8 round 1911 mags?

[newton]

Is there any way to fix them? Good aftermarket springs? Mine are the ones that came with the gun.

I've been having a last round failure. I cleaned and kind of pulled on the spring a little, to try and give it a little more uumph. It work good for one mag full, but then duplicated my issue the next.

Funny thing is, I had exactly 21 cases prep'd so I then loaded them. Decided to run 7, 3 times(one of those weird things I do), and not one thing happened bad. All feed and ejected perfectly.

I just cannot see how time after time, the mags always glitched on the last round and then just run 7, and all mags work, does not point to a mag issue.

i guess I will just run them as 7's, but wondered if there was a good aftermarket kit for them to be used as 8 round ones?

[Tatume]

Hi Newton,

I've always liked Chip McCormick M1911 magazines.

http://www.cmcmags.com/

You can get replacement springs from him, or from Brownells.

http://www.brownells.com/magazines/handgun-magazines/magazine-parts/magazine-springs/1911-magazine-springs-prod41595.aspx

Before you spend $10 each on springs, you should take the magazines apart and clean and lubricate them. Make sure there is no "crud" or rust on the insides, or on the springs.

Take care, Tom

[newton]

I'm going to from now on, but if I could spend the same money on a spring, and get to use 8, then that would be nice.

[newton]

Thanks Tom. Have you used his 8 round springs? I've heard his mags are top notch, but wonder if just the springs would work good in mine. I am positive it's the spring because I cleaned the mag spotless, and lubed. Plus it shot the 3 mags of 7 rounds perfect.

[Tatume]

Hi Newton,

Yes, I have. I've had good results with CM 8-round magazines and springs.

Take care, Tom

[newton]

Great! Thanks!

[Groo]

Groo here
Mr Browning designed the 1911 mag for 7 rds.
Many people have had problems with 7rd mags converted to 8rd.
A good 8rd mag usually needs to stick down some , many have hollow base plate/bumper pads.
If you check on the 1911 sights there is a host of info on mags.
The rule of thumb is " The mag was designed for 7, It works with 7 , if you need more, get more mags.

[Tatume]

The followers are good too.

http://www.brownells.com/magazines/handgun-magazines/magazine-parts/magazine-followers/1911-magazine-follower-prod41596.aspx

But now you're up to $20, and for $26 you can buy the entire magazine.

http://www.brownells.com/magazines/handgun-magazines/magazines/1911-8rd-45acp-power-magazines-prod5515.aspx

[country gent]

Wulff may have mag springs also. Make sure springs are installed correctly up is up and front is front. If mags are "high use" then there may be wear or slight damage to the lips.

[hoosierlogger]

I have a kimber 8 rounder for my 1911, it is junk. Jams the last round. I rarely use it, it is the last mag I'll grab if I need to empty the other 6 wilson combat mags. If I need all of the others, that last round probably won't make a difference any way.

[waksupi]

8 round mags jam. I went around and around with McCormick on this problem. He finally told me those mags were designed to feed one specific type of factory ammo, and would not stand behind them on any other loading. I put new springs and followers in mine, and load 7 as they were designed for.

In short, they are a gimmick, that should never be used in a defensive weapon.

[Petrol & Powder]

Back when I was playing with 1911's and routinely carried a Lightweight Commander, I found that the 7 round mags just worked better. I had some 8 round mags, including the Chip McCormick models that worked OK but I preferred the 7 round mags and found that the factory Colt magazines were just as reliable as some of the high priced ones. I did have a failure with a stainless Colt mag when the floor plate broke off and the spring, 7 rounds and follower fell out of the magazine tube which was still locked in the gun ! I found all of the parts and a friend tacked the floor plate back on with a mig welder. After a little work with a file to clean up the weld, it all went back together and functioned for years after that. Other than that one spectacular failure...I found the 7 round magazines to be superior to the 8 rounders. By the way, that magazine was produced during Colt's notorious 1980's era.
That one extra round wasn't worth it to me and I eventually decided that it was better for training continuity to use 7 round magazines all of the time. I got rid of the 8 round mags and was happier with the simplified system.

