I see that you can buy a retrofit kit from HK to turn older 15 rd mags into 17 rounders like the current guns ship with. The idea of making a flush fit mag that holds more than 10 rounds popped into my head today and I wanted to see if anyone has tried it?

I’ve read several folks that have done it without any issue. If you give me a couple hours I can do it with one of my mags when I get home. Believe it also works on the 13 round P2000 mags.

I have done this with a bunch of 15 rounders to turn them into 17. Are you saying just by replacing the follower you get the extra 2 rounds? I ask because to get 17 you have to replace the spring as well.

Does HK sell the red followers by themselves or do you have to buy the retro kit to get them?

I was asking about just swapping the follower because I was looking to put it into a 10 rd SK mag and hoping to get 12 rounds reliably. The other thought was possibly buying the 13rd VP9 mag spring on its own and using it with the red follower. I think that would be too much spring tension though. I’ve only seen the kit with spring, baseplate, and follower.

In my opinion it is not worth it.

tagged for interest, I have a boatload of 15 round mags and would love to convert some to 17's.

The conversion kits run 15 bucks. I paid double that to add 2 rounds to my 365. It was totally worth it to me.

HK is blowing out their 15 round P30/VP9 mags for 20 bucks each. I added the retro kits and I’m at 35 for a factory 17 rounder with all HK factory parts and a spare spring and guts to boot. Works for me.

Where are these P30/VP9 15 rd mags for $20?

HK USA is blowing out the non upgraded mags. Ie, the 13 and 15 round VP9SK/P30SK mags for 5 for $100. If you want a P2000/USPc mag (13 rounds) or a P30/VP9 mag (15 rounds) you just need a baseplate. They come with the baseplate that fills the gap for the sub compact frames.

I bought a bunch because, well, 20 bucks. Some I kept for my P2000SK because they work as is. Some I used the HK kit to upgrade the P30 mags to 17 rounders and some I swapped baseplates to make P2000 and USPc mags.

It is a screaming deal if you need sub compact mags and still I really good deal if you have any of the above. You will never buy factory HK mags for 20 bucks. Ever.

Not HK Parts, but the actual web store for HK USA.

Looks like they are sold out of the $100 packs. Will the .357Sig mag reliably feed a 9mm P2000 full size? Could I get the .357Sig 12 rounder and the new follower to make it a 14 rounder?

I posted this same question on HK forums and yes you have to replace spring and follower. And it’s not red orange. I kinda would have wanted that so I would know which were which.

It was also suggested there was some downside in reliability. Can’t remember but I think loading these with round is chamber lacks room in mag to seat mag.

I personally don’t want to increase capacity at cost of functionality. YMMV

PB

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bean:
Looks like they are sold out of the $100 packs. Will the .357Sig mag reliably feed a 9mm P2000 full size? Could I get the .357Sig 12 rounder and the new follower to make it a 14 rounder?

The .40 12 round mags will fit and feed 15 9mm. I have only done it a couple of times to test/for giggles and while I had absolutely no problems not sure I would trust it unless I had to for some reason or I was able to REALLY test it with lots of rounds. .357 SIG should be the same.

Not to get off track on the topic but is there any way to increase the round count in the HK 9mm USP compact from 13rds without extending the length of the magazine? Maybe using a different follower?

quote:

Originally posted by dubagel:
Not to get off track on the topic but is there any way to increase the round count in the HK 9mm USP compact from 13rds without extending the length of the magazine? Maybe using a different follower?

I have heard, but never tried or really run down, that either going to the new follower or cutting down the "legs" of the current follower will add a round or two. This is something I remember in passing, as its not something I ever really wanted to do so I may have some details incorrect but you might just want to pick up a couple followers and experiment.

Well. I converted a bunch of mags with the upgrade kits. I ended up with a bunch of innards that realistically I would never need. So I started playing.

What I really want is to bump the 13’s of my P2000 and USPc to 15. So I took the standard black follower and compared to the new red one. It is identical in most ways up top and all the differences are on the bottom.

They don’t seem like huge differences though so I pulled out the dremel and a sharp pencil. I went very conservatively since you can always take more off. I mimicked the lines of the red but a little on the fat side. Doing this I easily got +1. Easily. The follower doesn’t dive or tilt. Seems extremely solid as is.

I am toying with taking slightly more off which would get it closer to the red version.

So quick answer, it is easy to get 14. 15 is probably doable but it needs more work if you are modding. I’m not buying a 15 dollar kitjust for the follower so I’m stuck at the modding stage

Cutting the followers though is free, especially when I now have some spares. I need to load them now and shoot them to see for sure though. I am pretty positive at this point they are reliable 14 rounders is my best guess.

I don’t get too hung up on capacity so I’ve never really tinkered with it. Once I hit around 12 rounds I’m feeling pretty good.

Please note this is not me saying everybody should only have or need X capacity. I am only saying that anything once I hit around 12 rounds of capacity I PERSONALLY am happy and confident so I am not going to experiment looking for an extra couple rounds but I am always interested to hear what other folks find.

pedropcola, keep us posted of your range reports. When disassembling my HK 9mm mags, I always thought the black followers could be trimmed to easily fit at least one more round without compromising functionality.

The explanation I heard was that HK prioritizes service life over capacity. A taller follower reduces mag spring compression, which leads to a longer service life for the spring and lower likelihood of failures to feed, lock back the slide, etc.

I think a lot of HK owners are fine trading say 10% shorter spring service life for +1-2 round capacity. You could also install a stronger spring such a Wolff or what HK ships w/ their conversion kit.

That is the general consensus I hear from HK guys. That being said, it is kind of a moot point now. You can't buy newly made 15 round mags anymore. They have completely swapped over to this red follower and guts 17 round version.

I trust HK for the most part to make a quality, long life gun. I have trouble believing these mags will have any issue whatsoever. I haven't had any with any of mine whether they came that way or I converted them.

As for cutting the follower, they seem pretty freaking solid even with the shorter "leg". The original was almost comically long in the back, like unnecessary overkill.

I will keep everyone posted but honestly would be surprised if it doesn't work just fine.

I have 17,18, and 19 round mags from other manufacturers and have never had them malfunction. Don't know why HK would be any different. They were probably waaaay over cautious.

I don’t think the new follower is only red/orange. All mine(17 shot new design) are black unless this is a current change moving forward.