Thinking about a M11 or M10 SA build

[Woofman]

I've done a few things to the Cobray M11 and no longer feel like taking the next step to side charging. Looking for advice on a SA build.
Vmac has build kits without side plates. Could go with a normal mag well from Cobray. But I do have a few sten mags sitting around.
Side plates are going to be a problem. The only ones I know of are FA.

On the side charging uppers there are a few out there to pick from. Lets just say one has a huge charging handle and that one is out. So we are left with Vmac, Practical Solutions, 3Dmac and MAF. Lage is a bit out of my price range....but would be nice to have if they were in stock. Must say the sights on MPA are nice. Planning to use a red dot, so better sights may not have much meaning.

More into doing the M11. The M10 does seem to have fewer options. My friend is bugging me about a M10 in 45acp because he wants a suppressor. He does tend to talk about things and never does anything. He can weld much better than I can and has a tig welder.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

if you find an original Cobray kit they are drilled for semi auto but have little divots punched into the side plates where the full auto selector holes would go. I get them from time to time and sell them on GB. The center section has an SWD Cobray logo on the bottom and is properly dimpled for the SMG safety detent. I think you can get undrilled sides from “the flat spot”, the full weld kits are on GB still for fairly cheap, no holes in the side plates and I believe Lee Machine and tool has semi auto only side plates drilled for the 11/9 as well.

 

[root]

No idea really about building a semi .
Should be easy & straight forward though I have seen lots of semi plates through out the years.
Parts kits are rather expensive now days due to the 3D printing crowd.

My main exp is with the transferable M10

My understanding is lage uppers only fit the transferable MGs I could be wrong though.

Not sure who makes side charging uppers for the m11/9 I have a 45 side charger and I'm not even sure if its a MPA or Practical solutions upper since I bought it 2nd hand.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

No idea really about building a semi .
Should be easy & straight forward though I have seen lots of semi plates through out the years.
Parts kits are rather expensive now days due to the 3D printing crowd.

My main exp is with the transferable M10

My understanding is lage uppers only fit the transferable MGs I could be wrong though.

Not sure who makes side charging uppers for the m11/9 I have a 45 side charger and I'm not even sure if its a MPA or Practical solutions upper since I bought it 2nd hand.

MPA made side chargers, I believe most of the usual distributors like PS, USMG. FTF etc all stock side charging m11/9 uppers. There are also VMAC style side chargers on the market, but the VMAC style has a charging handle that is attached to the bolt and reciprocates when fired. The other options are non-reciprocating. I personally don’t care for side chargers and prefer the classic top cocking OEM upper receivers but to each their own. I also don’t use optics, so I understand how the side charger could be beneficial if you want to use optics on a MAC.

 

[A&S Conversions]

OP, have you shot a semi only Mac style pistol? They are notorious for having terrible trigger slap. Compared to your transferable M10 you might be disappointed. Just a thought.

Scott

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

OP, have you shot a semi only Mac style pistol? They are notorious for having terrible trigger slap. Compared to your transferable M10 you might be disappointed. Just a thought.

Scott

OP doesn’t have the transferable M10, that is someone else who replied to him. Confused me at first as well.

 

[Woofman]

No idea really about building a semi .
Should be easy & straight forward though I have seen lots of semi plates through out the years.
Parts kits are rather expensive now days due to the 3D printing crowd.

My main exp is with the transferable M10

My understanding is lage uppers only fit the transferable MGs I could be wrong though.

Not sure who makes side charging uppers for the m11/9 I have a 45 side charger and I'm not even sure if its a MPA or Practical solutions upper since I bought it 2nd hand.

Thanks for the reply. Now I know that I can ask you about a full auto M10 build if that ever happens. Lage does have some semi auto uppers. They are not in stock at this time.

 

[Woofman]

MPA made side chargers, I believe most of the usual distributors like PS, USMG. FTF etc all stock side charging m11/9 uppers. There are also VMAC style side chargers on the market, but the VMAC style has a charging handle that is attached to the bolt and reciprocates when fired. The other options are non-reciprocating. I personally don’t care for side chargers and prefer the classic top cocking OEM upper receivers but to each their own. I also don’t use optics, so I understand how the side charger could be beneficial if you want to use optics on a MAC.

Was thinking you may have tested a few side chargers. I fully understand why you keep it the way it was from the factory. That's the reason for this build. To keep the Cobray mostly stock.
So is there any companies to avoid? Had a bit of trouble with a FTF hammer. Read online that VMAC can be out of spec. Is that true?

 

[Woofman]

OP, have you shot a semi only Mac style pistol? They are notorious for having terrible trigger slap. Compared to your transferable M10 you might be disappointed. Just a thought.