[John Allen]

I stick with the 7 rounders. I have never been happy with the 8 round ones.

[Animal]

7 round Colts with Wolff extra power springs feeds round nosed ammo in my full sized 1911 just fine. I'm not even sure that the extra power springs are all that important, but they work great and I don't plan on changing them. I've got several other types of magazines that probably won't ever get used again. I also subscribe to the idea that 7 round magazines are the ideal choice due to the fact that it was designed with 7 round mags in mind. Everyone seems to have different opinions and many have great success with 8 round magazines. I suppose at the end of the day the amount of rounds your magazine holds isn't nearly as important as how reliable your gun can feed them.

[lefty o]

if you want 8rnds, buy some wilson combat mags and be done with it, they work.

[prsman23]

if you want 8rnds, buy some wilson combat mags and be done with it, they work.

Yup ETMs are the only mags I run now.

[Dhammer]

I'll thrid that on Wilson Combat. We had a lot of guys make the switch to WC8 rounders after their factory mags starting acting up or other brand they were using began acting up. WC 8rnd are all I use.

[bobthenailer]

Over perhaps 20 years I have used about 10 Wilson 8 round combat magazines in several 1911's in 45 acp as well as 4 extended 10 rounders and 7 ten rounders in 38 super with no issues.other than a semi rare spring change when they get weak.

[Tatume]

For many years I've been using the Chip McCormick 8-round magazines, and 7-round magazines for the CCO frame. Mine have been completely trouble free and dependable.

[newton]

I have no use personally for an 8 round mag. Now, if I only had a 4 round mag to begin with, then yea, 8 rounds would be nice. lol

From now on I will only be getting 7 rounds because I know they have a proven history. But I have these two stock mags that I don't want to waste. I literally only have a little less than 200 rounds. I think total count now is 180. However, they have gave me fits for a while.

Could someone explain to me how 8 round mags 'work' with 7 rounds? In my head it makes sense that if you put 8 rounds in, then once you fire one, its as if you had only put 7 in? I tried searching for the answer but came up with nothing.

It may have been a fluke yesterday, but it was sure a weird fluke. lol

[scattershot]

I have had problems in the past with 8 rd mags. The ones that stick out a little work better, but I'm back to 7 round mags, as God and John Browning intended. No more problems.

[ole 5 hole group]

I've used a few different 1911 mags and changed out the followers to rounded followers etc - now, I strictly use Wilson 47D and Tripp mags. I doubt you'll ever experience problems with either brand as long as you keep them clean and change out the springs every 5K or whenever you feel the need. The Tripp 10-round mag is also a solid performer, if you need the extra couple rounds.

You can waste money trying to get a problem mag to shoot, so it's probably best to spend a little more right out of the gate and be done with it - Wilson 47D and Tripp are worth the money.

[newton]

I've heard of the 10 round mags before. Is it awkward to shoot with one of them?

[ole 5 hole group]

No difference in shooting - looks a little odd in your belt or holster. Just helps out when shooting at 10 bowling pins, you have 11 chances to clean the board.;)

If you're new to 1911's - just release the slide after inserting a couple rounds in the mag - drop the mag and top off - either 7, 8 or 10 rounds. Inserting a round in the chamber and then releasing the slide isn't the best practice - however, you really need to be unlucky to experience an extractor breakage, so don't worry about it if that's the way you normally do things.

[MtGun44]

Wilson 8 rd and Metalform 8 rd mags will work reliably, IME with many years of
using them in competition. For a carry gun, I use 7 round mags.

Bill

[35remington]

Don't make a regular practice of dropping the slide on a chambered round.

[jakharath]

Before losing all of my 1911's in a tragic combined boating/fire/tornado accident I have used just about every mag under the sun.

