Howdy everyone!

Want to make 10 round mags for bench shooting?  Simple!

Here's what you need...



First step is to mark the 30 round mag your going to sacrifice with tape.  The goal here is to lay the tape parallel on both sides at a right angle to the mag ribs...clear as mud?  Measure it as it is shown in the picture.  The tape must be 4 13/16" exactly where it is on the pic...  Then wrap the tape around, measure both sides.


Make this cut with a hack saw or dremel.  Leave yourself plenty of material below the tape...


Flatten out the floor plate tabs on the severed part of the mag...this will become your template


Line up the bottom of that piece with the tape.  Trace the tabs you flattened in the previous step


You'll have something like this...


Now this part is open for discussion.  I take the dremel and chuck it up in the vice.  Then rotate the mag body around the disc.  If you've got a different way of doin' it, go for it!


Cut off the extra material flush with the tape.  Leave the outline of the tangs you drew a few steps back.  Have something like this when you're done...


Put the tangs in a vice that has flat jaws, so they don't mar the mag.  Square it up and bend 90 degree's as shown...  If you haven't figured it out by now, you are duplicating the base of the old mag These next few pics will help:








Match up another mag's base to the base you just bent.  Trace the differences, you should have a bit of material still to trim up.


Use a grinding stone in the dremel and trim up the extra material.  You'll now have an exact copy of the bottom of any other mag, starting to look like something now!


Cut the mag spring at the 11.5" front side bend.


Remove the spring base from the severed piece of spring and duplicate the intricate bend on the newly cut piece.




Reatach spring base to spring and follower assembly


Reassemble mag




Load your new 10 round mag!






Now someone out there is saying "WHY DID YOU RUIN A 30 ROUNDER TO GET A 10!?" Answer: I'd rather do it myself than buy new.  Besides, the mags I cut up here were from CSI's basement bargain, rust'ola deal.

Hopefully someone out there can use this info!

Have a good one,



-Matt

Very nice guide

Thanks Matt! I have a bunch of beat up 30 rounders that need choppin'.

you are a monster that needs to be stopped

Well, that will work for 20 round converts too. Big grins here.

Thats a waste of a mag!!!

The tape must be 4 11/16" exactly where it is on the pic... Then wrap the tape around, measure both sides.

That is 4 13/16".

Quoted: The tape must be 4 11/16" exactly where it is on the pic... Then wrap the tape around, measure both sides. That is 4 13/16".

Doh!

Well atleast I knew what I was talking about

congrats, you just took a step backwards in AK mags....

come to NY, you can get all the "bench rest shooting" AK mags your heart desires...in the mean time please stop hacking up perfectly good preban mags...thanks!

Wow, that's great. I think I'll make up some 15rd'rs.

Well thats great but a possible waste of a good 30rd'er. I applaude you efforts though.

Got no pics but I just too a Chicom 5rd mag and cut the follower in half and reassembled. It holds 10rds and feeds fine. You got more out of a little 5rd mag and dotn have to chop a 30!

YMMV, tax title and license extra.

Quoted: congrats, you just took a step backwards in AK mags.... come to NY, you can get all the "bench rest shooting" AK mags your heart desires...in the mean time please stop hacking up perfectly good preban mags...thanks!

I've been considering doing this to some 5.45 mags into 20rnds.  Only problem is almost all 5.45 mags are polymer/bakelite & will require a bit more work to epoxy the 'ears' back on the bottom.  Steel Polish Tantal mags could be cut down using this method but they're a bit $$$$$$$ to hack.

I can't believe we have come full circle since the ban died.  We used to trip over ourselves for high capacity mags and now we are converting them to low cap.

I would like to do something similar, except in reverse. Maybe producing a 50 rounder. This would of course require welding.

Quoted: Well, that will work for 20 round converts too. Big grins here.

I was thinking it would also work for 15 rounders for our buddies stuck in New Jersey.

Quoted: Quoted: Well, that will work for 20 round converts too. Big grins here. I was thinking it would also work for 15 rounders for our buddies stuck in New Jersey.

As one who is stuck in NJ, and with the recent annoouncement by our State Police, that mags must be "permanantly" altered to hold no more than 15 rounds, this will come in handy. With all the cheapy 30 round mags in the world, converting a few of them this way is really not that big of a deal. And here I was thinking that I was going to have to cut them down and weld the plate on the bottom. I much prefer your method. Thanks!

Quoted: I can't believe we have come full circle since the ban died.  We used to trip over ourselves for high capacity mags and now we are converting them to low cap.

Yup, like I said folks, I you want 10rd AK mags chop up a 5rd follower, it works! and you dont have to destroy AK mags.

Tag

Quoted: I would like to do something similar, except in reverse. Maybe producing a 50 rounder. This would of course require welding.

Gotch'a

Something like this?



Thats a mag I just welded up.  It took some fitting to get the follower to transfer from one mag body to the other smoothly, but it works!

Two mag springs are used, and obviously two mags.

I've got TONS of these shitty 30 round rusted mags.  Its been entertaining coming up with different uses for them.

awesome.

I had this done to one of my 74 mags, because the range I went too, there wasn't enough room in between the bench table and the cut off point (wood barrier) to have the 30 round in the gun and look through the sites.  

nice guide! very well done. thanks a ton

but i have to say it - poor 30 rounder.

Quoted: Quoted: I can't believe we have come full circle since the ban died.  We used to trip over ourselves for high capacity mags and now we are converting them to low cap. Yup, like I said folks, I you want 10rd AK mags chop up a 5rd follower, it works! and you dont have to destroy AK mags.

+1 No reason to ruin a 30 round mag when you can modify the 5 rd mags.  Just stupid unless the 30 rd. mag is trashed on the bottom half.

Tack this shit. Thank you very much for taking your time to post the info.

dudes thats cool idea.
AK mags are so cheap. i dont think we will miss a few that got cut down...
great idea

Quoted: dudes thats cool idea. AK mags are so cheap. i dont think we will miss a few that got cut down... great idea

How soon we forget when they were costing $14.00 for a 30 rd mag.  If Hilliary gets in you all will be crying when they are banned.

Why go to the trouble of cutting down a mag that may end up being irreplacable when you can already buy 10 rd mags at $5.99 each? I've gotten them for less.

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