Shockwave ZMAG-S Review Thread

[Bugzy]

$43.95 each.

Nice work and a fair price brother. I think I need me some of those also. 👌

 

[Marty in UT]

Nice work and a fair price brother. I think I need me some of those also. 👌

Thank you for the kind words. I think people will really like these.

 

[IndustrialRescue]

Goddamn! Marty da man!

 

[ScottinTexas]

If anyone has a BRP gun and one of the production run mags, please post an update regarding fit and function.

I have the beta version of the mag with the smaller and tapered tab baseplate vs. the larger rectangular tab baseplate of the production run.

My BRP should be released from NFA jail after ~8 months of rehabilitation so I can't test fit anything myself, yet.

 

[robertmcm]

If anyone has a BRP gun and one of the production run mags, please post an update regarding fit and function.

I have the beta version of the mag with the smaller and tapered tab baseplate vs. the larger rectangular tab baseplate of the production run.

My BRP should be released from NFA jail after ~8 months of rehabilitation so I can't test fit anything myself, yet.

I'll let you know. I'm on the list- but haven't been contacted yet. I'm going to pick up some. I have a beta mag. I have a BRP U9, I'll definitely be trying the production run mags. I think I could modify my existing beta mag to work, but it's not really worth the effort to me because of the 60 plus Suomi mags in my garage.

 

[X-Ray Zulu]

If anyone has a BRP gun and one of the production run mags, please post an update regarding fit and function.

I have the beta version of the mag with the smaller and tapered tab baseplate vs. the larger rectangular tab baseplate of the production run.

My BRP should be released from NFA jail after ~8 months of rehabilitation so I can't test fit anything myself, yet.

Not to take anything away from Shockwave, Marty has single handedly taken the "stock" catankerous beast (M-11) and made it a player (Him & CF), now these new mags fill a BIG, HUGE, MASSIVE, gap in the MAX-31 platform...
BUT there is only one stick mag you want in your U-9 and that is the Suomi 36 rounder. Pleasure to load, work perfect, look great and cheap. Still $18.99 ea from Clearview everyday. You can ask them but I believe they're unused in cosmoline (mine were). I happened to to get 20 when they first offered the kit. Brian and I worked out U-9 with a Suomi add on so I used quite a lot of the items from that kit.

 

[strobro32]

/\
Werd.

 

[rybread]

Tested out mine today, worked great. Word of advice to avoid a bad range trip- check your fit first. I did mine by inserting the mag and checking if the bolt would draw back without drag. It took a bunch of filing (checking fit frequently so as to not over do it) but I got it to move freely and had no feed/ light strike issues after that. Thank you Marty!!

 

[Marty in UT]

We've got the links for the ZMAG-Ses live on our site now: http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/?page_id=1780

 

[Scossum]

My six pack of ZMAG-Ses (or ZMAG-Si?) arrived today from Marty. Oh happy day!!!:hyper Test fit each into the magwell of my MAX-31 MK2 and they all fit perfectly so tomorrow night I'm off to the range for some FA trigger time!!! Thanks Marty!!! :thumbs_up

 

[agriebel]

I received my Z mags yesterday and ran right to the range. These appear to be his famous M11/9 mags with the tab welded on the back so it is not surprising that they ran perfect. One mags lips did have to be shaved down just a bit by the bolt before it would run reliably but as soon as that was done it was all good. The welds that hold the tab on are very well done and the finish is good. In fact the only criticism that I would have would be they are a little loose when the bolt is back but they stay in the weapon securely and it doesn't affect the function. Well done.

 

[tlk]

Got mine the other day, they look great! Agreed, each mag seems like it will need run at least once to get the lips polished in place...

One question - apologies if it's already been answered - but what is everyone using for a mag loader? I was expecting to be able to buy one from Marty when I purchased the mags but didn't see that option anywhere.