Metalform 7, 8 & 10 rounders
Colt marked 7 rounders
CMC (Shooting Stars, Power Mags, Match Grade) 7, 8 & 10 rounders
Wilson 47D (8) & 47T (10)
Mec-Gar 8 & 10 rounders
Unnamed/unmarked 7 rounders (think old military surplus, ugly crappy mags)

All have worked well in a number of 1911's. The only problem I've had is one of the unmarked ones didn't always hold the slide open in one 1911. Then again the magazine may have been older than me.

That being said I have sold 30 magazines and consolidated on the 8rd Tripp Cobra Mag (8R-45-RG).

Chances are your problem is probably a weak spring or a tipping follower.

[35remington]

Your boat caught fire and, blinded by smoke and loaded to the gunnels with 1911's you drove it straight into a tornado?

Just goes to show that boats, fires, 1911's and tornados don't play well together.

[youngmman]

Is there any way to fix them? Good aftermarket springs? Mine are the ones that came with the gun.

I've been having a last round failure. I cleaned and kind of pulled on the spring a little, to try and give it a little more uumph. It work good for one mag full, but then duplicated my issue the next.

Funny thing is, I had exactly 21 cases prep'd so I then loaded them. Decided to run 7, 3 times(one of those weird things I do), and not one thing happened bad. All feed and ejected perfectly.

I just cannot see how time after time, the mags always glitched on the last round and then just run 7, and all mags work, does not point to a mag issue.

i guess I will just run them as 7's, but wondered if there was a good aftermarket kit for them to be used as 8 round ones?
I have several 1911's and bought the Ed Brown 8pack magazines. They work flawlessly. I also have a number of Wilson 7 round service mags that also work very well. Both the Ed Brown and Wilson are equally as reliable with any sort of bullet I load once the proper OAL is found.

[youngmman]

Is there any way to fix them? Good aftermarket springs? Mine are the ones that came with the gun.

I've been having a last round failure. I cleaned and kind of pulled on the spring a little, to try and give it a little more uumph. It work good for one mag full, but then duplicated my issue the next.

Funny thing is, I had exactly 21 cases prep'd so I then loaded them. Decided to run 7, 3 times(one of those weird things I do), and not one thing happened bad. All feed and ejected perfectly.

I just cannot see how time after time, the mags always glitched on the last round and then just run 7, and all mags work, does not point to a mag issue.

i guess I will just run them as 7's, but wondered if there was a good aftermarket kit for them to be used as 8 round ones?
I have several 1911's and bought the Ed Brown 8pack magazines. They work flawlessly. I also have a number of Wilson 7 round service mags that also work very well. Both the Ed Brown and Wilson are equally as reliable with any sort of bullet I load once the proper OAL is found.

[scattershot]

Your boat caught fire and, blinded by smoke and loaded to the gunnels with 1911's you drove it straight into a tornado?

Just goes to show that boats, fires, 1911's and tornados don't play well together.

yes, it's tragic. Much the same thing happened to me, only it was a whirlpool. I'm lucky to be alive. Guns didn't make it, though.

[Patrick56]

About 20 years ago I used Shooting Star 8 round mags in my AMT Hardballer and they worked well.

[BD]

I have primarily used Wilsons, the 47Ds for carry and the 10 round "bureaucrats" for competition. I have never had any issue with any of them when new. With any boolit design. As they get older, (15,000-30,000 rounds), they do tend to swell a little through the body, and the feed lips start to spread apart. Particularly if you use them hard, slam them home, drop them on the ground and walk on them. I do clean them when they get dirty. You can squeeze them back into shape and reshape the feed lips one time, which will get you another 5,000 rounds or so, but since they are stainless, the second time you try this it will only get you a couple hundred rounds. For this reason I keep my carry mags separate from my "play" mags. I also replace the springs and followers in my play mags once a year whether they need it or not. I also have four 10 round Tripp mags that I bought when he first went into business. They broke the ejector off two of my pistols before I figured out what was going on, (they were manufactured with the lock notch a hair too low so the top rear corner is hard against the ejector when fully seated). Tripp gave me the run around when I called him, and did not offer to replace them even after I sent pictures which clearly showed the issue, so I will never buy another one. I filed a little notch in the top corner so they clear my ejectors and I'll use them as back ups until they wear out then chuck 'em in the trash. I understand he has it down by this point, but he pissed me off at the beginning, so that's my feeling about them. His follower design is superior. I have a handful of other mags, most of which are too particular for the boolits I prefer. these days I'm really only using the H&G #68 and the BDacp, (opposite ends of the spectrum, but they meet all of my needs). I find the original colts to be too finicky with the H&G SWC, and a lot of mags with the flat steel follower will occasional dig in on the feed ramp causing an issue with the BDacps.

