFL. Only problem so far seems to be these are not in mass production, so availability is not predictable. Some customers have taken delivery and are very happy. Cavalry Arms CAV-15 MKII plastic lower, with a Hahn magwell adapter to accept Grease Gun magazines. Advantage is they are available. Disadvantage is they are a fixed stock design, and you may or may not be a fan of tupperware. Olympic makes a magazine that can be used in any lower, but they limited to 10 rounds and are perpetually out of stock. I believe they offer a service to convert your sten? mags to AR use (welded on parts). Grease gun mags are too wide to fit an standard AR magwell. Tangochaser will build you a custom upper, an alternative to Oly. Thats all I can think of right now. I have a few 9's and love them. AR45 is on order, waiting patiently. Proabbly to SBR like my 9 eventually.http://users.wildblue.net/NHHandgunner/sbr1.jpg |
How much will they run? |
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There is another alternative, however, it is not available yet. It is the modular lower from MGI. The lower allows magwells to be swapped. It will use GG mags just like all the others and will be compatible with the Oly upper. It was supposed to already be out, but it has been delayed for whatever reason. |
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While I've been waiting for my BAZ45 lower I put an Oly upper on a standard CMMG lower and have been using an Oly modified Uzi mag. It works great, but it is limited to 10 rounds. I have sent three Uzi 16 round .45 ACP mags to Oly for modification, but that's a slow road and the Uzi mags are few, far between and kinda expensive. ETA -What the heck, I had a couple of pictures handy. The gun:  The Oly-modified Uzi mag: 
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Well, they haven't been imported since-- what? 1995? They haven/t been available in wholesale quantites for a couple of years, which is why Olympic is "perpetually" out of stock. Good news is that they've been working on getting a replacement mag made. No idea when they'll be ready, but my spies tell me they'll be polymer, high-cap, reasonably priced, and will fit in a standard lower like the Uzi mags did. (Which is why Oly went with the Uzi mags to begin with.) I have two of the Bazooka Bros. lowers, and I really, really like them. I'll post some photos tonight. (This time for sure, I promise, Bruce!  )
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Oly has been out of barrels for some time and had quality control issues with the last few barrels sold. I am working with Kurt at KKF to get .45 barrels made. His barrel supplier has agreed to ramp up production of .45 barrel blanks in the next few weeks or so. I'm also working with a local gunsmith to see if he can take up the slack if I provide a few barrel blanks. Figuring out the chamber depth and head spacing is the issue right now. Getting Oly style barrel extensions made is another issue. I'm still taking orders for .45 upper but be advised, the turn around time is 3-4 weeks depending on barrel availability. Oly says 4-5 weeks for more barrels but they have been saying that for 4-5 weeks already. The BAZ45 and the AR45 are designed to use stock CAR buffers and springs. The CAV Arms MKII needs the Hahn heavy buffer to keep the gun from beating itself to death. To do a midlength set up, you need a custom barrel. The Oly barrels step down a few thousandths in front of the CAR front sight base so you can't just slide the FS base forward. There would be to much clearance and the sight would not fit tight around the barrels. I specified .750 for the entire barrel length in front of the chamber with Kurt so midlengths can be made. |
| An FYI for those interested - I just talked to Oly as I have had another .45 upper on order for a few months now and they said the .45 barrels are in and they're assembling orders. Estimated shipping time was said to be two weeks. Caveat: Every firearms supplier I've ordered something not on the shelf from has proved to be quite overly optimistic about delivery time. |
It's a little difficult to ascertain a market value for something that's almost never on the market, but if you mean the guy's got 14 converted Uzi mags, which is what Oly .45 mags are these days, then he's taking a beating* letting it all go for $750 if the gun is a complete rifle and isn't somehow broken. *That doesn't necessarily translate into it being a good investment, but it's not a bad price if you want a .45 AR. |
They also need to develope a block instead of add a huge chunk to the back of the magazine. |
Be careful. They could be grease gun magazine that have been sqweezed in a vise. ASk for photos. |
Kinda hard to say if the Oly conversion of an Uzi 16 rounder hurts or helps the value. In the last few months I've seen new or very good condition Uzi .45 16 rounders go for $110-305(!) on Gunbroker, and Oly says they'll do the conversion for $35. When they had them, they offered converted Uzi 10 rounders for $65, but only offered a $35 discount for ordering a .45 upper without a magazine. The one 10 rounder I got from Oly is actually stamped .40 S&W but it works just fine with .45 ACP. |
If you do that, and if they are Uzi mags, I might be interested. FWIW* I just spoke with Oly and they now say 2-3 weeks until .45 barrels come in. *WIW is next to impossible to guage. ETA - I had thought Oly makes their own barrels. Who makes their .45 barrels? |
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FYI Sten mags can be modified to work with the .45 in a standard lower with a mag block. They only hold around 16 rounds, which can vary by a round or two. I made three when I had mine. A mill would make it easier, but I used a dremel and cut the rib out of the rear of the mag and then welded the cover plate back that the mag block uses for the mag catch. You also have to open up the feed ramps with a carbide burr and a dremel. It takes about an hour per mag by this process, but they really do run well. |
At one point they told me they were ready to begin assembling the .45s. I guess 2-3 weeks is an improvement over the 4-6 weeks they were stuck at for some time. |
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Here is the conversion guide for .45s. www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=15&t=345390 |
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