imarangemaster 315 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I noticed that the saiga factory ten rounder is half as long as a milsurp 30. I know Tapco has a plus 5 follower, and the Saiga follower is identical to a 30 rounder. Taking off half allows 15 rounds, al la M1 Carbine! Looks like it would be handy for an around the house gun. I did it with a Ruger Mini 30 magazine a few years back and made 14 rounders. Anyone trimmed theirs, or used the Tapco plus 5? I don't have a limit here, and I will have five 922 compliance parts (KVAR stock, pistol grip and Tapco G2 trigger group from DPH) so high cap is not an issue. ALso, the factory mag spring, in true communist form redundancy, is three times longer than the mag body. I think I would be safe to chop a third or so off so it will fit with the shorter follower. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Update, Cutting the follower and trimming some spots on the spring base/guide allow 15 rounds. I cut the spring too short, however, and the last half does not have enough "snap" to get the rounds up and feed right. I guess I start again with a full length spring and not cut so much! I had it working perfect at 14 , but trimmed the spring more and flubbed it up. No I need to pick up another spring. I hate to cannibalize a 30 for this. ANyone got a spare they would like to sell cheap? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 (edited) I tweaked the spring to improve rear lift until I get a longer spring. Loaded it with 15 rounds each time for today's range session. The 10 rounder turned 15 rounder worked flawlessly. I am sure that the weapon's recoil shock and impulse help keep the bullets advancing upwards properly with the short follower. After I put another 100 rounds through it with zero malfunctions, I will probably use this mag in the gun for my farm/home gun set up. Very handy, actually. I will keep a 30 on the shelf by it. Edited March 20, 2009 by imarangemaster Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mzmtg 0 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Can you post pics of your modded follower, or tell us how much you trimmed it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 I will try to do it this week end. I cut spring, modified base plate retainer and follower. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ernestmayhand 10 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 The only reason I don't love my factory 10 rounder unconditionally is because it only holds 10 rounds. 15 would win me over! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 It is sweet with 15. Kinda like an M1 carbine on steroids! I'll post some detailed pics this week end. Right now, my wife is asleep, sick in bed, and for me to go in there while she is asleep and start clanking around would not be a good thing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mzmtg 0 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 It is sweet with 15. Kinda like an M1 carbine on steroids! I'll post some detailed pics this week end. Right now, my wife is asleep, sick in bed, and for me to go in there while she is asleep and start clanking around would not be a good thing! Oh sure, put your marriage ahead of our needs for 15-round magazines. That's fine, we see how it is Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 (edited) Here are the pics, as promised. The 15 rounder is very handy, and is what I will use in it for my house gun . First is a pic of a standard Mil-surp follower and the trimmed follower. Also pictured is the spring. On the left is what I am using attached to the bottom locking plate. There are two pieces cut off. In retrospect, I would leave the middle one on. When cutting the spring, make sure you duplicate the back of the spring is longer than the front by having the the top coil and bottom coil at the rear. Below is the top of the spring. I bent it to give the rear of the follower a little extra kick up. I did this to compensate for the spring not being long enough. I decided how much to trim the follower by removing the base plate and slowly filling the magazine with 15 rounds, using the spring with a little tension in my hand to keep it tight. The follower protruded and I scored it flush with the bottom of the magazine. I remover it and cut it about 1/16" shorter than the scribed line to allow it to seat in the weapon with the mag full. Bellow is the base plate lock/spring guide after trimming. As you can see I did not just cut it off, but had to taper the sides and front to keep the compressing spring from hanging up on the flat trimmed top. Notice I also trimmed off the top off the rear piece that captures the spring, as it held up the compressed spring about 3/32" . You could also just buy a Tapco +5 follower instead of trimming yours, but I decided just to trim it. The only problem I initially had was the last two rounds were too slow coming up cycling by hand. Aftyer kicking up the base by bending the spring, it compensated. I did about 100 rounds plinking with this mag and it went fine. If I do another, I will probably get Tapco +5 followers, and leave another coil or two than I did. Edited March 22, 2009 by imarangemaster Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mzmtg 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 I decided how much to trim the follower by removing the base plate and slowly filling the magazine with 15 rounds, using the spring with a little tension in my hand to keep it tight. The follower protruded and I scored it flush with the bottom of the magazine. I remover it and cut it about 1/16" shorter than the scribed line to allow it to seat in the weapon with the mag full. Damn, that was a good idea. I'll definitely be doing this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Raoul_Duke 113 Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Thanks for sharing imarangemaster! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MD_Willington 11 Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 he he.. I have done this with my .223 I have a 12 rounder...maybe I'll experiment on the one I already modified! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mzmtg 0 Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I got started on this last night. So far, it's not feeding the last 3 of 15 rounds reliably (cycled by hand). But, I still need to reshape the last spring coil, although I left mine a bit longer than yours. I also need to smooth the cuts on the follower, there's still all kinds of burrs hanging off it. I'm sure that doesn't enhance reliability. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I bent the back of the top oif the spring up at an angle, mid coil to give it a little kick. I polished the trimmed follower also. I found that the recoil of the bolt slamming to the rear helps it function. Feeding by hand it messes up every once in a while, but firing it is 100% so far. The bolt slamming back seems to help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 BTT I had someone ask me for this thread. PS I fired 100 rounds from the modified mag. 0 malfunctions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eric1785 15 Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 it doesnt have to be complicated just trim the black square thingy and your good to go, no need to cut springs and do this and that, all it does is lets it sit lower in the mag, IE more shells can be in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imarangemaster 315 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 The post on the base plate sticks up too much if you don't trim it. If you dont trim it st sngles, the spring hangs up, and there is too much spring to compress in the reduced space allowed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taurussvt 0 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I made some 15 round magazines years ago out of factory ones. They're not hard to make at all. You've just got to be careful if you live in a state where 15 rounds is the limit. You don't want to take too much off the follower. You could also just buy these and call it a day. http://www.tapco.com/proddesc.aspx?Id=MAG0605SINGLE You could also get these floor plates from K-var and you'll wind up with 2 US made parts in your magazine. https://www.k-var.com/shop/product.php?prod...=334&page=1 Those US made floor plates were very hard to come by before this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chabanais 0 Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 I ordered one - thanks for the link - for a 5 rounder I have. I'll let you know what happens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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