[Blackwater]

I have several C. McCormick mags, and they would NOT function worth spit in my two Colts. That "flip up" follower seems to have been the problem, because I bought some mag. kits from Wilson, and they've been percolating 100% ever since. They're good mags, it's just that my particular guns didn't like that follower. And they're still 8-rounders, to boot. YMMV.

[Bazoo]

I prefer checkmate mags with GI feedlips and GI dimpled follower. The spring they use aint worth a squat though and goes bad after about a year. I replace them with wolff springs, but the end of the spring is not at the same angle, so I bend it ever so slightly to match the follower angle.

Colt mags marked with a small C are made by checkmate, M is for metalform.

[pjames32]

Wilson are the only 8rd mags I've had any luck with. I always load 7 for carry.
YMMV
PJ

[newton]

Still curious why a 8 round mag works fine with 7 rounds? Is there an actual science behind it, or does it a "just works, don't know why" thing? Lol

[DrCaveman]

Newton

Im hoping for an answer there too. It would make sense if the first round had problems when an 8 round mag was full, but no problem when only 7 were loaded. But the last round? Does seem odd

Anyway, the chip mccormick power mags work excellent in my sti spartan V with every ammo ive tried. The two that i bought are my go-to mags if i have any finicky loads. Always works, so far

[DR Owl Creek]

FWIW:

I have a number of Colt marked 7rd mags. I've never had a problem with them.

I also have a number of Chip McCormack 8rd mags, both the Shooting Star and Power Mags, both with and without the base pads. I've never had any problems related to the mags with any of those in my Kimber or Springfield 1911's. The same goes with the 10rd CMC 10rd extended mags. Of course, I periodically replace the springs with new Wolff springs. You can get those relatively inexpensively through Brownells. As a result, I don't remember the last time I used the Colt 7rd mags, but it's been a looooong time.

In fact, the only feeding problem I've had with a 1911 was with a 3" Kimber Ultra CDP pistol. It was one of the first production runs, and it didn't have the ramped barrel. It wouldn't reliably feed HP rounds. It went to a happier home. I believe Kimber used ramped barrels on subsequent production runs of the Ultra series, and from what I've read, that solved the problem.


Dave

[hylander]

Been running CMC 8rd mags for many years, never a single hick-up.

[nicholst55]

I have several C. McCormick mags, and they would NOT function worth spit in my two Colts. That "flip up" follower seems to have been the problem, because I bought some mag. kits from Wilson, and they've been percolating 100% ever since. They're good mags, it's just that my particular guns didn't like that follower. And they're still 8-rounders, to boot. YMMV.

I experienced the exact same situation, and followed the same path to correct the problem. I have had no further issues with those mags since I threw away the factory springs and followers.

[Bazoo]

The reason that a flush fit 8 round mag will work with 7 rounds is that with 8, it over compresses the spring. Springs take a natural set as to where they want to be. With only 7 rounds in the mag they sorta fall into their groove and have just enough umph, same as when you stretch them and they go right back when used. Given more over compression, it will begin to do it all the time as the spring gets more fatigued. 8 round mags that hang below the gun have more room for the spring, and thus wont give as much problems with the springs going bad.

[waksupi]

The reason that a flush fit 8 round mag will work with 7 rounds is that with 8, it over compresses the spring. Springs take a natural set as to where they want to be. With only 7 rounds in the mag they sorta fall into their groove and have just enough umph, same as when you stretch them and they go right back when used. Given more over compression, it will begin to do it all the time as the spring gets more fatigued. 8 round mags that hang below the gun have more room for the spring, and thus wont give as much problems with the springs going bad.