Scott

I do have a semi. Did try a FTF hammer to get rid of the slap, but it was causing bolt binding. Do have a Lage trigger to try.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Was thinking you may have tested a few side chargers. I fully understand why you keep it the way it was from the factory. That's the reason for this build. To keep the Cobray mostly stock.
So is there any companies to avoid? Had a bit of trouble with a FTF hammer. Read online that VMAC can be out of spec. Is that true?

I honestly don’t have any personal experience with the closed bolt semi auto MACs besides the first MAC style gun I ever shot when I was a teenager a few decades ago. It was an old police evidence locker gun that was at the shooting range I was a member of at the time. A Cobray cm11/9 carbine missing the stock. The charging handle slot was so sharp it was cutting open my hand when I would cock it and it was firing a 2-3 shot burst then needed to be cocked again. Trigger slap wasn’t noticeable. Other than that I’ve never shot a semi auto closed bolt MAC.

 

[Woofman]

That's a odd story. You did say that sometimes you get Cobay kits from time to time. Any ETA?

 

[Woofman]

Well from what it looks like the Lee Tool side plates are full auto. All the flats I've seen are also FA.
The only thing left for side plates is that VMAC sends templates with their kits. If someone here can cut some that would be great. Really I could buy a flat kit from Sin City and just use the plates, but would still need to have the holes drilled.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

That's an odd story. You did say that sometimes you get Cobay kits from time to time. Any ETA?

No rhyme or reason, they haven’t made them in decades but I do find them from time to time. I sold a set about 2 months ago on GB, the factory side plates were definitely the best. SWD Cobray logo on the side plate, drilled for semi auto, punch marks for full auto with the proper hole diameter around the punch mark, they use some kind of pilot hole drill bit to do the divots and it makes the mark of a circle around the divot that is the correct size for the diameter of the hole. Not sure how the atf would feel about those divots/marks but they sold em like that, they even built a few complete M10 frames from their weld kits that had those dimples on them.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Well from what it looks like the Lee Tool side plates are full auto. All the flats I've seen are also FA.
The only thing left for side plates is that VMAC sends templates with their kits. If someone here can cut some that would be great. Really I could buy a flat kit from Sin City and just use the plates, but would still need to have the holes drilled.

Lee tool sideplates are drilled for semi, not full. (On the bottom)

M10/M11

 

[Woofman]

No rhyme or reason, they haven’t made them in decades but I do find them from time to time. I sold a set about 2 months ago on GB, the factory side plates were definitely the best. SWD Cobray logo on the side plate, drilled for semi auto, punch marks for full auto with the proper hole diameter around the punch mark, they use some kind of pilot hole drill bit to do the divots and it makes the mark of a circle around the divot that is the correct size for the diameter of the hole. Not sure how the atf would feel about those divots/marks but they sold em like that, they even built a few complete M10 frames from their weld kits that had those dimples on them.

Seems like every time I try to do something I'm a dollar short and a day late. Those factory plates sound great. Don't think the ATF cares unless you drill out the auto holes. Some AK recievers have the auto divots.

I see that the hole for the safety is low and that's where it should be. Now if the Lee plates can line up with the VMAC this could be done. Guessing that with the way things work for me if I buy VMAC/Lee parts then you will get the Cobray plates. Waiting means that the VMAC will be out of stock.

Must ask you something MWG. Does Cobray take forever to ship? I've had a pending order for a month now.

 

[root]

There are also paper templates for the flats all over the internet if you can't get a set precut.
Allows you the ability to cut your own sides and bottom plate.

 

[Member13]

can always contact the maker and see if they can get you some parts

SWD

or

RPB

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

can always contact the maker and see if they can get you some parts

SWD

or

RPB

That “RPB INDUSTRIES” is “russels parts bin” owned by Russel weeks, he has been in the game a long time. I believe he was friends with Wayne Daniel. The original real RPB folded in 82 and became SWD. In the mid 80s, weeks resurrected the name and started “RPB industries” (Russell’s parts bin) and he sold mostly SWD stuff that he was getting from Wayne, including the frame flat kits and side plates etc. he makes a bunch of magazines and I think he may even be the one who makes the replacement bolts that are sold by FTF, but I could be wrong about that.

 

[Gaujo]

I encourage all builders to build, but if you just want a semi auto Mac I recommend you review the stuff MPA made first as it was pretty cheap and ready to shoot.

 

[Woofman]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm checking into all the links. Emailed RPB about side plates. I'll take a look at MPA again.

Oddly enough after watching Velocity for two years they now have guns in stock.

Put together a few things....never built anything. So, a true build is what I'm going after. That would be metal, not 3D.