What magazines are tried and true for the 1911?

[Animal]

Not trying to start a massive debate with brand loyalty, but I just ordered a GI Milspec RIA 1911 and don't know where to start. I understand cheap mags can be a waste of money, so I don't mind spending good money for good quality. Thanks

[Love Life]

Wilson Combat Service Plus.

-The End.

[BNE]

I've got the same question....

I have used "cheap" GI mags with no real issues, but I don't think they will hold up over time. I have a Wilson combat that works great if I only load 7 into it. (It holds 8.) When I put 8 into it, it has to be pushed hard to lock it into the gun. (This is not the magazines fault, it is mine.)

I also have a couple of Kimber magazines that work well.

[Love Life]

#608 1911 Wilson Combat Service Mag Plus.

It's a 7 rd magazine (gasp), and has the correct profile for feeding your 1911 reliably.

[Love Life]

Colt factory magazines are also very solid.

[ole 5 hole group]

There's a lot of different makes on the market and most work very well in most 1911's. I think I have run most of them at one time or another but settled down to the Wilson 47D and several years ago I also added the Tripp mags and have never experienced any problems with them. They are on the expensive side but doing it right the 1st time always saves you money in the long run. Took me a few years to figure that out.:)

You will need to change out springs every so often but that is what I consider part of normal maintenance.

The 8-rounders slip up and lock in very easily when the slide is open - on a closed slide one needs to rap/push it pretty solidly, otherwise it will probably either cause a mis-feed or fall out after the 1st or 2nd round.

[starnbar]

I have 3 colt mags I have used since 1972 and 4 meggar they all work as they should.

[btroj]

I use a Checkmate mags. I use the hybrid lips but would also use the tapered lip mags.

[ultramag]

The Wilson and Tripp mags mentioned above are good and I'm also growing quite fond of the newer Kimber KimPro Tac Mags. They're priced well and have functioned 100% for me across several 1911's. The base is easily removed for cleaning/maintenance and they come with a flush metal base and a thin and thick bumper pad with each mag that's easy to swap out.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/149029/

You can probably beat the price if you shop around maybe, but there's a link to show you what I'm talking about. I'm buying them for $20 + tax at my LGS.

[ReloaderFred]

I'm getting great service from my Checkmate magazines in both .45 acp and 10mm in my 1911's. I can't say the same for some of the others, but these have proven to be good.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[osteodoc08]

Wilson, Tripp, checkmate I've all had good luck with.

Interest says Kimbers are not great, but I've never had an issue.

I've used CMC as well, but be careful if using on an alloy frame as some of their followers can gouge the frame.

Just gotta try them and see what works. Number them and keep track.

[nightal]

I have 6 RIA pistols, they come with ACT Mags. I have 13 of them, no problems.
shoot your pistol first see how it works, before buying others that don't work. their pistols are Warrantied to work with Act. mags, if you have a problem,just call them.....RIA in NV..............1-775-537-1444or1445

[clownbear69]

I can say this from experience but 1911s are picky. Example I have a Springfield 1911. I have a cheap triple K mag and a Wilson combat. I have nothing but problems with the WC and all but great success from the triple k

Suggestion: buy 1 of each brand you can find and test them. No point in buying 10 WC mags if the Mec-Gar works better. The ones you don't like (no free drop, FTF/FTE) and sell them on the use market. You could always buy that from that company down the road but at least you have a starting point. Also I have never seen one 1911 yet that works with every mag yet but then again Pro-Mag skews those results a lot.

[Reverend Al]

Way back in 1979 I bought a brand new in the box series 70 Government Model Colt in .45 ACP which we rebuilt into my match gun for IPSC. (Match grade SS Bar Sto barrel, new sights, etc.) At the same time I ordered 8 Chip McCormick "Shooting Star" stainless 8 round magazines to use in competition. I still have all 8 of those magazines and they still work perfectly in my Colt and every other gun we've ever tried them in. I've never found a better a quality magazine and they feed flawlessly with all 8 rounds ... and in IPSC reliability is often just as important as accuracy, power and speed! DVC ...!
:bigsmyl2:

[waksupi]

Way back in 1979 I bought a brand new in the box series 70 Government Model Colt in .45 ACP which we rebuilt into my match gun for IPSC. (Match grade SS Bar Sto barrel, new sights, etc.) At the same time I ordered 8 Chip McCormick "Shooting Star" stainless 8 round magazines to use in competition. I still have all 8 of those magazines and they still work perfectly in my Colt and every other gun we've ever tried them in. I've never found a better a quality magazine and they feed flawlessly with all 8 rounds ... and in IPSC reliability is often just as important as accuracy, power and speed! DVC ...!
:bigsmyl2:

Just the opposite of my findings, they were undependable for every day real life use.

