I mean WITHOUT tracers !

I came up with the idea of drilling 4 1/8 inch holes into
the rear of my G3 mags to be used as an indicator.

The problem was that the last 6 rounds
(The most important ones) are inside the mag
well where a hole can't be seen.

I came up with another idea for that,and measured the inside of the
mags to see if it would fit.

I plan on welding a tab to the bottom of the mag follower that's
steel shim ,measuring close to 1/2 inch wide ,and 27/32 long.
The way it sits ,the first rotation of the spring will keep it close
to the rear wall of the mag ,but not against it.

Then I'll recalculate where to place the holes so that 0 rounds,
5 rounds,10,and 15 will be indicated.
(I may not indicate the 15 )

If it works ,with a look you will know if there's anything in the mag itself.
Of course ,it won't tell you if the chamber ITSELF is empty ,but if there's
any ammo in the mag ,there should be something in the chamber.

Eventually ,I can increase the view ports to a more viewable size ,and
use the Lock-Tite Black Max (gunsmith's resin) to waterproof  the holes
with a thin plexiglass or plastic panel.

Of course ,I will be making a jig so that this mod can be quickly and easily
repeated on aluminum alloy mags.
(Steel mags may require another jig ,there a few thousandths thicker )


Considering the end result,is it worth the work ?

Would it be worth a few extra dollars a mag to you to either buy mags
with this modification,or pay a few bucks to have it done to your mags ?
(I'm not sure on the cost per mag ,if I'm working on quite a few at
once it should be under $10 a mag ,probably cheaper ,I don't know for now)

Do you think in tactical situations ,this would be a good improvement ?

Thanks for any comments.  

I'd be concerned on the alloy mags about structural integrity.

As far as usefulness, I am not necessarily qualified to answer, but my modest opinion is there would be more ciritcal things going on than worrying about the round count in the mag. If I am worried about it, I should swap in a fresh one.

The philosophy behind the HK rifles is to change mags often, any time you're not shooting or moving, hence the lack of bolt hold open.

That sounds like a fun little project to do if you have extra mags that you can play around with.

That said, I can name a handful of guns that don't have witness holes: M14, AR15, AK, FAL (except STG58), you name it.  Never seemed to have any problems with those guns either.

The 20rd capacity of the G3 really doesn't warrant a need for round count either.  
I think experienced solders rarly rely on those holes, as they would have an round count already going on in their head automatically without even thinking.

That said, I do have an old worn, banged up steel G3 magazine body that you can practice your mods on, without the risk of destorying your other functional mags which I'll happily contribute.

Let me know.


Edit: Just noticed that Kletzenklueffer and I have the exact same post number count....