1911 Magazine troubles today ...

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=DbTC9SSHe4

[9.3X62AL]

Sounds like the slide stop's magazine follower stud and the magazine followers' "steps" for activating the slide stop aren't engaging properly--not connecting and failing to lock the slide back, and/or making a weak connection and trapping the follower step to 'capture' the magazine in its well.

[Grendl]

Find an old bullseye shooter and ask him to tune your magazines

[GoodOlBoy]

Normally I wouldn't attribute this to the mags being that they are wilson combat, but in all honesty since your others don't do it, and not ALL of the wilson's did it I have GOT to think you may have some troublesome magazines. Having them loaded for an extended time should NOT make a difference with modern mags. The problem of being able to eject them afterwards sounds like mags may have a slight bulge in the mid section (just like many of us) which COULD cause the follower not to lock open the gun when empty because when you get that bulge you loose a tiny bit of length to the mag, and if the 1911 is a match grade that tiny bit counts. Had this happen with a chip mccormick 8 rounder one time.

I would mark the problem mags, and have somebody else try them in their 1911 to see what you get.

BTW Video says it is private.

GoodOlBoy

[gray wolf]

An unloaded mag should fall freely and actively from the pistol when the mag release is engaged. A Mag with rounds still in it obviously should also fall freely.

No binding should be encountered upon insertion or removal.
Mags with one or both sides slightly swelled are not uncommon.

If I had ten mags and 8 worked perfectly and two did not, what would that tell me about the two ?

You have old mags that work, you have 5 new mags and two work.
What does that tell you about the three that do not work ?

My answer would be --- Hello Wilson------ I have a problem.

The name or lack of means nothing in today's market place. The best mags I have ( 10 )
are all cheep GI style with the dimple on the follower, They never fail.

Not that you should do it, but I have squeezed the sides of some Mags so they drop freely.
It's an easy fix if you remember a little goes a long way. But being new I would consult with Wilson.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

... ???

[scattershot]

FWIW, I just bought three Metalform mags from Midway for $10 ea. on sale. They work fine. If you need any, I can recommend these.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.....

[Artful]

Of course the 3 offending magazines are not identical to the ones that work properly. Some things to check
- the magazine follower and Slide release engagement
- the gun itself may something that with a slightly larger mag can cause a problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5ramQy4YM4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUPcUnZHo7g

[wv109323]

The magazine follower has a "leg" on the left side. This "leg" of the magazine follower contacts the slide stop within the magazine well. When the last round is fired and the slide moves to the rear the leg moves the slide stop up and locks the slide back.
If you manually lock the slide back, look down into the mag well, insert an empty you should be able to see what is suppose to happen. The "leg" of the mag follower is overriding the slide stop. This causes the slide not to lock back and makes the mag. hard to remove from the mag well. The "leg" must be pulled over the slide stop to get the mag out. An adjustment of the mag follower is needed.

[seagiant]

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=404556

[redgum]

Post #2 by 9.3X62AL (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?72-9-3X62AL) is exactly what I was thinking.....(from having had similar experiences in the past).

[bobthenailer]

Thats strange ! i have about 15 wilson mags in 38 super & 45 acp and never had any problems you describe in over 25+ years in about 9 different 1911's .

[CJR]

Sometimes on 1911s the trigger bow is a sloppy fit in the frame so that it moves too much laterally. This random lateral movement of the trigger bow can rub on the mag (i.e. mag shows trigger bow rub marks) and slow the mag from dropping clean. When dirt gets between the trigger bow and frame slots, the rubbing becomes more pronounced. Examine all mags for these rub marks. Fix? Expand trigger bow in a jig and fit precisely to frame with minimal lateral movement. When done right, trigger should drop out of frame slots, with no binding, when piece is tilted vertically. Then file inside surface of trigger bow so it is below the surface of the frame. Polish all mag sides and see if the trigger bow rub marks return. Hope this helps.

Best regards,

CJR

[CBH]

Make sure your grip screw bushings are not protruding into the magwell.

[Groo]

Groo here
I am in the minority in that I will not use wilsons unless there is nothing else.
I suggest Metalform , just don't have much luck with plastic followers.

[prs]

Diesel, at the range your mags were loaded, but at home it seems they were not. Could the rounds be pushing the sides of the mags outward on those few offending mags?

prs

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

No plastic in these ... Al had the first correct answer ... but since I'm still kinda new to the 1911, I appreciated others who said the same thing, but differently!

I believe I found, and fixed the problem this morning


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti-sPfgDJKg

[9.3X62AL]

With my Colt 1911A1-derivative pistols, I have had best luck using Colt-made magazines. Colt mags correspond closely to John Browning's original specs, and are not very expensive.

Pistols and magazines working from different sheets of music is a natural outcome from having pistols made by dozens of makers and magazines being "re-interpreted" by even more makers to address perceived faults in the platform/magazine interface. One of the Glock system's principal strengths has been its ready availability of OEM magazines at affordable prices. There is little incentive for an aftermarket maker to pursue business under these conditions, and Glock has shown itself to be bulldog-aggressive in defending its design patent rights, creating another layer of further disincentive. S&W learned via their Sigma line of pistols that Glock wouldn't just lay down and roll over like a friendly pup in this venue.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.,,,.

[9.3X62AL]

Wilson's Combat makes a very fine magazine, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise--sorry if that impression was left. You are correct, JMB didn't mean for his pistols to run with 200 grainers or with HP bullets. My present Gold Cup feeds just about EVERYTHING from its Colt magazines, though. I suspect the Series 80 pistols were given some design upgrades to enable better management of these less-conventional bullet types. This GC has been lights-out, in fact--Lee 200 SWC, Lee 230-TC, Lyman #452460, Lyman #452374, RCBS 45-230-CM, and the BD-45 group buy castings. All run well with the OEM 16# spring at standard pressures. As far as JHPs go, my carry loads (W-W 230 SXT) run like water through the pistol, as did some old-school 185 grain Silvertips I had laying around that were at least 25 years old.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

hours!