[Rustyleee]

Animal, you will find the RIA very forgiving. My son's has never given him a bit of trouble. IMHO it's one of the best buys on the market today, dollar for dollar.

[Combat Diver]

I used to run Chip McCormick Shooting Star 8 rders and 7 rders (Officers) for ISPC in the early 90s without issue. My go to war mags for my issued M1911s were the McCormick, issued USGI and issued Wilson 47D 8/10 rd mags. Never had any problems with them in the sandbox.

CD

[Animal]

Another question...

Is anything about the magazine an integral part of the firearms break-in process? (I'm coming from the six-gun side of the house). I ask this because I'd like to feed the weapon about 500 rds of factory FMJ for the 'break in' period before I start reloading for it. 500 rds is going to cost a pretty penny and I want to make sure my money goes to the right components.

[kevindtimm]

I have 6 RIA pistols, they come with ACT Mags. I have 13 of them, no problems.
shoot your pistol first see how it works, before buying others that don't work. their pistols are Warrantied to work with Act. mags, if you have a problem,just call them.....RIA in NV..............1-775-537-1444or1445

I have an RIA also, of the two Act Mags I recv'd with the pistol - one works perfectly, the other never works. I purchased another Act Mag at a gun show, it works perfectly also.

The one that doesn't work is marked - I'm going to do something with it someday :)

[308w]

Wilson!!!!!

[ultramag]

Another question...

Is anything about the magazine an integral part of the firearms break-in process? (I'm coming from the six-gun side of the house). I ask this because I'd like to feed the weapon about 500 rds of factory FMJ for the 'break in' period before I start reloading for it. 500 rds is going to cost a pretty penny and I want to make sure my money goes to the right components.

Yes and no...the magazine will obviously play a roll in the function of a 1911. The only way I would consider needing to run several hundred rounds through a specific magazine would be for carry. I never had problems with the ACT mag that came with my RI 1911. In fact, it functioned fine in all my .45's.

I'm not sure why you think you need the 500 round factory FMJ break in either, but that's spending a pretty penny for something completely unnecessary. I know my RI never even had a factory round through it. Invest in molds and lead and shoot more....if you run into some kind of problem you can't sort through then buy a box or 3 of factory ammo.

[Animal]

Ultramag: I'm under the impression that RIA consideres their 1911 broke in at 500 rnds. Perhaps I'm mistaking about the type of ammo?

[Artful]

Chip McCormick "Shooting Star" stainless 8 round magazines work for me
I used Devel and Pachmayer before that and in the beginning GI & Colt

[seaboltm]

For target shooting, who cares? If my life depends on the reliability of a 1911, Wilson is the only way to go in my opinion.

[ultramag]

Ultramag: I'm under the impression that RIA consideres their 1911 broke in at 500 rnds. Perhaps I'm mistaking about the type of ammo?

I'd be pretty surprised if it doesn't run fine out of the box. It's not made tight enough to need what I consider "break in". Either way, unless you have some kind of troubles with your reloads, the need for factory ammo isn't real. Even then, it's just a good verification of is something wrong with the gun, or the ammo....no need for 500 rds. IMO. I even broke in my Les Baer with reloads last year.

As stated before, my RIA 1911 ran fine on my standard reloads, ate everything and had no issues function wise right out of the box. I did detail strip it before it was ever fired and cleaned the excessive oil it was covered in from the factory. I just hate to see a guy drop $300 bucks on factory ammo for no reason. If you load .45 ACP I'd sure try before laying out the cash on factory loads.

