paprotective 362 Posted September 19, 2010 Report Share Posted September 19, 2010 Chase... PM on way.. Al Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macbeau 902 Posted September 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 OK so i've got a problem. I just bought a .308 and it came with 3 mags. I havnt used it yet i'm still waiting the 10 day "cool off" period required here in Cali. I took apart my three mags to do this alteration. One of the sub plates has the legs completely snapped off. The very bottom, where the spring clips to it is still there, but nothing more. Do you think that this mag will still work? Chase That is a DEFINITE....probably! My guess is it'll work just fine as those lower legs just keep the spring from twisting (torquing) under compression. Macbeau sends... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bilknosk10 0 Posted November 10, 2010 Report Share Posted November 10, 2010 Part one I have repeatedly seen requests here on how to turn a factory 8-round magazine into a 10-rounder. Hopefully, this is "sticky" worthy and will answer most (if not all) questions about the process. Converting an 8-round mag to accept 10 rounds is a fairly simple process and can be done with simple tool. As a basic guide, you will need: 1. A factory Saiga .308 magazine. 2. A ruler or tape measure (calipers work great, if you have them) 3. Something to mark measurements with (pencil, nail, pick, etc) 4. A fine tooth saw (copeing or hack). A dremel can be used but not necessary. 5. A semi-coarse file. 6. A craft / hobby / utility knife. 7. Something to push the follower all the way to bottom (I used the handle of a cresent wrench here). First - magazine disassembly. Locate the floor plate and find the square detent hole in the bottom. Using a nail or like-sized punch, depress the square detent about 1/8 of an inch. At the same time, gently slide the base plate toward the back of the mag body. These can be a bit tight on new magazines. WARNING! DO NOT SLIDE IT ALL THE WAY OFF YET! Once you have the base plate about half way off, hold it with one thumb and use your other thumb to put pressure on the plate just below it. (These mags are wayyyyy over sprung and under considerable tension - even unloaded.) After you have positive pressure on the sub-plate, gently slide the base plate all the way off. After that, ease the sub-plate, spring and follower out of the mag body. Part two Here is the factory follower. It is 1.837" (inches) tall from top to bottom, as measured from the back of the follower. Also make note of the raised ridge / rail on the forward side of the follower. It rides in a corresponding track on the inside of the magazine body. Measuring from the top of the "hump' on the top of the follower, measure down approximately 1.3" (inches). Scripe a SQUARE line forward and cut off the bottom of the follower with a fine tooth saw. Clean and square up the cut area with a semi-coarse file. WARNING - Leave at least 1/8" - 3/16" (inch) of the track rail on the forward side of the follower! DO NOT REMOVE IT, FILE IT DOWN/OFF OR CUT IT TOO SHORT! It guides the follower up and down and helps keep the follower from "tipping" which will cause it to bind in the mag body. The battery on my clipers was going out (display flashing), but it ended up being 1.25" (inches) tall after cutting, filing and dressing. Next - use the file and utility knife to create (scrape) a slight bevel / taper on both the inside and outside of the bottom edge of the follower. The will help keep the follower from binding in the body and help guide the spring up into the follower during compression (loading). part three sub-plate and reassembly. You will notice on the sub-plate that there are two upward protruding "legs". These will need to be trimmed down. The overall height on mine ended up being .85" (inches) after trimming. After making sure all burrs are removed and everything is nice and smooth and rounded on all of the parts that you worked on, reassemble the mag in reverse order as disassembly. I recommend using a dry silicone spray on the internal components to ease everything going back together and help reliability. Also - after final assembly, find something to compress the follower all the way to the bottom (not ammo). You may hear some mild crunching or popping. That is just the spring finding it's path to the under / inside of the follower (the taper / bevel you applied earlier should help with this). You should only need to do this once after reassembling the magazine. Now you should have a fully functional 10 magazine. If it is tight with 10 rounds, disassemble and carefully trim a hair (1/16" - usually no more than 1/8" (inch)) more off of the legs on the sub-plate ONLY. DO NOT cut anymore from the bottom of the follower or screw with the rail / track on the side of the follower. Part four - final For those who are curious, the spring in a factory 8-rounder is identical to a FBMG 20-rounder. Above - The top spring is from a FBMG 20-rounder, the bottom one is from a factory 8-rounder. Also - The modified factory 8-round (now 10-round) follower works in my FBMG mags, making them 22-rounders. Hope this helps Macbeau sends... Thanks a bunch! It did indeed help. Went out and tried out the new gun and newly modded mag...both worked great. Put 60 rounds through both and not any glitches at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cpg 0 Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Great info, thanks for posting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BallzFast 