Need to make a 20 rd Mag a 5 rd mag

[toyotaman]

I'm going hunting soon with my FAL for FL hog's.

All I have are 20 rd magazines. I want to load 4 or 5 rds and figure out how far that lowers the follower. Then I want to cut a piece of wood between the follower and the baseplate and put the spring on top of the piece of wood, then reinsert the baseplate.

Will that mess up the springs to be compressed that much with just 5 rounds on them rather than 20?

[RPBII]

you could make the plug ride inside of the spring, like a plug for a shotgun.

[Dopavash]

I don't know the answer to your question, but would it be a better option to cut a piece that would fit inside the spring? That way you're not worrying about spring tension, etc.

Just a thought. I could be way off base here. Wouldn't be the first time.

[Bwana John]

Add a long flat "tail" to the bottom rear of the follower.

[DeMilled]

Originally posted by toyotaman
I'm going hunting soon with my FAL for FL hog's.



All I know is that I'm jealous of your hunting trip.
Good luck!

[ftierson]

Many moons ago while hunting bear in New York State with my HK-91, I made a wooden block and wrapped it with electrician's tape to make the standard 20rd aluminum mag into a 5 round one. The wrapped wood block fit inside the follower spring, so you were just compressing the first 5rds worth of the spring.

That was about 1975, and the block still works just fine now (that's 36 years later, you know)...

Forrest

[FUUN063]

You could just make a 5 round mag. It sticks out less and looks pretty darn nice, too. Here's a pic of one I made not that long ago. It works just fine. I simply made a note of where it came to when loaded with 5 rounds. Then, I removed the guts and cut it off. At this time, I bent out the two sides to mimick the original lips on the long mag body. I also cut the spring a little shorter, but not relative to the body length. What I mean is that I wanted a little stiffer spring than normal for more reliable feeding when possibly hunting with it, so I left it one coil longer. After a little deburring, the inside plate and the floor plate slid right on like an original. Here it is alone and with the rifle for comparison.

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z341/FUUN063/5roundmag002.jpg
http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z341/FUUN063/5roundmag001.jpg
http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z341/FUUN063/5roundmag003.jpg

By the way, this reminds me that I think I used a brand new Enfield marked 1966 magazine!:uhoh: Metrics would be similar except the bend would go inside.


Leland:biggrin:

[Possum 20]

I have taken an old paint stirring stick, broken it off at the correct length and taken most of my deer in KY.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally posted by Possum 20
I have taken an old paint stirring stick, broken it off at the correct length and taken most of my deer in KY.

There you go, magazine plugs, two per stick, free for the asking at Home Depot!

[mosbysmen]

there are instructions for making 5 round mags from 20 round mags somewhere on the fal files , they include the measurements . i made two of them so my brother and i could hunt with our fales , i think it was about 30 min to make 2 of them .
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