[Animal]

I don't reload for it yet. That is good news though. I'll probably run 50-100 rds of winchester white box through it to get the feel for how it operates, then use my once fired brass for reloads. I'll have to get a set of dies and a mold before the reloading begins. At least I'll have some brass to work with by that point. Thanks

[daniel lawecki]

Chip McCormick I have 12 mags used every Thursday night for Action Pistol

[bearbud]

For matches, target shooting, plinking most anything of quality works. The Wilson is a quality magazine but I will not use it for self-defense. I use it in action shooting matches for over twenty years and they work great. (I still have some that I bought in 87 as the Wilson-Rogers match magazine.) If my life depends on it, I will only use a 1911 seven rounds magazine without a removable base plate. I have seen (only once, but I guess it is enough) how at the worst time, the base plate came off the magazine while the magazine was in the gun. A welded base plate is one less thing to worry about getting unfastened. It takes ten second longer to dismantle for cleaning, but it is bullet proof system. Also, I never found eight rds. follower that was as reliable for me as the original seven rds. follower. I tried them all from Devel (later shooting star/McCormick) in the eighties through the new polymer ones etc. But again they are very good for sport shooting. If I need to buy a self-defense 1911 magazines today it will be the 7rds non removable plate magazine made by Mecgar. I think that they make the majority of the magazines on the market these days. I have a bunch of old series 70s Colt magazine that were made by Mecgar. bearbud

[MtGun44]

Macormack Shooting Star mags sometimes spread the lips and give issues with feeding.
I'd take the metal 3D folded follower Metalforms over them any time, with genuine GI lipped
mags - ONLY available new now from Checkmate - as an equal unless you are shooting
very short nosed SWCs. Anything like H&G 68 or TCs or RN and the GI mags are probably the
most reliable and keep the gun as a controlled round feed design like John Browning
intended. The majority today have early release and parallel lips, removing the controlled
round feeding and stressing the extractor a lot more than ever intended. Hybrids with
tapered lips and early release are pretty good - Colts are this way.

Bill

[Groo]

Groo here
In my experience Wilsons were the WORST mags I ever got.
If you shoot hardball, Milspec mags will be best as the feed lips were designed just for that round.
If target swc rounds there is a design for that.
If all, most new aftermarket mags used a modified version that splits the difference.
The best mags I have found in many different guns is Metalform, they just seem to work.
I try to stay with as close to mill spec in loads and handloads as possible,just to keep things simple.

[waco]

I use Chip Mcormick

[John Allen]

Wilson is still my favorite mag. I do have mccormicks also and have not had a problem but I like the wilson combat ones.

[35remington]

The McCormick Shooting Star magazines were never intended for full power rounds. That some use them is not necessarily an endorsement, as they are more likely to malfunction than designs more suited to full power ammo.

The most "tried and true" 1911 magazines are those that feed the 1911 the way the original designer intended it to be fed. That would be a tapered lip magazine. If your magazine does not have tapered feed lips, it does not feed the 1911 the way JMB intended it to be fed. This is a step backward in reliability.

The interesting and rather sad part is most don't know this. The lips of the magazine were specified to be tapered for a reason. JMB knew what straight feed lips were and declined to use them in his design.

[philthephlier]

Chip McCormick "Shooting Star"

[kevindtimm]

The McCormick Shooting Star magazines were never intended for full power rounds. That some use them is not necessarily an endorsement, as they are more likely to malfunction than designs more suited to full power ammo.

The most "tried and true" 1911 magazines are those that feed the 1911 the way the original designer intended it to be fed. That would be a tapered lip magazine. If your magazine does not have tapered feed lips, it does not feed the 1911 the way JMB intended it to be fed. This is a step backward in reliability.

The interesting and rather sad part is most don't know this. The lips of the magazine were specified to be tapered for a reason. JMB knew what straight feed lips were and declined to use them in his design.



Chip McCormick "Shooting Star"


So, now we have a conundrum ;)

[Animal]

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-Service-Mag-Plus-45-ACP-Full-Size-7-Round-Stainless/productinfo/608/

I picked up 3 of these and 100rds of Armscore 230gr fmj. I figured everyone seemed to agree that Wilson was a decent brand. I chose the 7 rnd because it seemed "simple". I've noticed that people have complained from time to time with 8 rounders feeding. I also like the low profiled of the 7 rnd.

I hope everyone agrees that these will do the trick. I'll be shooting lead after my first 100 rds, so maybe these will be satisfactory.

[Artful]

Animal, we don't have to agree - your pistol has to agree :drinks:

[35remington]

The fact is, Shooting Star magazines were never intended for full power rounds, just as I've stated. If anyone wants to know why, I'd be happy to elaborate.

Information, correct information, is a wonderful thing.

No conundrum here.

[Animal]

Animal, we don't have to agree - your pistol has to agree :drinks:

Indeed! :)

[GT27]

Checkmate

[DRNurse1]

Good information. Use what works and, if your life may depend on it, use Mecgar.

35Remington sent me some images that explained clearly the differences in magazine followers and lip construction. I used that information to discover I had one 'ball' magazine and 8 wad-cutter magazines. One of the SWC magazines fails to lock my slide and another had a FTF issue until the lips were adjusted.