4 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 for some reason my mag would hold 8 rounds but could not be installed in the weapon. i had to remove 1 round and it would install perfectly. i did the mod in this thread and now i can install the mag with 9 rounds. thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dlouis 0 Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 One small additional tidbit that might help those experiencing issues. When cutting the two "Legs" you are creating a flat surface for each that the coils might be hanging up/binding on under compression. This would occur early on as your inserting rounds and would prevent that last 1 or 2 from going in. The simple solution to this is to bevel the top edges of the legs with a file or similar. I used coarse sandpaper to bevel the three side of each leg slightly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DADSWICKEDAMMO 0 Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 HOW EASY WAS THAT!! THANX!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Kenny 144 Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 IF you manage to cut those guide tabs off, you may be able to recover. Go to a hobby shop like hobbytown USA, they have shaped styrene plastic pieces. Find some the right size and use 2-part epoxy to attach them. Or, go to litkoaero.com and order the Craftix #33 glue. That stuff will bond just about any 2 plastics together. Be extremely careful, however. If any of that glue gets between the follower and the mag body, you're doomed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shades_of_grey 1,092 Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 (edited) Thank you for the excellent, detailed write-up, macbeau. Personally, I'm thinking of lopping the "legs" off and leaving the follower alone. Edited June 20, 2011 by post-apocalyptic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berzerker2 19 Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) macbeau Thanks a lot for the great thread! I went down to Harbor Freight and bought some $9.99 digital calipers and s new circular saw set for my Dremel Tool I also got there and used your great step by step method. I had 5 mags to convert and after I made the alterations to the first one and made sure it worked, I used it as a templete and I had them all done in no time! Thanks again! Edited September 12, 2011 by Berzerker2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saiga545 47 Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 What happened to the pics? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macbeau 902 Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Pics should be back up. Photobucket just dozes off from time to time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hefedehefe 0 Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Tagged Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macbeau 902 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Tagged Does that mean I'm "it"? If so, bummer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pintac 6 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks for the info. just won a new 3308 from GB and will hopefully have it next week. This will come in handy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J308 1 Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Just did all 3 of my 8rnd mags lastnite finishing off my Great Lakes X-Mas Ale(expires tommorrow...). Super easy and only takes literally 10 minutes for each. Glad I found this write up! Simply awesome! Edited March 31, 2012 by J308 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
su16a 84 Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I just wanted to say thanks for the detailed post that made this very easy to accomplish. I had a CALIPER so with your step by step instruction it was very easy and fun to do. I actually stumbled on this post a few months before I even joined here. then I was here for a while and rediscovered the post so that is the reason for the late thank you, better late than not at all.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ishootstuff 0 Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 can fal magazine or m1a magazine springs be used as replacements in promags??? any one know if they will function? promag springs feel weak Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macbeau 902 Posted March 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 FOR THOSE IN NEW YORK , CALIFORNIA AND OTHER OPPRESSIVE STATES, PLEASE IGNORE ALL POSTS PRIOR TO THIS ONE! I WILL SOON ADD A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OTHER-WISE LEGAL FACTORY 8RD MAGAZINES DISABLED TO ONLY HOLD 7RDS.... For the rest of us, no change, at this time...! Macbeau sends... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
normnip 1 Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) Post deleted Edited March 14, 2013 by storminNorm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jaytil 0 Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Even after a frantic push by the gun grabbers (51 pieces of new anti-gun legislation in 2013) we still have a 10 round limit here in California. Thanks for this very useful mod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 We are discontinuing our 8rd to 10rd conversion kit parts. $5 each with bulk discounts on top of that. http://stores.csspecs.com/saiga-308-rebuild-kit-clearance/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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