Flatland Shooter 22 Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) I'm considering drilling some witness holes in my MKA 1919 magazines. These magazines are used for competition use only. It would be nice to glance at the back of the magazine before the buzzer sounds to assure myself that I'm not about to have one of those brain fade stages. My plans are to drill one 1/4" diameter hole in the back of the magazine where the bottom round's primer would show to indicate a full magazine. In the Firebird 15 rd magazines, the hole would be drilled into the plastic SGM magazine. On the Roulette 18 rd magazine, it would be drilled in aluminum. Anyone try this with "bad" results? Thanks. Bill Edited October 12, 2013 by Flatland Shooter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anubis 38 Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 I don't see how it would cause any issues, as long as you don't leave burrs on the inside of the mag. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted October 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 I don't see how it would cause any issues, as long as you don't leave burrs on the inside of the mag. Thanks Chris. My concerns would be the spring catching on the de-burred hole and on the SGM plastic a crack propagating from the hole. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anubis 38 Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) The plastic cracking could be possible, but I don't think a 1/4" hole is large enough to catch the spring. But just to be on the safe side you could try it with a 1/8" hole first. Edited to add: You could also consider drilling your holes on the side of the magazine where you wouldn't have to worry about the curvature of the spring catching your hole at all. Edited October 12, 2013 by Anubis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 When I used to drill witness holes in our production mags we would use a backer block to reduce the burrs and prevent dimpling, and then did clean up with a bandfile. You can use a dremel to clean up the inside hole if your just doing a dozen or less. You can also drill the hole lower and paint a red spot on the follower for better visibility. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 You can also drill the hole lower and paint a red spot on the follower for better visibility. That would also allow me to drill on the side of the magazine like Anubis suggested. I'll give it a try. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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