So here’s the thing. I said that when a certain threshold was crossed in Patreon contributions I’d make videos. I was recently reminded that threshold was crossed (like a year ago) and I needed to get off my butt and make some videos. OK. As of yesterday there is a Tinker Talks Guns Youtube channel with a temporary Channel Introduction video.
You know what to do. Like and Subscribe. Or don’t; it’s a free-ish country. Oh, about that. Youtube monetization criteria are a moving target, and I just don’t have the time and energy to figure out where the hoops are, let alone jump through them. Screw it, if one or more videos are accidentally monetized I won’t complain, but I’m just going to assume none of them will be. I’ll be depending entirely on Patreon for support, just as I do now.
I did another magazine-hack recently, and that was going to be the channel’s first real video but, umm, I can’t manipulate the gun and hold the camera at the same time. Oops. There’s a fix for that in the works, but it ain’t fixed yet so you’ll have to resign yourself to text and images.
Nice Gun You Got There. It’d be a shame if your magazines cost a fortune, wouldn’t it?
(Insert evil laughter here)
So I got this cool little mouse-gun. Kind of a Christmas present. The Duo .25 ACP, a semi-clone of the Colt 1908. Neat little gun, fun to shoot. A lot of people feel a .25 ACP is useless. I disagree, but it is seriously never going to be my first or even second choice to use for self-defense. Technically I don’t need a spare magazine. OK, it’s not always about ‘need;’ it would be nice to have one just because. I mean, how expensive could it…
Mother of God!
Even the Triple K version, which is only moderately likely to be capable of being made to function with some work, is pretty expensive. Correct magazines are… *gulp.* Nope. OK, all is not lost. A Colt 1908 magazine will probably fit, and they’re… Oh dear God. Nope, not affordable. Not even close. I reminded myself that I didn’t really need a spare and got on with my life.
Then I found I could make the Beretta M1951 magazine work in the Sig Sauer P6 and thought, ‘I wonder…’ Ben’s Loans, a long-time favorite gun shop, has the Bins of Random Crap on a bottom shelf. Miscellaneous scope mounts, old pistol grips, several, uh, I don’t actually know what those are, and a random assortment of not-easily-Identified pistol magazines. Worth a look, right?
Man, if I were building a single-stack .32 Auto they would have me covered! As it was I did happen to find a .25 ACP magazine, and darned it if didn’t look like it would fit the Duo with minimal persuasion.
As I was coughing up $4.99 plus tax for my find the cashier asked, “Hey, do you know what that magazine fits?”
“Not a clue,” I said. “But I’m pretty sure I know what I can make it fit!”
It’s Not Rocket Science. No, really.
The new magazine was longer and holds 7 rounds instead of 6. I can work with that. It sticks out the bottom. I can work with that. Sometime in its past an angry punch attacked it and the follower sticks. OK, I gotta’ fix that. A judicious combination of hammer and grinding got the magazine magazine-shaped again and working smoothly.
I could have shortened the magazine and re-worked it so it could be flush-fit, but I didn’t mind it sticking out slightly. It works correctly and easily, and that’s the important thing. I refinished the mag with some Oxpho blue, gave it a good cleaning and oiling and it works a treat.
It’s a thing to consider when working with old pistols; there are a lot of old magazines out there waiting to be adapted…
Stay safe and take care,
Michael Tinker Pearce, 11 January 2022
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