[Trapshooter]

I recommend welded on metal baseplates for serious work. I had a Novak magazine with a slide on plastic baseplate. In cold weather, some plastics are quite brittle. While shooting a couple winters ago (at the range fortunately), the mag fell off the bench and hit the ground. The baseplate cracked from the impact at low temperature, and spewed the cartridges, follower, and spring all over. I've also had good luck with Checkmates. Pick the correct feed lip design for the shape of bullet you intend to use, and they just work.

Trapshooter

[philthephlier]

These are the first negatives I've read about McCormick shooting stars having issues. I have at least 3000 rounds through my SA GI Model and I have had no hiccups. I am not refuting the other comments just stating my experience. Quite a few of those loads were full horse power.

[Dan Cash]

Wilsons and genuine military issue are my only choice. I have a bunch of chip McCormac mags that are ok after bending the lips some but are not reliable enough for carry.

[savagetactical]

Wilson Combat Service Plus.

-The End.



Yep these are the rolls royce in 1911 magazines.

I will add that I always had good luck with metalform and mecgar mags also.

[Forrest r]

Mccormick's shooting stars (10 rounders)
metalforms 7 rounders
SA factory mags 7 rounders

Still have a couple shooting stars I bought around 15 years ago, still working flawlessly.
Have over 10,000 rounds thru a SA 1911 using the 2 origional mags that came with it. No jambs, ftf's, tfe's, they just keep on working flawlessly.
They say metalform makes the mags for SA & other 1911 mfg's, I don't know about that but they have never let me down either.

[Animal]

Okay, I've been away from this thread for a little while and now I'd like to let you guys know what I've found,

My RIA is truly a great gun. Very accurate (in my hands) and very solid construction (not that I have a good reference to compare). Simply love it.

I'm trying to stick with 7 rounder milspec mags. The Wilson Combat #608 mags I have feed very reliable with Armscore 230gr ball ammo, and with my own cast load with the Lee 452-228-1r (seated to 1.245 and sized to .452).

Strangely enough, I've also been shooting Lymans 452374 boolit (in hopes of replicating 'ball' ammo) which should feed reliably with my milspec weapon and milspec mags... Oddly enough, no! I've been getting double feeds between OAL of 1.272-1.288. However, this round seems to do fine with the stock ACT mag.

[meterman]

I bought a new Wilson and gave it away. It would not feed lead bullets.

[Jaymo]

I've had no problems with Chip McCormick or Mec-Gar mags.
Then again, the ACT mags that came with my ATI 1911 have been flawless.
They also look a LOT like Mec-Gars, with very minor differences.

[TXGunNut]

Carried Chip McCormick Shooting Stars for years, some are on their 3rd spring. Every ten years or so I gather them up and replace the springs in every one of them. Best mil-spec mag made, IMHO. Wilson may be better but I've seen too many cracked lips on them to trust them.

[Lloyd Smale]

I use mostly wilsons with a few chip mccormiks thrown in.

[bhn22]

I have a large number of Wilsons, and an equal number of OE Colt mags. I replace the mag springs every so often, and they keep perking away. Milspec a word as overused and under quantified as "tactical". The formal term is "US Military Standard. I'm going to hate myself for asking, but what weight recoil spring does your gun have? Too light of a spring can increase slide velocity. Your first round could be popping out of the mag under inertia as the slide reaches the end of it's rearward travel, then the slide would strip the next round out of the mag as it travels forward again. It's just a guess, and since I said this in print, there will be others by shortly to blast me for my ignorance.

[Animal]

bhn22, someone has to stir up the pot once in a while to keep things interesting...

The recoil spring is the stock spring in my RIA 1911. If it makes any difference, there was one interesting time when I popped a mag in forcefully (while the slide was locked back) and I watched in amazement as every round in my mag ejected. The slide didn't move forward. Since then, the majority of trouble I have is with that particular WC #606... The other 2 are usually reliable. I can't remember what boolit I had, or what seating depth it was when that happened.

I've got less that 800 rounds on that gun

[35remington]

Animal, the problem you are having can have multiple causes, but is due either to feed lip spread, out of spec feed lips and possibly weak magazine springs depending upon which malady you are referring to (you have discussed a couple in your last few posts). Excessive oil on the magazine lips can be a contributor as well for a few of the described complaints. The weak magazine spring is more likely as a cause than a weak recoil spring.

