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Tanfoglio/Witness mags in a Caspian Hi Cap?


PHX

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Hello.

I will be getting my caspian limited gun soon and i need mags. ive heard you can use the new mecgar witness mags with grams guts and a henning base pad to get 20 reloadable and its reliable. i heard you need to modify the tube a little though. This is where i get confused. Ive been told there is a ledge in the hi cap frame that is there so you cant shove the mag to far in the frame. This notch makes it so the witness mag wont fit all the way. You need to gring a part of the top of the tube off and then it ahould work.

What part of the tube needa to be ground down to fit? has anyone done this to their mags?

Any other options/ideas are welcome.

Thanks

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If you compare the Caspian to the MecGar Mag you will see that the upper right side area of the mags are different. The caspian is cut down almost like a notch, while the MecGar actually goes up and fairs into the feed lip area. This is the area that needs to have material removed to clear the Caspian frame. I also had to "raise" the mag catch hole by about .007-.010" in order to reliably engage the mag catch. When modifying be careful that you don't remove material from the front of the mag that might make it sit higher in the frame which might make your top loaded round hit your ejector. There needs to be some clearance there, so don't remove material from the front of the mag where it seats on the frame's internal mag stop. I can post some pics this weekend if you need. The MecGar Mags work well for me in .38 super and are easy to modify, but I also like the Caspian mags and would think that especially in .40 the caspian mags would be a good way to go.

Just curious, is there a reason why you want to use the MecGars and not the Caspian .40 mags?

edit: fat fingered typing skills.

Edited by Bamboo
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Thanks for the info. Very informative. Id love to see some pics.

I have shot tanfoglios gor a while so i have tons of mags. It would just be a cheap way to get mags for my caspian. All my mecgars hold 20 and are 100% reliable.

Ill buy one caspian and give it a try and see what happens.

Do u know if i modify the mecgar mags will they work in my tanfoglio still?

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"Do u know if i modify the mecgar mags will they work in my tanfoglio still?"

I don't really know.

Altering the mag catch hole might affect the interchangeability of the mag between the tanfo and caspian, But, for your caspian you may not need to alter the mag catch hole on the MecGar mags at all. Have to try it to see. I never thought of this, but now I'm wondering if the Caspian mag will fit in a Tanfo. Anyway, I'll see if I can get some pics posted in a few days.

BTW - If you join Shooter's Connection and get the BE member discount they have good prices on the Caspian mags (and other shooting stuff!).

Edit to add Pictures:

Sorry they aren't better quality, but here are some pics of a Caspian .38 super mag (left), MecGar mag modified to fit Caspian Frame (middle), and an unmodified MecGar mag with a Henning H-141 tool-less base pad. I included the basepads in the pic for comparison. The Caspian and Henning base pads both fit and function perfectly on the MecGar and Caspian mags and both will give you 141mm lengths. I've read that some get more room by using the Henning, but I I have tried this one in a few different mags (caspian and MecGar), with different springs, and measured the space above the fully compressed bullet stack, etc. I didn't find any significant differences between the two. I believe that Henning has different H-141 base pads, so maybe I didn't get the right one for added space. FYI - I get 23 rounds easily reloadable in both the Caspian and modified MecGar mags with .38 super (semi-rimmed) using a grams follower/spring with one coil cut.

what I did to convert the MecGar MGWIT38LFAFC Tanfo mags to fit a caspian.

1. Modified profile of upper right side to so mag

2. Modified feed lip length to approx. .460 (this is a .38 Super, for .40 modify length to match your reliable mag's feed lips).

3. I had to "raise" the mag catch hole on the right side by about .007 - .010. This may not be necessary in your gun. Try it to see first.

4. lowered the notch between the feed lips on the back side about about .060 to ensure it doesn't get driven into slide's polished disconnector ramp during hard reloads.

5. Squeezed the funneling indents in about .020 to get the rounds stacked a little better.

There you have it.

I'm sure there are others who have done this and may have a better approach, but this is what worked for me.

post-9934-0-43430400-1355535604_thumb.jp

post-9934-0-42857600-1355535620_thumb.jp

post-9934-0-59289400-1355535645_thumb.jp

Edited by Bamboo
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