Armory Sponsor
Posted: 12/23/2023 9:46:53 PM EDT
[Last Edit: bandanabandit1][Edited]
|
Pat pending* Hi everyone, I thought some of you would enjoy hearing about a recent project I have finally completed that I started earlier in the year with just a concept. Like many that are familiar with the Reising family of firearms (M50, M55, and M60) you are probably aware that one of the BIGGEST complaints is magazine availability - there just aren't a lot of magazines around. This problem planted a seed that turned from just a concept in my head to an actual product (that works!). I wanted something that would solve the issues of trying to find some original magazines (good luck, and not to mention the price) or trying to jerry-rig a modern magazine to fit in the original magwell and hoping that it will function reliably. I present to you - my Reising to Uzi magazine Conversion Magwell. This magwell is CNC machined from a solid piece of steel and later hardened for superior durability. I set out with the goal of creating a magwell that will not only run (and run and run) but will also utilize modern machining and heat treating processes to make a product that will last - compare this to the nearly 80 year old original H&R magwells that are just blued steel or parkerized. While comparing, you will see that the magazine release is also much improved over the original factory method of releasing a magazine. Simply press the button with your left thumb and pull out the magazine - as it should be. This is especially true on the earlier Reisings where you had to pull back the magazine release lever and then pull down the magazine. With the issue of magazine availability (and parts for that matter) at the forefront of this project, I carefully considered what magazines I wanted to make as the foundation of this project. I settled on newly manufactured .45 Uzi magazines from ProMag. From all of my testing I have not had a single malfunction induced from the magazines - and I tested quite a few. Not to mention that ProMag also offers a lifetime warranty on each magazine! Once this magwell is installed, it is essentially "Plug-and-Play" - you can just insert a standard .45acp Uzi magazine without modification and you're ready to go. As you can see the advantages over the original H&R magazines that are almost all 80+ years old is something significant to consider. Aside from that, the parts used in the magwell assembly themselves are widely available if someone wanted to pick up some replacements (it uses standard military issue Uzi parts; mag release button, mag release button pin, mag release button spring, and 2 6/32 stainless set screws you could probably find at any hardware store). Really any original Reising replacement parts are difficult to come by so again this is a significant improvement for anyone that owns a Reising. Again, with wanting to design a durable magwell, I also increased the thickness on the portion that contacts the bottom of the action bar itself. With this, I have also redesigned the taper pins that connect the magwell to the action in the instance that I had to fit the pins to the specific action (ALL Reisings vary slightly in tolerances so this was another hurdle that I had to overcome). On that note;Thank you to all of the members here that provided me with dimensional feedback from their own Reisings!!! The pins that attach the magwell to the action are also precision CNC machined and made out of 300 series stainless. All together, this magwell is about 3x the weight of the original factory magwell (~13.5oz vs ~4.7oz), the added weight under the action does add to enhanced recoil mitigation which is another positive in itself. Great video of a customer running the magwell:  Reising M50 From all of my testing I have NOT HAD A SINGLE MALFUNCTION! That includes with the action feeding or extracting and with the actual magazines themselves. Other Reising owners that have used these have reported similar results back to me (once tuned to their specific gun). I do want to reiterate that there may be some minor fitting involved to get the magwell tuned to your specific gun. The most common issue I am seeing so far seems to be with the newer ProMag Uzi magazines having feedlips that are not as wide as the older magazines that they produced. This is an easy fix that only takes a minute to slightly bend them outwards so they are wider, this lets the bolt strip off the round easier to feed. Once this is done performance should be flawless. If you have a question about this please see the below link to a guide on how this is done that was created by a customer. I recommend running some of the dummy rounds to make sure the magwell is compatible with your specific action before altering your stock. I will try to update this paragraph with any potential issues as I gather feedback from other users. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about these magwells, my inbox is open. How to adjust feedlips (post 6&7): https://www.uzitalk.com/forums/index.php?threads/reising-to-uzi-magazine-conversion-magwell-a-fun-project-i-completed.99746/#post-874237 Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed seeing my project - I spent a lot of time bringing it to reality. Stay tuned, I plan on continuing to develop and produce other exciting upgrades for the Reising in the future.  
|
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
Originally Posted By Stahlgewehr762: Very cool, and a clever idea. Got a pic of it with the magazine installed? That's a good question! Other than the demo video, I don't think I do. I can stick one in and take some pics this weekend if anyone wants to see.. |
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
I wonder how a magwell for something like a Promag 40-round drum would work. Assuming there’s room under the stock for where the mag release would need to go. MSRP on the drums is $120, but I see them online for around $80. Which is what the 30-round Christie mags cost when they were in production. Just an idea.  |
|
Originally Posted By GarrettJ: I wonder how a magwell for something like a Promag 40-round drum would work. Assuming there’s room under the stock for where the mag release would need to go. MSRP on the drums is $120, but I see them online for around $80. Which is what the 30-round Christie mags cost when they were in production. Just an idea. https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-qnkfc65h0p/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/868/3064/DRM-A25_001__44812.1642187357.JPG?c=2 I was wondering if there was a .45 uzi drum someone made. I was actually reach out to them and ask. |
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
What I would like is someone to make a Sten mag tower for the Beta 9mm so I can use it in my M11 Sten mag Lage setup. The biggest magazine I have are Lanchester 50 rounders but I want to use a Beta 100 rd mag. |
“Liberty and love
These two I must have.
