Get into 9MM???

[ARPATRIOT]

I have a lower,what's the least expensive and most basic 9MM setup?Upper,block...

[senorlinc]

i do not own a 9mm AR ...yet...am in the process of shopping for one

i was going to do my build "on the cheap" as it was intended to be a range toy and i have a large pile of uzi mags i thought id use. after a bunch of reading, i decided to spend a little more to make sure that it runs instead of just a range paperweight

read all the posts here:
http://www.uzitalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39368&highlight=mag+block

it has the basics of the mag block and then links to all kinds of resources/discussions on how to work a 9mm ar project

[flanntastic]

i had a ZM block, i had to do modding to the mags and magblock to get them to work, and mags never were quick change as they were to tight. I am doing a Hahn block next.

[ARPATRIOT]

Does anybody make a block and mag that "work" without trouble and mods???

[No Bananas]

Does anybody make a block and mag that "work" without trouble and mods???

Ditto. My understanding is that unless you buy a Colt and use nothing but Colt Mags (which are like $100 a piece) that the mags and the mag block will require a lot of tinkering.

[Azrael2004]

My RRA block worked 100% with ProMags.
With the C-Products mags I had to file a bit on the feed lips to clear the bolt properly.
With the last batch of C-Products mags I got they ran fine right out of the bag.
It has fed 100% from these as well.

MetalForm was the previous maker of the Colt mags and they sell them for about $34 from their website. These are said to run perfect with the Hahn or RRA Block.
I have not personally used them.

For $16.99 per mag on sale, I didn't mind a few minutes with a Dremel on my C-Products mags.

Getting into a 9mm cheap isn't too realistic nowadays. And the recent surge in popularity has made it a bitch to find parts at times.
Watch the boards for people dumping 9mm uppers cheap when they don't run.
Too many folks set them up wrong, then blame the gun. (ie...9mm hammer with a ramped bolt)

I built mine from a lot of spares and parts I found on the boards.
I run a Spikes lower with an RRA 9mm Hammer, RRA magwell block, and RRA 9mm Buffer. My upper is an Anvil Arms A3 with a 9mm port door and gas deflector. The FA hole is plugged with a delrin plug from Adco.
I use an RRA unramped bolt and a Spikes 6" barrel.
This rig has had only one hiccup and that was with crappy UMC 9mm that didn't eject.

[mike benedict]

I have a CMMG upper on a RRA lower using a Hahn block.

it is 100% with C-Products mags and converted UZI mags.

[No Bananas]

Wow,
I didn't even know that CMMG got around to making their 9mm uppers. Cool.

[hoveyh]

No Bananas ..... you can buy original Colt mags w/o the pony on the floor plate from Metalform -the original manufacturer for $39.95. They have been talked about on this forum. I tried one and they are perfect/identical to my 1998 era Colt stamped mags AND they have the metal follower of the 1995 era mags !

Harold H.

[markm]

The 9mm on the AR platform is less than optimal. It's too problematic. With the ramping carriers, and breaking pins and all of this nonsense.

I've approached the idea several times. And each time I start to get into the details, I say "Screw it. It's not worth the aggrivation!".

[rob_s]

FWIW, my Colt 6450 with Colt 20 and 32 round magazines has not had a single malfunction in the couple of hundred rounds I have through it. I would guess that my round total is 300+/- as of right now with about half suppressed and half unsuppressed.

I have an Anvil Arms/RRA 10.5" 9mm that I have not yet fired. I have to swap hte magazine block out for the right one (gun came to me with the wrong one) and install the KNS pins that I bought for it. It will get fed with primarily Cproducts magazines. I hope that it will be trouble-free as I don't have the patience for forced tinkering. If not, I'll most likely part it out, sell the Colt, and get out of the 9mm business. I'll be stuck with the lower on the SBR and the YHM can that I got a year before I got the rifle for it.

