Low Down on Mags

[gunnuttwo]

I ordered a pair of Sig 556 mags. When they arrived, the lips looked like a 5th grader took a knife to them. They were not trimmed straight or even. I am very disappointed. Can a guy clean them up and what would you use for a pattern to trim them, the factory mag or because of their composition, do they need to be trimmed different? Am afraid of cutting a finger on them when I loading them.

[MudBug]

Can you just buy the follower?

Yes

Bushmaster sells it (I think, at least they used to) and Fulton Arms sells them.

[Hoot]

Can you just buy the follower?

At the Bushmaster web page select the products catalog, parts and accessories, clearance items. It'll run you 20.45 for one shipped. $18.45 each for two. $16.95 each for three. etc.



I believe the ones that Fulton sells are those blue ones that snap on over the top of your existing follower. They are currently on sale for 18.96 for one shipped. $13.96 each for two. $12.29 each for three. etc



Hoot

[Siringo]

I also have taken these and fitted them to the sig mags. Then I can use the sig for the 223 and 450.

[Jim in Houston]

At the Bushmaster web page select the products catalog, parts and accessories, clearance items. It'll run you 20.45 for one shipped. $18.45 each for two. $16.95 each for three. etc.

The Bushmaster single shot followers also fit over the regular follower in the 20 or 30 round mag, which probably reduces the mag capacity somewhat. However, they are not designed to replace the existing follower. Installation is easy - you stick an allen wrench (which comes with them) in the hole in the follower, insert one edge of the follower into the magazine, pushing down the existing follower, then use the allen wrench like a lever to roll the single shot follower in. They only go in one way (i.e. it is important to not only have them point the right direction, but to put the correct edge in first), so if you have any problem, try putting the other edge in first. The illustration with the follower is accurate, they just don't call attention to this point.

I have converted two 30 round mags, but I haven't shot them yet.

BTW Hoot!!!! Got the reloading gear. Many, many thanks. Now waiting on the rest of the gear to come in.

[Hoot]

At the Bushmaster web page select the products catalog, parts and accessories, clearance items. It'll run you 20.45 for one shipped. $18.45 each for two. $16.95 each for three. etc.

The Bushmaster single shot followers also fit over the regular follower in the 20 or 30 round mag, which probably reduces the mag capacity somewhat. However, they are not designed to replace the existing follower. Installation is easy - you stick an allen wrench (which comes with them) in the hole in the follower, insert one edge of the follower into the magazine, pushing down the existing follower, then use the allen wrench like a lever to roll the single shot follower in. They only go in one way (i.e. it is important to not only have them point the right direction, but to put the correct edge in first), so if you have any problem, try putting the other edge in first. The illustration with the follower is accurate, they just don't call attention to this point.

I have converted two 30 round mags, but I haven't shot them yet.

BTW Hoot!!!! Got the reloading gear. Many, many thanks. Now waiting on the rest of the gear to come in.

You're welcome Jim. I found the funnel after I shipped everything. That Bushmaster single shot follower works a lot better in my .300 WSSM also. It came with a standard follower with half the offset lump ground off. While that worked also, the Bushmaster centering follower provides a smoother pickup of the last round. Those fat little genie bottle cartridges are tricky to get into the chamber without beating them up enough as it is. Too bad I robbed one of my converted AR Stoner mags I converted to 450b a while back, to convert to the 300 WSSM. I need to get a couple of those Bushmaster followers. Anybody know of any stainless 20 round mags that don't have a seam on the front as well as the back? I need all the internal length I can get my hands on with this 300 WSSM. The 25 WSSMs suffer from the same limitation. My RRA lower has an additional notch in the front face of the mag well. It I can, I may make up a bending jig to impart a slight V-notch down the front of the mag that would allow even greater COL.

We should do a group buy of some of those 450b followers.Yeah, you can mod a conventional follower, but those Bushmaster single followers just run better IMHO. They work really well in the AR Stoner 20 rounders. Do we get any discount with Bushmaster for being forum members? Didn't Tim say he had a line on some he got for a good price a while back?

More questions than answers. Bed time...

Hoot

[SVT_tactical]

Ordered some of the Sig mags from CDNN, they have a flat rate shipping offer good through the end of Feb if anyone is interested

[gunnuttwo]

SVT_tactical

Let me know what you think of the mags when you get them. The ones I got from CDDN weren't good in my opinion. I should have posted that I got them from CDDN when I posted above. Maybe I am being too picky, but I thought that the quality could have been better. I sent them an e-mail, but haven't heard anything from them.

[EmGeZe]

I recently purchased several of the "Blue Plastic" snap-in single shot inserts mentioned above from Fulton [they are marketed as changing your 20/30 round .223 mags into drop-in single shot guns (basically allowing your AR-15s to by-pass the mag & become single shots)]...but, when these drop-in followers are inserted on top of the standard followers they work PERFECTLY for .450 Bushmaster as they center the fatter .450 round within the magazine. A 20 round .223 mag suddenly becomes a 6-7 round .450 Bushmaster magazine. Works amazingly well [as good as my home-made followers mentioned above!].