Odd as it sounds slamming home a magazine with the slide open is a way to get the rounds to puke out the top if they are not being held securely. Compare lip width to an identical known to be good magazine.

Calling McCormick Shooting Stars and Wilsons "mil-spec" magazines is an extreme misuse of the term. The military used only one magazine when the 1911 was in full time service with the US military, and it was John Browning's tapered lip design that he specifically designed as the very best way to feed the gun.

The other magazines are correctly termed "nonmilspec" as they have nothing about any military specification to describe them.......the military never specified the configuration these magazines have. Which kinda reinforces the idea that differences in magazine design and feeding characteristics are unknown to most people. The Wilson and McCormick feed very differently than real milspec magazines do.

[crabo]

I have an RIA also, of the two Act Mags I recv'd with the pistol - one works perfectly, the other never works. I purchased another Act Mag at a gun show, it works perfectly also.

The one that doesn't work is marked - I'm going to do something with it someday :)

Back when I was shooting ISPC, we traveled several states over to shoot a big match. My buddy kept using a mag that constantly malfunctioned. I couldn't understand it because he had a belt full of mags. He finally got mad and chunked it.

I picked it up when he wasn't looking and brought it home. I mounted it on a plaque with a piece of velcro and we presented it to him at the next match. I told him it was mounted with velcro in case he wanted to try it one more time...

[johniv]

I use mostly milspec mags, I have had issues with Mc Cormack mags, mostly with last rd stovepipes. I believe 35 Remington has it right, they are not ment for full power loads. I think that the 1911 is not picky as has been said here , I shoot ball reloads with LRN and SWC to include Lyman 452460 and 452423, also most JHP rounds and have no issuesFWIW
John

[bhn22]

Mine have always been pretty content with my mags. I had an issue last night with one of my "extra" mags that I need to look into. It may be related to your issue, I was getting cartridges releasing before the extractor could capture them, so I would have the slide out of battery with the cartridge in front of the extractor. I marked the mag for more testing, figuring it's one of the mags that hasn't had the spring changed yet. It's one of my unnumbered mags, so it probably hasn't received any maintenance yet.

[6bg6ga]

Different mags work for different bullets. Some mags are better suited for hardball and others for semi-wadcutters.

[Animal]

My new Metalform mags should be here on Tuesday. Hopefully they will prove reliable. I've compared my 3 WC mags and couldn't find any noticeable difference. Perhaps a more trained eye would be helpful.

[Vulcan Bob]

Boy that is a loaded question. I prefer Wilsons but have/had 1911s that refused to work with them. What I do is number each mag regardless of make and have a list of .45 ACP 1911s along with what number mags will work in each one. But to answer the question the best mag for a particular 1911 is the one that works in it.

[singleshot]

I have several brands, if I'm shooting a match or depending on it for my life...Wilson Combat.

[j_dude77]

Checkmate. They make the factory mags for a few of the big names. They make 3 different styles: tapered, hybrid, and GI.

[TXGunNut]

To clarify when I mentioned Chip McCormick "milspec" mags I was trying to differentiate the Shooting Star mags from the Power Mags and other versions, which I have no use for. They replaced some Randal mags that I finally managed to wear out. I've had better service fom the Shooting Star mags than I have from other "milspec" mags, but that's with my guns, my ammo, my butt on the line. YMMV.

[enfieldphile]

Wilson Combat for me.

Warning: There are some cheap, Chinese (Shocked right? ;-) ) knock offs that are marked COLT floating around. No, I didn't get stung, but others have and the mags fail quickly.

[35remington]

Be that as it may, "milspec" and Wilson or McCormick are not terms that go together. Neither Wilson nor McCormick magazines or anything like their design were ever specified by the military while the 1911 was in military standard service and the military would term them "nonstandard" magazines, not "milspec" magazines. Power Mags are not milspec either, nor is any other Wilson or McCormick design.

Maybe it's time for more accurate terminology. The only "milspec" magazines that ever existed were John Browning's tapered lip, seven shot, solid floorplate design that had a long rear follower skirt. Said follower was made of folded steel and had a dimple or bump in the middle of the follower. The entire magazine and spring were made of steel with no plastic parts anywhere. Wilson and McCormick designs neither qualify nor apply as they lack some of these features and many of their magazines have plastic parts.

Using the term "milspec" when referring to their magazines is to credit them with bona fides the military never gave them.

[daniel lawecki]

Chip McCormick I have 12 of them and use them all the time on a leauge.

