Has anyone used the Endomag 9mm/5.56 conversion?

**Misery Loves Shotguns** · February 7th, 2019, 05:26 PM

I saw this today browsing youtube on my lunch and I'm intrigued. It's a kit that you use to gut your AR15 magazines and convert them into 9mm magazines for your existing lower. This is especially appealing to me because it will retain the LRBHO feature and my ambidextrous bolt release and magazine release that I can't seem to find on any 9mm lowers. The only videos I could find on it were obnoxious douchebags though so does anyone here have experience with this? Obviously I'd need to get a 9mm upper but what about the buffer? I'm using an H buffer in my AR now.

**gghbi** · February 7th, 2019, 05:49 PM

Link. or better yet, embed the youtube, even if it is a db.

**ExFlyinguy** · February 7th, 2019, 05:59 PM

Coincidentally already a good bit of discussion on said items in this thread-> http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=343560

It has videos and everything

**DukeConnor** · February 7th, 2019, 07:40 PM

Browsing at lunch, yeah right

**DucatiRon** · February 7th, 2019, 08:36 PM

Until the failure of that mag that is pointed out and proven wrong in the video I posted in the above thread I just can't see these as a viable purchase.

**Misery Loves Shotguns** · February 7th, 2019, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by DucatiRon

Until the failure of that mag that is pointed out and proven wrong in the video I posted in the above thread I just can't see these as a viable purchase.

I agree. I'm not concerned with the cost because the Colt SMG mags we talked about cost about that much but I'm sick of shit not working. Everyone that shoots the Ruger PC carbine I have loves it until the gun fails to eject and spent brass gets smashed in between the ejection port and bolt. I wish the Stribog SP9A1 was available in a carbine configuration because I like it better than the Scorpion but don't want to have to SBR it. The MPX shoots nice but the left hand magazine release was really tough to use and the mags (like all Sig guns) are absurdly expensive.

**Emptymag** · February 7th, 2019, 10:37 PM

Proven reliable Metalform 9mm SMG mags are $20-$24. C-Product mags are even less.
PSA had them for $13 on Black Friday once.

This gimmick is really only viable if you intend on only having 2 or 4 mags - beyond that, the cost becomes stupid-high.
Like I said elsewhere, it's probably an acceptable option for certain people.

**gun-bunny** · February 8th, 2019, 08:17 PM

Until the failure of that mag that is pointed out and proven wrong in the video I posted in the above thread I just can't see these as a viable purchase.

The failure in the video is real- the point of the -other- video by Mean Arms is to point out that you need to check for clearances between your bolt and EndoMag before you go out and blast away. There are numerous manufacturers out there making 9mm AR bolts and no two are alike- hence some people have problems. Some (like me) have zero problems.

I have several videos of me blasting away, including when the AR's trigger pin walked and jammed up the gun (a very frustrating day), but I don't have a way to post them. They are not terribly long, or are they exciting in any way; I usually slow down my rapid shooting because by the third magazine my finger is pretty tired. I'll have to start working my finger muscle out, or get a binary trigger...

I originally decided to use the EndoMags because I didn't want to buy a dedicated lower, had PMags up to my ass, and got a really good deal on a KVP barrel and bolt from KeepShooting.com. I first put it together with a spare A3 upper I had lying around and just a standard AR barrel nut; no handguard.

I used the regular carbine buffer, but added a small plastic cylinder spacer that I have to add tension to the .22lr bolt assembly I use from time to time. I used the spacer because I read that the regular buffer is not long enough and will cause premature wear or even failure to the bolt hold open.

Firing the odd little bastard for the first time was fun and failure free- but it did seem to have a bit more recoil than anticipated. I didn't record any video, although I should have. When I decided to keep the upper as a viable unit, I ordered a forearm and a 7.5oz 9mm buffer for it and removed the .22lr spacer because the 7.5oz buffer is longer than a standard carbine buffer.

The third time I shot it (and first time videoing) is when the trigger pin walked out. I kept re-aligning and pushing it back in, but it just kept working itself out, usually only after about 10 rounds or so. So again, I ordered another part for it: a set of anti-walk pins. Now it has no excuses, and runs great. I have 500 rounds through it, I didn't shoot last weekend or the last time I posted about my 9mm AR, hopefully I'll have a chance to put more through this weekend.

So for me the price of the EndoMags was worth it; I didn't have to get a dedicated lower (I already own an UZI, I don't need another dedicated 9mm), didn't have to worry about the ejector working or not (big problem with my RRA 9mm carbine from a decade ago), and I didn't have to worry about getting the right hammer/bolt combo because the KVP bolt is ramped. All in all I had a little over $300 in the gun to get it where it is now, and I can't be happier.

**bug** · February 8th, 2019, 09:47 PM

I just bought 3 of them and will try to get to the range ( it's outdoor and cold) and see what's up. I a have a Colt M16 and use a 635 SMG upper. They tell me that they will work with a windowed Pmag. That would be nice

Bob D

**bug** · February 16th, 2019, 07:42 PM

OK. I got to the range Friday (beautiful day) but that's not a day I can fire FA so all testing was done in semi. The installation into my gen 2 Pmags was very easy. . I fired using the 10 rnd setup, the 20rnd, and finally the 30 rnd. I put 300 rnds of Wolf Military Classsic 115 gn through the gun with no malfunctions. Loading is a little slow but gets better with practice. I missed the loader I use on my Colt mags. Ejection was very weak but that caused no problems. I ended up with neat little piles under the gun on all tests. The return to 556 is just as easy as the conversion to 9MM. Removing the spacers to increase capacity is also very simple but can not be reversed. ie, once you go from 10 to 15, 20 or 30, that's it. You can not go back to lesser capacity. I have no idea how long they will last, especially under full auto fire. I likely won't buy any more since I have two dozen Colt mags and mag well adapter. They would fill a niche though for occasional shooters who have a 556 AR and a 9MM upper.
Here's to some warmer weather.

Bob D