For my love, I’ll sacrifice
My life.
For liberty, I’ll sacrifice
My love.”
Petofi Sándor
These two I must have.
For my love, I’ll sacrifice
My life.
For liberty, I’ll sacrifice
My love.”
Petofi Sándor
|
Originally Posted By Jozsi: What I would like is someone to make a Sten mag tower for the Beta 9mm so I can use it in my M11 Sten mag Lage setup. The biggest magazine I have are Lanchester 50 rounders but I want to use a Beta 100 rd mag. Originally Posted By Jozsi: Forgot to say, nice machining BTW. Sounds like the kind of project I would take on 
|
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
Originally Posted By bandanabandit1: I was wondering if there was a .45 uzi drum someone made. I was actually reach out to them and ask. There is this guy that makes Grease Gun/BRP U45 drums using a Thompson drum and a grease gun mag as the tower. No reason the same thing shouldn't work with an Uzi .45 mag as the tower. BRP 45 Drum |
"The Engine could still smile...it seemed to scare them." -Felix
|
Originally Posted By Landric: There is this guy that makes Grease Gun/BRP U45 drums using a Thompson drum and a grease gun mag as the tower. No reason the same thing shouldn't work with an Uzi .45 mag as the tower. BRP 45 Drum I had seen those before but couldn't remember where. The obvious issue here being the $500 cost for one drum. But looking at the Promag drums, the whole thing appears to have been bolted together, with a plastic flange holding the feed tower in place. I wonder if one of these could be modified to hold an Uzi mag. If one could use a 10-round Uzi Promag for the feed tower, they could be into a 40-round drum for just over $100. That of course is assuming the drums run well and one could fabricate an adapter flange to attach the feed tower. I really don't need a different pile of mags to play with on the Reising, but the idea has me interested. eta: it looks like the Promag Glock .45 drum may be a better doner, as the Glock mag body is going to be closer in size to the Uzi mag. So maybe the attachment flange can be made to work more easily. I measured a Glock 10mm mag (same dimensions as a .45 mag) and it's slightly larger than the Uzi mag body, both front-to-back and side-to-side. But it's close. So maybe no mods needed, or it may need to be shimmed or epoxied in place. Of course if that doesn't work, the 1911 drum may be better after all, where one can cut out the opening for the mag tower and fit to size. I don't even have the Reising/Uzi magwell in hand yet, and you all are already making me want to spend more money to improve what it can do. 
|
|
Originally Posted By Jmacken37: There's a lot of hate for promag but I was pleasantly surprised to find the HK93 mags and Saiga12 drums to be good to go. They may not be as nice as say factory HK mags, but for range type use they are more than adequate. |
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
Originally Posted By bandanabandit1: Sounds like the kind of project I would take on Originally Posted By bandanabandit1: Originally Posted By Jozsi: What I would like is someone to make a Sten mag tower for the Beta 9mm so I can use it in my M11 Sten mag Lage setup. The biggest magazine I have are Lanchester 50 rounders but I want to use a Beta 100 rd mag. Originally Posted By Jozsi: Forgot to say, nice machining BTW. Sounds like the kind of project I would take on There are quite a few people in that dilemma of not wanting to convert their Craig Wheatley STEN mag converted M/11s back to normal mags as they are heavily invested in STEN mags already and there is only the 50 rd Shockwaves and nothing else. I am 100 percent sure if we talk some more, I can get ten people or more on Uzi talk to get in on it as a group buy. To the MODS, I am willing to get this switched if needed if its going beyond tech talk. |
“Liberty and love
These two I must have.
For my love, I’ll sacrifice
My life.
For liberty, I’ll sacrifice
My love.”
Petofi Sándor
These two I must have.
For my love, I’ll sacrifice
My life.
For liberty, I’ll sacrifice
My love.”