[Animal]

35Remington... Was there ever one particular magazine that the military did use more than others for the 1911? All I ask out of my 1911 is that it is able to function as a basic, battlefield service pistol.

I appreciate the heads-up on the misguided terminology. Most of us probably work on the assumption that a 'bare bones' (basic) magazine is what the military would have coupled with their 'bare bones', 'mil-spec' 1911. Thus, leading us to believe that any basic, 7 round capacity magazine would also be 'mil-spec'.

[btroj]

Oh boy, someone just opened a can of worms.

Short answer, look for tapered feed lips and a dimpled follower. 35 Rem will correct me if I a wrong and ad more info I am sure.

Bet you can't guess where I learn that.....

[Animal]

Oh boy, someone just opened a can of worms.

Short answer, look for tapered feed lips and a dimpled follower. 35 Rem will correct me if I a wrong and ad more info I am sure.

Bet you can't guess where I learn that.....

I'm guessing either 35Rem or Google?

[btroj]

35 Rem, he is a good guy. Actually got to meet him a couple times. I tend to listen when he speaks.

[35remington]

The military used one magazine and one magazine only when the 1911 was in service......the one it was designed to use by JMB. This doesn't have straight feed lips, any plastic parts, or eight shot capacity. The feed lips are tapered from front to back, the follower is folded sheet steel with a full rear skirt and a dimple on the follower. The magazine carries seven rounds. The floorplate is welded on and non removable. That's how to distinguish it.

No other magazine was used in standard service, so there was no competition to choose from. The armorers on the pistol teams would sometimes modify the tapered lip magazines to release earlier to feed shorter semiwadcutters, but no other magazine configuration was standard issue. The tapered lip magazine was all there was. For most of the 1911's history that's all there was for civilians as well. For that time frame it is likely that the reliability of your average 1911 was of a higher order than it is now, with magazines made by whoever to fit in whomever's 1911's with whatever ammo.

The current maker that is making real mil spec magazines most prominently is Check Mate, and they were also a vendor to the US military when the 1911 was in service. In other words, they're a contractor of original mil spec 1911 magazines that have made them before, so they have some bona fides as a manufacturer of the real thing.

If you have any earlier Checkmates they have a multinumber CAGE code on the bottom of the floorplate.

The specifications found on Browning's original design magazine were designed to make it work reliably with full power ammunition and increase the odds that a given pistol would more reliably function. Browning knew what straight lip magazines were as he had used that design with some of his earlier automatics. The fact that he deliberately and specifically engineered a tapered lip magazine for the 1911 in preference to a straight lip design should suggest that a magazine identical to that he intended to use in the pistol would get the most in reliability from the 1911.

Remember the 6,000 rounds without a jam military trials? Tapered lip magazines as described above.

When I visited btroj he was busy smelting a whole bunch of lead and deeply into his bullet lube experiments. We all have our specialties, and areas where we know more.......and where we know less. I need to pay attention when he starts talking lubes, as that is certainly not my field. I've fiddled around with them a bit but certainly not anywhere near to that degree.

[Small Towner]

I have gone through several brands and as long as they are in good shape (no cracks, bent lips etc) they have ran.

Wilson 7 & 8 rounders
Checkmate 8rd w/ Hybrid lips
Tripps
ACT (ran fine until they started cracking at the rear of the feed lip)
Brownell's Brand 8rd

[Animal]

Very cool. It would seem that my Wilson Combat mags fit the "mil-spec" description to a tee. My Metalform mags should arrive today. If the weather cooperates, I'll try them out. I'll also keep a open mind toward Checkmate.

On a second note, you guys have been very helpful.

[35remington]

Wilson Combat mags are definitely NOT mil spec.

They do sell the checkmate tapered lip style but that is likely not what you have as it is a recent offering.

Better take another look at your magazines as you are likely mistaken about their features.

[Animal]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/183380/wilson-combat-service-magazine-1911-government-commander-45-acp-7-round-steel-stainless-steel?cm_vc=ProductFinding

This is it

[bhn22]

Here's a great article on 1911 45 magazines. Its quite old, and the site doesn't appear to have a lot of traffic, but the quality is definitely there, and there are pictures!:
http://230grain.com/showthread.php?55461-1911-Magazine-Analysis-Part-2

[35remington]

The midway link is to a tapered lip hybrid magazine made by Checkmate. Very very close to the military type and a very good choice. Slightly earlier release makes it a bit more versatile.

