Colt .38 Super Magazine Conversion

Colt .38 Super Magazine Conversion Conversion of Colt .38 Super magazines for use in Destroyer Carbines is easily accomplished with a few hand tools available to most hobbyists. Here's what you will need (or what I used)

set of calipers
set of small files
good hard point permanent marker with a fine point
dremel type tool with cutoff wheels and steel cutting burr
drill bits for steel or burrs for same

The magazines are almost the same except for length and retaining cutout.
sides.jpg - 171452 Bytes

The first step is to determine the location of the magazine retaining cutout on the Destroyer Magazine. I did this by inserting the Colt magazine completely into the Destroyer's magazine well and marking a line along the back of the magazine at the bottom of the magazine well. I then measured the cutout in the Destroyer magazine for dimensions from this line. I determined that the cutout needs to be .050" above the marked line, .175" tall, .267" wide and centered in the back of the magazine body. These dimensions will probably vary from carbine to carbine though.

Next, I marked these dimensions on the back of the Colt magazine.

Before beginning work on the new hole, I pressed the magazine follower all the way down in the magazine and retained it there with a nail through one of the observation holes. This served to keep the spring and follower out of the way of my drilling and filing. Using my Dremel tool I made a hole in the center of this area using a metal burr bit and widened it with the same bit until I could get a small round file into the hole. After making this hole, I used a cutoff wheel to score around the perimeter of the area to beremovedd and inside the area in a cross hatch pattern. This removed some of the metal quickly and would cut down on the time spent hand filing the hole. I started the filing with a round file and finished with triangular and half round files to clean up the corners and edges. I was left with a new retaining hole in the Colt magazine. hole.jpg - 70153 Bytes

After ensuring that the spring and follower moved freely within the magazine I loaded it up and inserted it in the Destroyer. It worked fine but was hard to seat in the magazine well. A few more passes of a file on the top edge of the opening and it seats and locks just fine. The top side of the opening is the critical measurement on this project. If it is too far up the magazine body, the magazine will not seat high enough in the magazine well to feed properly. It is better to err on the side of caution and work slowly by checking fit often. done.jpg - 198811 Bytes

I now have a 'hi-cap' magazine for my Destroyer Carbine. Granted it's only a nine round magazine and doesn't really qualify as 'hi-cap' but it's bigger than the factory five round capacity.