I just got...
... a 6-pack of mags from Black Dog Machine LLC. They're 30-round mags to be used with my Ciener .22 converter in my AR. Evidently, modifications are required in order to get 'em to function properly. I've only done one of 'em so far, and although I don't like the fact that I had to work on 'em myself (I want things to work right out of the box ... so call me lazy) I have to admit that the one I've modified ran like clockwork.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've had my Ciener converstion kit for a few years now. Especially with ammo prices continually getting more expensive, it's nice to be able to shoot drills with my regular AR, but with .22s. I bought a 3 pack of Ciener's steel mags, and they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 each. Ouch. Combine that with the fact that one of them didn't function, and I decided against ordering anything else from Ciener. (I'm not going to go on a rant about Ciener's lack of ... um .... "customer service" ... I'll save that for another time.)
I didn't think I had any other options in terms of mags to use with the Ciener converter, since it's a pretty unique product, and I'd never seen anything else on the market.
Enter Black Dog.
They're making polymer mags which are compatible with the Ciener converter ... but at about $30 a pop.
So, I ordered up a 6-pack.
When I took 'em out for a trial run, every mag jammed. I'm talking every single one of 'em, with each of the 3 kinds of ammo I tried. Kept kicking empties up into the action, or stovepiping.
I nearly went Chernobyl.
Before melting down, though, I sent Black Dog an e-mail. In my experience, my Ciener mags would only work with certain kinds of ammo. I figured maybe these mags were finicky in the same way.
To their credit, the guys at Black Dog replied within just a few hours, with very specific instructions submitted by one of their customers who had similar problems. After following their instructions on one of my mags, it worked like clockwork.
In essence, I had to file down part of the front aspect of the right-side feed lip. Strangely, there's a machining mark there to use as a guide. I have yet to ask why, if that mark is there, it's not machined that way to begin with.
Anyway, I'll file another range report when I get the other 5 mags done. Hopefully this'll work.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've had my Ciener converstion kit for a few years now. Especially with ammo prices continually getting more expensive, it's nice to be able to shoot drills with my regular AR, but with .22s. I bought a 3 pack of Ciener's steel mags, and they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 each. Ouch. Combine that with the fact that one of them didn't function, and I decided against ordering anything else from Ciener. (I'm not going to go on a rant about Ciener's lack of ... um .... "customer service" ... I'll save that for another time.)
I didn't think I had any other options in terms of mags to use with the Ciener converter, since it's a pretty unique product, and I'd never seen anything else on the market.
Enter Black Dog.
They're making polymer mags which are compatible with the Ciener converter ... but at about $30 a pop.
So, I ordered up a 6-pack.
When I took 'em out for a trial run, every mag jammed. I'm talking every single one of 'em, with each of the 3 kinds of ammo I tried. Kept kicking empties up into the action, or stovepiping.
I nearly went Chernobyl.
Before melting down, though, I sent Black Dog an e-mail. In my experience, my Ciener mags would only work with certain kinds of ammo. I figured maybe these mags were finicky in the same way.
To their credit, the guys at Black Dog replied within just a few hours, with very specific instructions submitted by one of their customers who had similar problems. After following their instructions on one of my mags, it worked like clockwork.
In essence, I had to file down part of the front aspect of the right-side feed lip. Strangely, there's a machining mark there to use as a guide. I have yet to ask why, if that mark is there, it's not machined that way to begin with.
Anyway, I'll file another range report when I get the other 5 mags done. Hopefully this'll work.
posted by Alpineman, RN at 10:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home