Wilson makes no magazines of their own.

[35remington]

How the magazine in the Midway link differs from the GI is that it has a slight flared spot midway down the feed lips to release the round a tick earlier than the GI magazine does. It is identical to the GI magazine in all other respects.

This is the magazine Colt essentially came up with to duplicate the "armory flare" that armorers in the military used to get the magazines to feed shorter than ball length cartridges. In other words, Wilson is selling a Colt design made by Checkmate.

This may, in fact, be the Seventh Sign, but kudos to Wilson for offering a design that feeds the 1911 more like Browning intended, with a tweak to feed shorter than ball rounds. With that said, Check Mate GI magazines (real mil spec magazines) have a surprisingly wide range of lengths they will feed as well, all the way down to about 1.200."

The Wilson/Check Mate magazine has the "extra power" spring included at a cheaper price than you pay ordering the same magazine with the same "extra power" spring direct from Check Mate. If ordering this spring, be sure to specify "extra power" as it is different than the "high performance" spring and costs around 2.25 extra if ordered direct from Check Mate. It is not listed in the catalog but you will be understood if you specify it. The Wilson iteration already has it, a good idea from the get go.

Check Mate manufactured magazines have a "C" stamped in the bottom. An "S" is also found if it is in stainless.

[btroj]

I have some of the Checkmate mags with the hybrid feed lips. They run quite well in my 1911 with the HG 68 clone from Miha or the 230 TC from Lee. What more could I ask?

[prs]

I have Checkmate manufactured 1911 45ACP magaines branded Ruger, Colt, and Wilson Combat. Identical hybrid cases excepting the brand logos and the ABSENCE of the "c" or "s" on the Wison product. The Ruger branded examples are fitted with Checkmate's patented old style follower. The Wilson's are more stoutly sprung, the Ruger's not quite as stout of spring, and the Colt's noticably rigged with wimpy springs. They all work well for me.

prs

[35remington]

If the C or S is missing Wilson requested it to be missing as they are present on Check Mates manufactured for other vendors. Likely Wilson wanted a distinct product identity......even though it's not a distinct product. Check Mate magazines sold by Check Mate have neither C nor S nor "Wilson" on them....they have a knight chess piece logo stamped on the bottom.

The design is at its best with the extra power spring. If upgrading, order Wolff's +10% power spring for 7 shot magazines. As I said earlier, the cheapest way to get the extra power spring included is to order this Wilson.

Thumb pressure will easily tell one spring from another. Even if you forgot which spring is in a particular magazine, side by side testing, one in each hand, will make relative spring strength clear. For defensive magazines, the strong springs are preferable. These are somewhat stronger than even "mil spec" and have no downsides. The upside is widening the envelope of reliability.

Finally........finally.......we are going back to JMB with magazine design after 30 plus years of wandering in the wilderness with nonstandard magazines. It's long been overdue.

[Animal]

Ok, it is all starting to make perfect sense now. I've been reading the article that bhn22 posted and comparing the illustrations with what you (35Remington) posted about feedlips with shorter tapers.

My Wilson Combat #608 are feeding my Lee 452-228-1R loads reliably because the load is a good bit shorter than ball ammo. The WC #608 taper is only partial vs. full length.
The same can probably be said about my ACT mag that came with my weapon.

My Metalform mags came in yesterday. I looked at them this morning and found that the lips have the same type of taper as my WC #608 and my stock ACT mag. I hope to try them out soon.

I seat my Lyman 452374 no less than 1.272 (cast ball ammo), and my Lee 452-228-1R at 1.245. I can see here why a fully tapered feed lip will be necessary to feed my Lyman.

The plus side is that my Lee feeds well in all the mags I've used. I have much better accuracy with my Lee boolit, so aside from having a 100 buck lyman mold that doesn't feed well in my mags, I'm in pretty decent shape.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Five years ago I bought five Wilson Combat 7 round blued mags, I have replaced the springs once, they have never failed me. I carry all five mags when in uniform and carry two extra mags in plain clothes.

My recently departed 1911 guru friend recommended Metalform mags however I have never tried them.

[35remington]

Animal, the magazines referred to essentially have no effective taper at all. For the taper to help feeding it must be pronounced. Very slight to nonexistent does nothing at all.

The taper also helps guns with slightly out of spec feed ramp angles feed reliably.

Another intentional JMB reliability redundancy other magazine types do not have.

