45acp AR upper that takes 1911 magazines?

A

azredhawk44

Moderator
Is something like this on the market at all, or is it possible to make?

Olympic has the 45acp upper that works off of grease gun magazines, but I really want a 45acp carbine that runs with 1911 magazines.

How does the magazine latch work on the grease gun upper? Could it be adapted by a gunsmith to function with 1911 mags?

Thanks for any guidance.
 
How does the magazine latch work on the grease gun upper?
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Just a toggle that falls behind a tab and keeps the mag from falling out. Nothing fancy.
Could it be adapted by a gunsmith to function with 1911 mags?
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I seriously doubt it. But then, I have seen stranger things. All you'd have to do is weld a small plate on the 1911 mags so the M3 mag release could hold them. In the right place. At the right angle.
 
Why would you want an AR that has a 8 or 10 round capacity in a pistol caliber? The lower would have to have some sort of insert to hold the magazines anyway, the mags don't go in the upper, they go in the lower.
 
Marlin

The only gun I know of that fits your desire (a carbine that takes 1911 mags) is the Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 ACP. I have never had one, and have heard mixed things about them, so good luck. It is certainly no AR, but then it doesn't have an AR price tag either.
 
Why would you want an AR that has a 8 or 10 round capacity in a pistol caliber? The lower would have to have some sort of insert to hold the magazines anyway, the mags don't go in the upper, they go in the lower.
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I did more research on this and found that to be true. The 45acp uppers don't have the magazine receiver... it is an insert that goes into the lower that adapts the mag well to take M3 mags.

I suppose I could look into having made / making myself a 1911 style mag well adapter.

"Why do I want it?" Because.:p I want a pistol carbine that uses the same magazines as my handgun. I can start off with a 10rd or larger extended magazine, and as mag changes are needed I can use my 7 or 8rd spares.
 
I want a pistol carbine that uses the same magazines as my handgun.
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Easy solution- buy a Marlin Camp Carbine in 45 ACP. They can still be found if you look. Takes a 1911 mag (or extended mag).
 
I wouldn't lie to you, man!
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Didn't mean to come across as a jerk... sorry.

I found out about the lower mag well insert yesterday evening, prior to reading your post suggesting it was a lower insert.

Re: marlin camp .45... I don't think they are worth what they are going for. I can get a 45acp upper for an AR for less than the cost of a used camp 45, and I have some pretty handy friends with good metal shops. It might make a fun project to come up with a prototype 1911 mag well insert for AR's.
 
So... final question in regards to this:

Since the Olympic .45acp upper can work with either Uzi 45acp mags with a block welded to the magazine, or M3 magazines with a mag well insert on a CAV-15 lower, is it safe to assume that the Olympic 45acp upper is fairly magazine independent?

I'm not afraid of buying a CAV-15 lower and an Olympic 45acp upper to try this project as long as the upper is not permanently slaved to a specific "type" of magazine. I think I can come up with an aluminum insert for a single stack 1911 magazine, using a similar catch to a grease gun release but the same detents on a traditional 1911 mag. Insert held in place by the AR lower's magazine retention system.
 
This could work I think. The magwell block could be designed off of the Uzi or M3 block or even off of the Ciener .22lr conversion magazine. It would have to be placed at the exact precise depth and angle and this might prove a bit tricky but with some work should be able to be perfected. Just my opinion but as many things as I've tinkered with I would bet it could happen.
 
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