Petofi Sándor
|
I'm not a Reising owner, so my comments can be considered gratuitous. The concept is very reminescent of the long ago discontinued (c. 2008) VM HyTECH unmodified Uzi magazine adapter for the AR pattern magwell. From my experience with the VM HyTECH product (that I still have and occasionally use), I'll note that IMI Uzi .45 ACP magazines have a bit smaller cross section than ProMag Uzi .45 ACP magazines. As such, IMI mags (if one has any) might have a wobbly fit in the subject Reising to Uzi magwell adapter. As for the repurposing of a ProMag 1911 pattern drum goes, the bolt clearance and feed angle would need careful consideration. Best of luck. MHO, YMMV, etc. Be well. |
|
Originally Posted By Jozsi: There are quite a few people in that dilemma of not wanting to convert their Craig Wheatley STEN mag converted M/11s back to normal mags as they are heavily invested in STEN mags already and there is only the 50 rd Shockwaves and nothing else. I am 100 percent sure if we talk some more, I can get ten people or more on Uzi talk to get in on it as a group buy. To the MODS, I am willing to get this switched if needed if its going beyond tech talk. I'm not too familiar with the specifics of M/11's and sten mags, but I'm sure if we talked more maybe I would have an idea on some sort of solution
|
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
The magwell arrived yesterday. Installation was straightforward. It's a tight fit going through the opening in the stock, but I didn't have to do any sanding. There was just enough space for it to slide through. The Promags fit snug but not overly tight in the magwell. I found IMI mags will not fit, though. They are just a bit wider than the Promags. I've been emailing with bandanabandit1 about it, in case he does a version 2.0. But I don't think people are going to go buy a pile of low-capacity 16-round IMI mags for this. For what those cost, a person would be better off to buy standard Reising mags. I put around 200 rounds through the new setup today, using four different mags. Three were new, and one has been used successfully in the Reising previously, using a sleeve. I found the old mag and one of the new mags ran well. The other two mags wouldn't feed at all. It looks like the feed lips aren't releasing the cartridge when it needs to pop up to go the rest of the way into the chamber. I should be able to adjust the feed lips and get them running. Seems like I had to do this with most of my GI and Christie Reising mags. So nothing new. Follow up: I tuned the mag feed lips a bit, and now all of them run flawlessly. Here's a video from this morning:  Reising SMG with Uzi .45 magazines |
|
Originally Posted By GarrettJ: The magwell arrived yesterday. Installation was straightforward. It's a tight fit going through the opening in the stock, but I didn't have to do any sanding. There was just enough space for it to slide through. The Promags fit snug but not overly tight in the magwell. I found IMI mags will not fit, though. They are just a bit wider than the Promags. I've been emailing with bandanabandit1 about it, in case he does a version 2.0. But I don't think people are going to go buy a pile of low-capacity 16-round IMI mags for this. For what those cost, a person would be better off to by standard Reising mags. I put around 200 rounds through the new setup today, using four different mags. Three were new, and one has been used successfully in the Reising previously, using a sleeve. I found the old mag and one of the new mags ran well. The other two mags wouldn't feed at all. It looks like the feed lips aren't releasing the cartridge when it needs to pop up to go the rest of the way into the chamber. I should be able to adjust the feed lips and get them running. Seems like I had to do this with most of my GI and Christie Reising mags. So nothing new. Here's the teenage daughter running a mag through the new magwell. 22 rounds go pretty quick, but it's a lot better than 12 rounds.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXEkY3uQpqwIf Promag doesn't get back with you, I have a contact I met at SHOT this year, she was quite helpful & promptly replaced a 30 rnd Beretta 92 mag. |
Death to quislings.
|
Another user; Reising M50 |
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
As I've posted over on the UziTalk website, about a month or so ago I emailed ProMag asking them to consider making Uzi form factor tower 40 round, .45 ACP drum mags; and 50 round, 9mm drum mags. Maybe a few more requests will more thoroughly pique their interest. MHO, YMMV, etc. |
Joined:
May 2024
Posts:
126
EE: 0% (0)
PA, USA
 The Reising M50! |
|
Serbu’s reviews crack me up. |
|
Originally Posted By oscardeuce: @bandanabandit1 You have an MSRP yet? @oscardeuce Sure do, I had these originally posted on the old EE. I have yet to make a post on the new one with them though. |
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
|
Just wondering, a tungsten alloy bolt was developed for the M11/NINE and the M11. What about a tungsten alloy bolt for the Reising? As I recall the Reising has a cyclic rate of around 900 RPM, which is about the same cyclic rate as the M10 in .45. Slowing the rate of fire, I would think would very much improve the usefulness of the Reising. Scott |
|
I played with weights some years ago. I could get some reduction in ROF, but not enough to make it worthwhile before the added weight caused reliability issues. A better approach on the Reising might be a mechanical rate reducer. I had one halfway detailed out at one time but never got the design finished, let alone started working on prototypes. |
|
Originally Posted By GarrettJ: I played with weights some years ago. I could get some reduction in ROF, but not enough to make it worthwhile before the added weight caused reliability issues. A better approach on the Reising might be a mechanical rate reducer. I had one halfway detailed out at one time but never got the design finished, let alone started working on prototypes. I’m open to working on this project if I can find some other Reising beta testers 
|
I like to make US historical flags out of wood
Armory Sponsor