M11/9 magazine question

[USMC1990]

An M-11/NINE mm just arrived. SWD Inc. Atlanta, GA. Ser. #86-xxxxxxx. It came with 7 steel mags. Bottom of magazine well is rectangle. Inside the lower it is not rectangle, but rather a little narrower towards the front end. Zytel mags wont fit. What mags should be purchased.

 

[KickStand]

I think pictures of the magwell and the mags that fit, would help greatly.
That being said, generally, if the zytels don’t fit and the magwell is a rectangle, I’d think you have a Sten magwell.

If you do have a have Sten magwell, it’s not the end of the world. Mags are cheap and work good too (might need new springs and adjust the feedlips, which is easy). Also, you could easily pay to have it converted back to the factory magewell (ain’t too much coin).

Again, pictures would help and congrats on the purchase.

 

[USMC1990]

Here are some pics

 

[KickStand]

I’m going to college!

Looks like a Sten Magwell conversion. It was fairly common back in the day to do.

 

[USMC1990]

So……sten mags ate OK to run in it and probably makes sense to leave as is since sten mags are common. Any thoughts

 

[m11stuff@hotmail.com]

That’s a Craig Wheatley conversion from back in the day.

Original steel Sten mag’s are going to be hit or miss. You will have to sort them. The newer plastic Sten mags may work better.

The ergonomics of the Sten magwell are not all that great. If it feels overly blocky, you might want to get it converted back to OEM. That would also increase the value of the gun.

 

[USMC1990]

I do not plan on selling the weapon. I will have it until I take the dirt nap. And plus….I am on the Lage waiting list so probably wont be using the original mag well as much

 

[Deerhurst]

That's a Sten mag. I'm of the opinion sten mags are only worth their weight in scrap metal. You'll likely have to tweak them to work well. The Indian modified mags are supposed to be more reliable but hold 20 round vs 32. They have brass bars in them making them single stack.

With a tab added (and squished a little) sten mags also work in the Max31 upper.

 

[A&S Conversions]

First, congratulations on your new to you M11/NINE. As far as the mags that you have, mark them, fill them and try them. You will need a loading tool to load them up to or near to capacity.

As long as you have one mag that runs, you will have an example to go by. For those that didn’t run, I would recommend buying a 10 pack of Wolf Sten mag springs for the magazines. I would also recommend replacing the original springs in the gun with a new set of springs.

I would also recommend replacing the original wire stock with a decent stock, if it didn’t come with one. I am fortunate to own several Mac style machine guns. I don’t trust the locking mechanism of the original style stock, so I have never used the original style stock. And while the original upper is not the greatest, a ghost style upper is compact and fun especially with a tungsten bolt.

Scott

 

[USMC1990]

Great advice and suggestions. A & S do you do the mag well conversion from Sten to OEM?

 

[skoda]

That's a Sten mag. I'm of the opinion sten mags are only worth their weight in scrap metal.

HA! I'm of the same opinion.

 

[Deerhurst]

Great advice and suggestions. A & S do you do the mag well conversion from Sten to OEM?

Same over at Practical Solutions is your guy.

 

[Hey]

I like longer strings of fire, so I’d do the conversion back to factory just for the 50round Zmags. I only own one 30rnd mag, everything is 50s and Suomi drums for the max31

 

[A&S Conversions]

Sam at Practical Solutions is the man for receiver modifications. We do an adapter, the Tenko 10-16, that converts a M10 to basically function similar to a M16 registered receiver. There is a AR-15/M16 style magwell, which is forward of the M10 lower receiver, with captured pins. The adapter uses AR-15/M16 standard upper receivers. So any AR-15/M16 caliber upper receiver that can use AR mags in a standard AR magwell can be run full auto, open or closed bolt, with our adapter on a M10 lower. At the end of the month, will be two years that we have been waiting on the ATF for a determination. We plan on doing such an adapter for the M11/NINE. But we need to go to market with the 10-16 to have the funds for R&D to develop the Tenko 11-16.

Scott

 

[Jmacken37]

Yep. Sam for the conversion. I'd get it done, if I planned on keeping the gun. These were converted during the AWB when mags were tough to come by...

Good job getting on Lage's list. I'd also recommend replacing the internals (with Lage parts...I really like the FA only competition trigger) and check/replace your buffer.

 

[pmf]

I bought my sten converted M11/9 form Craig Wheatley back in the AWB days. Zytel mags were hard to come by back then, and nobody believed the AWB would expire. Sten mags were cheap. I bought a big pile of them. You need a loader for them. But they work perfectly fine. The gun very rarely jams. I never bothered converting it back. Be careful when taking them apart and cleaning them. Sten mags weren't exactly built to precise tolerances. The floor plate that fits one, won't fit another. I once cleaned up 8 of them only to have to spend a lot of time getting the floor plates to match the mag bodies. Looks like there's plenty around. Buy some and shoot the gun as is.

 

[pmf]

Definitely replace the buffer. Replace the internals? When I bought mine, everyone here said replace the internals. Mine was NIB. I called someone, it might have been Wheatley -- I forget -- and asked what parts I should replace. He said go shoot the thing and when something breaks, replace it. I haven't replaced anything on the gun since I bought it. OTOH -- the Lage stuff is worth investing in. Get a 9mm upper and replace the wire stock. If you have the money, the .223 upper is pretty fun.

 

[hkg3k]

STEN mags always seem to get a bad rap.

My experience with (2) STEN converted M11/9s, (2) STEN Mk5s and yes, sometimes even in one of my (3) Sterlings...I have found STEN mags to be every bit as reliable as any other mag system I use. Caveat? They won't work (or work well) if they're damaged -or- not properly cleaned / prepped of the 80yr old cosmoline / gunk, replacement of any weak springs and properly lubed. Same prep one would perform with any other decades old surplus magazine.

Are they as easy to load as a Sterling mag? Uzi mag? Hell no! They require a mag loader...but then, so most other double stack / single feed mags.

Want 50rd mags?...Lanchesters run just fine in the STEN-converted M11/9. They are pricey...but like everything else, they didn't used to be when I stocked up. I don't generally run the Lanchesters on the STENs or Sterlings as a "side hanging" 50rd mag is pretty awkward.

And hey, Sam at Practical Solutions not only offers STEN converted guns back to OEM...he also offers OEM to STEN mag conversions. I guess he doesn't know how bad STEN mags are or that he's offering a poor choice.

 

[Deerhurst]

The difference is I don't have to worry about other decades old mags working when I stuff then in the gun. I have plenty of old AK mags (Russian slabs), M3 mags, DPM drums, VZ61 mags, VZ58 mags, the list just goes on. Sten are the only ones I have to screw with to make them work because of a weak body, crappy springs, etc. It's like saying your car runs great and is flawless and you only had to replace the motor and transmission.

I've never had to use a mag loader for any mag but that is another story.

Sten mags were cheap and plentiful. that's the only reason the conversion exists. That is also why everything takes Glock mags these days. Cheap and plentiful (and also actually work).

 

[USMC1990]

I replaced the hand grip and mag catch. But now, the sten mags wont lock in. What gives. Is it a modified mag catch for the sten?