VZ 58 Mags - 5 Round - Thoughts on making them

rocklobster

rocklobster

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I bought a CSA 5 round VZ 58 mag and returned it because I was disappointed with the quality of the plastic bottom and the size of the mag itself.

The CSA mag looks like it is a 10 round capacity that has extra long follower legs bottoming out on 5. If I am going to hunt and carry a 5 round it is because I don't want to carry a 10 or 30 round mag, so to solve this I have purchased some 30 round mags to cut the middle out and tig weld back together into a nice compact mag to carry.

These mags are aluminum right?

Also I will have to experiment to see what is the smallest possible length that I can go without having issues with the follower being more prone to get out of aliment in the magazine and binding up.

Has anybody done this before? Or does anybody know if there is a easier solution to get an all metal compact 5 round mag?

Sorry I did not get any pics of the CSA mag before taking it back...
 
I cut a 5/30 rounder back to 5. Just make sure #5 goes in with room to spare, but #6 can't fit.

First I tried to form the sides of the mag so the bottom would be removable like a stock mag, but the aluminum wasn't ductile enough.
Then I tried to TIG it, but that didn't go well with the thin painted aluminum.
JB Weld for the win!

Be sure to remove the bottom and disassemble the mag before you drill out the rivet. :confused::confused:

If you drill the rivet first, well.........................
 
Hi Jim, thanks for the reply on my post, I appreciate your experience.

On the tig welding I was trying to plan surface prep methods to not remove any metal. Sounds like welding may be out.

I had not thought about using JB yet.

Do you have any pics of this conversion or the finished product by chance?
 
There is a good how-to on this in the Red Rifles Sickies - Helpful hints to DIY for Red Rifles - about 3/4's of the way through the thread.
Haven't tried it myself. This would only work with the 7.62X39 mags as far as I know.

Happy reading.

More info on this in the w ww.czfirearms.us forums.
 
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Thanks for the pics Paske. Was wondering about that. Looks like the plastic 5 round shorts with metal lips work the same.
 
Thanks for the pics as well Paske.

Why do you have to keep the mag length around 10? Is it because the follower needs to remain long enough so that it slides up and down without binding up in the track?

I would like to have a length of mag almost flush with the stock. I noticed that 5 rounds stacked in the mag is only about 1.5", and if you could cut those follower extension legs down enough you could get the mag much more compact.
 
I have made several 20 rounders. If you heat the metal to the point of almost melting the paint you can slowly bend the bottom lips for the floor plate with a proper sheet metal bending tool without cracking the aluminum(Sometimes they crack a little but never had one fail). Then a little dremel work on the mag lips and opening up the floor plate slides a little does the trick nicely. The hard part really is measuring the length of the mag for the rounds you want. There all pinned to 5 so really does not matter.......
 
rocklobster said:
Hi Jim, thanks for the reply on my post, I appreciate your experience.

On the tig welding I was trying to plan surface prep methods to not remove any metal. Sounds like welding may be out.

I had not thought about using JB yet.

Do you have any pics of this conversion or the finished product by chance?
Click to expand...

No pictures - it looks like the mag linked in post #7, except for the JB weld gooped around the base. Very close to the same length.
 
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