IMHO 9mm generally requires more tinkering and a better educated and more dedicated end user than 5.56 guns. Ramped vs. not, 9mm hammer vs. DPMS vs. notched, the various types of magazine blocks, buffers, springs, and adjustments of all of the above can be a nightmare.

In hindsight, I should have just SBR'd and engraved the damn Colt and stuck an RRA complete upper on it.

I would NOT try to go cheap on the 9mm AR unless you just want something to frustrate you and tinker with. Like a British car.

[mike benedict]

I have two 9mm AR uppers a CMMG and a Colt
The lowers are a RRA and a Bushmaster
All I did was get a Block, 9mm Hammer, Buffer and spring from Brownells.
I have fire 1000s of trouble free rounds from the CMMG never any problem at all
The Colt upper I bought used (off a PD full Auto gun )and it had problems from the git go.
It turned out to be simple fix once I swapped bolts with the CMMG it ran fine. So upon examination it turned out to have a bent extractor.
$5.00 later no more problems.

[22_Shooter]

I use the VM Hy-Tech mag block, which uses unmodified Uzi mags.

There were problems with mag fit in the earlier models. But if you buy the block from Brownells (which can be had $20 cheaper with the discount they give), you will get a "new version", and there are no more fitment issues. I've read numerous posts from people buying from Brownells getting the newer version, and all of them (including myself) have had no problems at at all.

If you've already got Uzi mags, and don't want to convert them to work in other blocks, the VM is the way to go.

I've got (7) 32 round German Uzi mags, and they all function great with the block.

Potential cons:
It uses it's own mag release (not the regular AR release), so quick mag changes might not work out, if you're using it in some type of competition.

It seems to weigh more than other blocks. I've never handled any other mag block, but just the fact that it's bigger than most blocks makes me think it might weigh a little more.


Edit: Here's my setup...

RRA upper (with ramped RRA bolt)
YHM rails
Colt Match Target barrel
Stag lower (I swapped the hammer out for a DPMS, to make it run as smooth as possible; no notch in it)
Ace ARFX (the rifle buffer is close enough in weight to a 9mm buffer, and is working fine so far)
Spikes VFG

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u127/D23NY/IMG_3077-1.jpg

(It's not SBR'ed. I was editing the pic, and I'm not sure what happened, but I cropped it. :D )

[TangoChaser]

Hahn makes a magwell filler that uses unmodified mags. Get an Oly 9mm upper and have fun. Oly uppers have a cone shaped barrel extension that eliminates ramping angle issues encountered with the Colt/RRA system.

There are companies that make longer buffers or spacers that go into the buffer tube to keep the 9mm buffer from going recoiling to far when fired. This solves the problem of mag catches breaking.

Don't listen to "markm". He doesn't keep up with modern weapon advances and he hates every gun but his own.:D

[senorlinc]

[QUOTE=22_Shooter;264150]

Edit: Here's my setup...

RRA upper (with ramped RRA bolt)
YHM rails
Colt Match Target barrel
Stag lower (I swapped the hammer out for a DPMS, to make it run as smooth as possible; no notch in it)
Ace ARFX (the rifle buffer is close enough in weight to a 9mm buffer, and is working fine so far)
Spikes VFG
QUOTE]

correct me if im wrong, but i thought if you had the ramped bcg that the std AR15hammer was recommended

[Spikes-Rep]

[QUOTE=22_Shooter;264150]

Edit: Here's my setup...

RRA upper (with ramped RRA bolt)
YHM rails
Colt Match Target barrel
Stag lower (I swapped the hammer out for a DPMS, to make it run as smooth as possible; no notch in it)
Ace ARFX (the rifle buffer is close enough in weight to a 9mm buffer, and is working fine so far)
Spikes VFG
QUOTE]

correct me if im wrong, but i thought if you had the ramped bcg that the std AR15hammer was recommended


You can use any hammer except a 9mm spefic hammer when the bolt IS ramped. A hammer without a notched face tends to run a bit smoother.