[Animal]

I did some research of OAL for 'ball ammo'. Lymans published spec is the maximum at 1.272. I called a buddy of mine in NC and asked him to mic some of his factory 230 ball ammo rounds. His 3 different brands of factory ammo measured between 1.254-1.262. I can't remember which brands he had, but there were 3 different brands.

I think I'm going to get back to work on this load instead of researching magazine options. I'll seat the boolits to 1.255 and drop the charge. I predict that will cycle much smoother... time will tell.

[gray wolf]

I've been reading the article that bhn22 posted
I enjoyed the article also, thank you for posting it.
All I use is GI type mags, I shoot, RNFP HP SWC RN And some old Speer gold dots.
They all work flawlessly. 16# recoil spring, 23 main spring, flat bottom firing pin stop.
4 grains of BE, 4.7 of tite group, 4.5 tite group for the 230 RN

[Ubet]

I've had good luck with the Wilson Combat magazines and the Chip McCormick Magazines.

[MtGun44]

35 Rem said "The military used one magazine and one magazine only when the 1911 was in
service......the one it was designed to use by JMB. This doesn't have straight feed lips, any
plastic parts, or eight shot capacity. The feed lips are tapered from front to back, the follower
is folded sheet steel with a full rear skirt and a dimple on the follower. The magazine carries
seven rounds. The floorplate is welded on and non removable. That's how to distinguish it. "

Close, real close. BUT - actually the original design (I use one as my in-the-gun carry mag, too)
has a solid milled steel baseplate with two humps and is actually held on by a pair of cross pins,
not welding. Welded on baseplates came later.
Minor point and zero functional difference, but it is true.

Bill

[35remington]

All true. But the point is also that he vast majority.......the vast,vast majority........of magazines the military used had welded baseplates, and that is the way to recognize those most likely to be encountered. Pinned magazines are really rare.

[prs]

I did some research of OAL for 'ball ammo'. Lymans published spec is the maximum at 1.272. I called a buddy of mine in NC and asked him to mic some of his factory 230 ball ammo rounds. His 3 different brands of factory ammo measured between 1.254-1.262. I can't remember which brands he had, but there were 3 different brands.

I think I'm going to get back to work on this load instead of researching magazine options. I'll seat the boolits to 1.255 and drop the charge. I predict that will cycle much smoother... time will tell.


Try to not be overly restricted by published OAL, check your ammo OAL by using your barrel as the gauge. If the barrel needs shorter OAL for given boolit to fully cycle, then take care working up from starting charge. Make sure the ledge at end of chamber for case moth seating is not lead packed. That Lyman design is typically a reliable feeder. If the feed errors are early in the cycle there are other variables to consider. prs


All true. But the point is also that he vast majority.......the vast,vast majority........of magazines the military used had welded baseplates, and that is the way to recognize those most likely to be encountered. Pinned magazines are really rare.

I have had trouble procuring the GI Checkmate style, mine all seem to be hybrids, the CM site indicates none in stock whenever I look, but I have been well served with what I have. prs

[MtGun44]

"Pinned mags are really rare" Absolutely correct, just picking a tiny nit on a great post.

Bill

[btroj]

That isn't a nit, that is a nit's nit

[MtGun44]

Hey, when you invoke "original J. Browning design" I get out the 1911 blueprints - literally, and know that the
originals had pinned on floorplates. No idea how long they held to this, but they didn't make large numbers,
but I have seen a few, maybe 10 or 12 of them. Most folks don't know that they exist.

Is it relevant to the feeding? No.

Bill

[btroj]

You have "only" 10 or 12? Only?

Wonder why the change in floor plate style? I would assume ease of manufacture.

[John Allen]

Wilson ones are great.

[MtGun44]

I don't know the answer. I have a pinned mag with no lanyard loop, and it is nickel
plated, impossible to know if original, but it looks original. I have SEEN 10 or 12, only
own two.

Bill

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

01 ...

[35remington]

The closest to the original is the Checkmate GI, which has the tapered feed lips without the flare in the middle. These pictured above in your link have the flare, but also have the taper. This could be called "second closest" in terms of design, but likely first choice in terms of functionality with a wide range of ammunition. They preserve the desirable taper with a slightly earlier release than the GI magazine, which helps on some of the shorter overall length rounds approaching or below the length of 1.200."

Since ten round magazines are not flush fit and have more jamming problems due to excessive nose diving, avoid those. Further, never trade an additional round of "maybe" for a lower capacity magazine of "always" in terms of feeding.

Clearing a jam is a lot slower than reloading.