 

[West_Texas_King]

Got mine in hoping they'd work in a B&T KH9, no luck there. The tab extends too far to clear the mag catch.
Could get it to work in the KH9 but then it wouldn't lock up in the Max31.
Works great in the Max31, each mag requires a bit of final fitment by cycling the bolt by hand.
There's a phenomenal difference in handling when going to a stick mag compared to a coffin or drum mag, makes it fun to shoot.

tlkudo, your best bet is to trim a channel into a spare uplula, there's a thread here somewhere about making a loader for converted sten mags I believe and the consensus is to simply buy another loader and modify it to clear the locking tab.

 

[Scossum]

One question - apologies if it's already been answered - but what is everyone using for a mag loader? I was expecting to be able to buy one from Marty when I purchased the mags but didn't see that option anywhere.

I just use a TAPCO Sten loader (MidwayUSA link below) with a slot cut out of the back as seen on one of the threads. I don't remember the title of the tread but if you search for it, you should be able to find it. All it took was some time with the Dremel and mine works just fine on the PMAG-S's...

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/292166/tapco-magazine-loader-sten-mpa-polymer-black

 

[ScottinTexas]

Try Amazon or ebay for the Tapco loader; it might be out of production or most mainstream vendors no longer stock it.

 

[Scossum]

Try Amazon or ebay for the Tapco loader; it might be out of production or most mainstream vendors no longer stock it.

Scottin's right, I didn't even notice they had discontinued it! :shocked Ebay and Amazon show it as out of stock too. After some looking, I found it available on some of these smaller sites:

http://www.kenarnoldcsa.com/stentoolmagazineloader.aspx

http://www.mississippiautoarms.com/sten-magazine-loader-tapco-p-1402.html?zenid=569a0f437b89398f021b7b852235d88c

https://www.dowdlesports.com/Tapco-Sten-Intrafuse-Mag-Loader_p_70614.html

This one says they have 17 in stock...

http://tacticalteamsupport.net/tapco_sten-intrafuse-mag-loader_11351_i.html

Never bought from any of these sites but I'm tempted to pick up another loader now.

 

[Howlin Mad]

Finally got around to testing mine today. All six needed a fair amount of material removed to clear the bolt, but once that was done they worked flawlessly in my MAX-31k.

 

[tlk]

Thanks for the links!

I wasn't a huge fan of hacking up an uplula, so I picked up a couple of the tapco loaders. I ended up buying from Mississippi Auto Arms, since they listed the loaders as in stock. I had some issues with their credit card system, but a very helpful actual person immediately answered the phone and was able to complete the transaction.

 

[Gaujo]

Was able to mess with it a bit this morning. Observations...

I took some material off the left feed lip and opened up the rear of the mag a bit with a file. This appears to have eliminated the interference issue.

The mags definitely need a locator tab on the front like the coffin mags. It's easy to get the mag canted and jammed in the upper.

It seems like it is going to feed well when I finally get it to the range!

First and foremost, these are very high quality magazines just like the zmags, and the ones I've tested so far have worked reliably in my Max-31a Mk2 after "self-clearance" using the bolt, and I'm happy to have them!

That being said I have similar observations to lokifox in that I have found you can cant the mag and jam it if not careful. The regular zmags in the grip are easier to seat, in that if you are holding the mag right, you don't need to look at what you're doing, especially with a Lage grip that helps funnel it in. I also found that with proper placing of your drums on a drum holder, you can get to a point where you can load them without looking too. The rounded top of the tab on the drum helps it align it seems. Similarly the coffins seam easier to index and slide in, probably also because of the increased width.

I was practicing loading (seating) the mag at home and I'm finding it challenging to seat them without looking. I think it may be because it is possible for your hand to cant the mag left or right as it begins to enter the magwell, something you can't do with coffins or drums. I am going to continue practicing and see if I can improve it with practice, but it has got me wondering if a Zmag-S magwell funnel could be devised for the max-31.

 

[xdamagedx]

Careful, there's an "M3/MAC10" model AND a Sten model... pretty sure they're different sizes.