Upgrading Your MPA 30 To Accept Glock Mags and More

The MPA-30 is basically a civilian version of the MAC-11 made by Masterpiece Arms. Sold as a semi-auto pistol in 9mm, it’s more of a novelty gun than anything else. I covered more about the history of the MPA 30 in a previous article. In this article, we are going to cover the options available for the MPA 30 and go through the process of converting the gun to accept Glock mags.

I installed the MPA short handguard assembly to add a little bit more room to the end of the gun. I’ll go over both and discuss if these upgrades make the gun any more useful or if it remains a Hollywood prop gun. One thing I like about Masterpiece Arms is they sell accessories to their guns on their website. They list each gun and any parts available for that gun are listed with it.

I was surprised to see how many accessories they offered for the Defender series of guns like the MPA 30. Their prices are a little on the high end depending on what parts you want to upgrade. They list all their gun parts in categories that are easy to find. I was surprised at how many accessories they offer for the Defender series like the MPA 30. Their prices are a little on the high end depending on what parts you want to upgrade.

Installing the Short Handguard Assembly

The short handguard assembly is basically a short quad rail that goes over the fake flash suppressor, or safety extension. It will not work with the one that comes on the gun, so the assembly comes with a new one. Installing this part is easy and only requires a few steps to complete.

The first step is to unscrew the safety extension from the gun. The new handguard has two screws on four sides for a total of six that need to come off. The rear handguard retainer, or what I call the barrel nut, will slide out of the handguard once all the screws are out. The retainer has an arrow pointing up to show the orientation of the retainer as you place it over the barrel. The longer screw goes on top and the shorter on the bottom.

Once the retainer is on, screw the barrel extension back on and make sure it is tight. The handguard can be installed next with each of the six screws. I put just a little Blue Locktite on the screws when I installed them to make sure they didn’t come loose when shooting. This isn’t required but may be a good idea.

Installing the Defender DMG Grip

The DMG grip is a Glock-compatible grip for MPA that cost about $100. Extra mags for the standard MPA 30 run around $30 so the upgrade is worth it for me. I dislike owning 50 different types of magazines so the more guns that use the same mag the better. Glock magazines have become the most popular brand for handguns and PCC weapons so it’s a great upgrade if you don’t mind spending the extra money.

To install the new grip, field strip the MPA first. This is done by taking the pin from the front end of the receiver on the left side. This pin slides into a larger pin that comes out from the right side next. Make sure the gun is unloaded and safe and then pull the trigger to let the hammer down. The receiver will then slide off the lower receiver and frame.

There are four screws that hold the grip on, and they can be taken out without removing anything else. Just be sure not to strip them when you take them out. If you have trouble with the rear screws, the hammer can be pulled up some to make more room.

Once all four screws are out, the grip will come off and the new one can be put on. I used Blue Locktite on these screws also because I am not planning to take the grip off again. If you do need to take screws back off after Blue Locktite has been applied, heat them up with a heat gun or torch and they will come loose.

How is the new look?

The DMG grip changes the look of the gun so make sure you are ok with that. The factory grip and mag have that classic MAC 11 look. The DMG grip however has more of a Glock look to it and makes the magazine come out of the grip at an angle. I do prefer the looks of the original grip and mag better, but I would still prefer Glock mags so I’m going with it. The new rail is a huge improvement and provides more real estate for your hand to grip.

Because there is no brace or stock on this gun, I decided to mount a laser for better accuracy. The rail isn’t long enough to mount something on the bottom and grip, so I mounted a Steiner laser/light on the top rail. This blocks the use of the iron sights, but they are not practical on this gun unless you hold it out against a sling.

At close quarters with this gun, I would prefer a laser over iron sights anyway. On the range, the MPA was much easier to shoot with the short handguard and the laser makes it possible to hit targets. I wasn’t sure if I would like the looks of this gun with a longer rail and Glock mag in it, but it’s much better than expected.

Final Thoughts

This gun may not be the best gun for most applications, but I’ve had it on the range multiple times now and it’s never once had an issue. Having a laser/light mounted to it and accepting Glock mags is a big improvement. I would feel comfortable using this gun now as a home defense option. The length allows the shooter to use two hands which provides more stability than before and the weight offsets any recoil from the 9mm blast.

It’s not the ideal gun for home defense or target shooting, but it’s different and fun. With these upgrades, it could be used as a home defense weapon and OEM/aftermarket Glock mags are abundant. This would be an easy gun to shoot from a vehicle and it’s one of the most compact sub-gun sizes you can find. With the safety extension, the overall length of the gun is 15 inches. 17-round Glock mags and larger all work in the grip, but the 15-round mags will not. Overall, this was a fun project, and it will continue to be a blast on the range.