McCormick told me I couldn't leave the magazines loaded, or it would cause this problem. I carry a 1911 every day, and it is always loaded. I leave it loaded all the time. Not a good thing for a carry gun, if you can't have it loaded.

[Combat Diver]

I've been running 8 rd mags since my early Devel follower on a Colt mag back in the late 80s. In 91' got a bunch of McCormick Shooting Stars for ISPC and never had an issue with them. Last 11 yrs however been running Wilson 47D 8 round in my Govt issued 1911A1s in Iraq and at home. Never a issue with them either. Only reason I ran USGI 7 round mags this time in Astan is because I wasn't expecting to get a 1911 here and left them at home and we only had the USGI (checkmates) there. My war belt for years in Iraq carried 12x 8 rd mags plus the 8+1 in the gun (105 rds total, 2 mags in each double mag pouch).


CD

[calshipbuilder]

Kimber did me a favor by providing one skimpy mag with my 1911 - I'm running Wilson Combat 47Ds and some of their 10 rounders as well.

[BD]

Has anyone really ever had a generally bad experience with Wilson 47Ds?

[MtGun44]

I got the steel base pads for mine and one of my Commanders, the one that I carry all the time,
has a bit of a hitch in the feed cycle with anything but GI mags. Not that they ever actually failed to
function, but that particular gun (and none other of my 1911s) had a real noticeable bobble as you
manually loaded the first round, just felt "off"; but that was with any of the early release type feed
lips, not just an 8 rd or the 47Ds.

So - the steel base pads seem more durable to me, esp in IPSC competition where they are hitting the
floor a LOT.

Bill

[zomby woof]

Metalform

[youngmman]

Has anyone really ever had a generally bad experience with Wilson 47Ds?

Yes, I bought two of them to try. I have two Springfield Armory 45's, one Loaded Target and one Loaded with field sights. The Wilson's were awful with numerous feeding problems, mostly double feeds and the last round. I found an extensive test on 45 ACP Magazines and it was clear from that that magazines with the feed lips and follower (with the dimple) like the original military were superior for a reliable controlled feed, meaning the cartage doesn't exit the magazine before the nose of the cartage has already begun to enter the chamber so there is no place else to go.

The Wilson "Service Magazines" and the Ed Brown "8 Pack" magazines feed perfectly with 0 FTF. I purchased the Ed Brown magazines because of the extra round and have had no problems since.

[ole 5 hole group]

So - the steel base pads seem more durable to me, esp in IPSC competition where they are hitting the
floor a LOT.Bill

Might want to look at the Tripp mags with the alloy base. They bounce real nice on concrete and keep on ticking. They look beefier (looks heavier but actually there is very little weight difference) so when pressing the release button, they do fall out every time, which is a nice feature to have when you need that 9th shot as quick as possible.;)

Come to think about it, so does the 47D and probably most quality mags on the market.

[35remington]

The Wilson service magazine is made by Checkmate......AKA hybrid seven shot with folded metal follower with dimple and extra strength spring. Tapered feed lips, controlled release point.

JMB would approve of that one.

[str8wal]

McCormick told me I couldn't leave the magazines loaded.

Seriously? I leave mine loaded 24/7 and so far so good. I don't recall reading anything on the packaging regarding leaving them empty. I'm not saying he didn't say this, but this would be a major fail IMO of design if you can't reliably leave your mags loaded as advertised.

[Bigslug]

Commandment the First: "Thou Shalt Not **** with Browning's mechanical blueprints".

Like most 1911 junkies, I've acquired mags from various sources over the years, and the common thread with 8-rounders seems to be, just when I start to trust them, I'll have one choke in a different gun. Of late, I've pretty much decided new purchases will not be just 7 rounders, but GI feed lip 7 rounders from here out.

[USSR]

Here in NY, our governor was so concerned about our 8 round magazines jamming, that he passed a law saying we could only load them with 7.

Don