1911 Colt magazines

[waksupi]

I was going through my 1911 magazines today, and found one had taken a severe spring set. Then I started thinking how old all of them were!
So, I ask you 1911 shooters, which would be the best magazines to buy as replacements? I believe I will go ahead and get a half dozen new ones, and retire the old.

[dubber123]

The Wilson Combat mags seem to have the best reputation for durability. Not cheap though.

[NVcurmudgeon]

So far I like the Chip McCormick "Shooting Star" 8 round stainless. After a good test drive, break the two top rear corners of the box with a round needle file. This will prevent the typical 1911 cracks. I think you can get them for not much over $20 each if you are a C&R or Smitty. I also load 7+1, but a former Deputy friend says I'm being silly. The old cracked magazines have never given me a bobble in practice.

[wiljen]

Beware any loose magazine marked as Mason Rust or Colt at the gun shows. Many of these are either rejects or outright fakes.

[35remington]

Waksupi, do yourself a big favor, reliability wise and cost wise.

Go to m1911.org's forum site

Scroll down to magazines in the "Parts Bin" section. Read the post stickies on magazine function.

Find out what's wrong with the big buck big names that everyone promotes, and discover there is a more reliable option.

And, finally, take advantage of the best feeding 1911 magazines available that feed the gun the way it was meant to be fed. Sixteen dollars each. These are offered in the same forum; select the hybrid 7 shot design, offered in stainless. Very proven.

The less I say about McCormick's flawed concept of magazine design, the better. My knowledge is hard earned, the result of trying many different magazine designs and bullet configurations. Chip is trying to sell a magazine designed to feed all ammunition most of the time rather than the right ammo 100 percent of the time.

It's long overdue that someone said something to this effect. IPSC and such have made many innovations in regard to 1911's but reliable function is obtained in spite of the magazines they favor, not because of them.

NVCurmudgeon, no offense, but I have very strong opinions on this topic. I believe we're being sold a bill of goods in regard to 1911 magazines.

Guess which magazine provides the more reliable function? Big hint: it ain't the McCormick. The accompanying photo shows the McÇormick and a tapered lip design superior in feeding; both these magazines have their rounds just before their respective release points. Note which magazine places the round more fully under the extractor at the release point. Note which magazine feeds the round straighter and more smoothly into the chamber. Another hint: it ain't the McCormick.

The inferior McCormick Power Mag is on the left. The idea of bullseye shooters and IPSC'ers to feed short rounds and get an extra round in the magazine has compromised reliable function in off the shelf 1911's you and I can buy. These magazines are a part of the reason why many 1911's are sent to gunsmiths because they won't feed reliably. A lot of the "tuning tricks" for 1911's were designed to overcome the problems these magazines present to reliable feeding. Why not use the magazine that provides the most reliable function rather than try to stick a square block in a round hole?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johnnyrem/Feedlips.jpg

[AnthonyB]

Ric, why not just replace the mag springs with Wolff springs from Brownells? Tony

[wiljen]

35 Remington - checkmate industries by chance?

[waksupi]

35 Remington, can you pin that down a bit closer? Is Checkmate what you are suggesting?

Tony, I have a couple original Colt mags that this isa distinct possibility for. But, I do have a few that are of unknown origin, that I would just as soon replace.

Anything wong with using original Colt magazines? Does any of the after market magazines offer something that John Browning hadn't come up with?

[35remington]

Willjen, Bingo! I have both their 7 shot hybrid lip and GI tapered lip style. Quality is exceptional.

These have ALL the features that make the 1911 run best, and the 1911 user now has choices besides the flawed, parallel lip style everyone is trying to foist on us. Their GI style, in its great favor, has a slightly later release point than the hybrid style which makes it suited for JHP's that have a ball profile, but not so late that it will feed ball only. These are actually superior to the old ball magazines I have in this respect. Overall, though, if you want to buy just one that is more universally suitable the hybrid style is the way to go. Keep cartridge OAL at 1.210-1.220" or longer. Forget the very short target SWC's. These have created the magazines with backwards features we are stuck with today.

The frustration with the inability to shoot very short (1.16-1.18" OAL SWC's) led to the original dissatisfaction with the original GI design, which was designed for ball length rounds only. What the "innovators" of magazine design today COMPLETELY missed was the features that made the GI magazine reliable with ball in the first place.

The "new improved design" magazines are often excellent in manufacture but VERY sadly flawed in design.

This has been unknown for way too long. If you are carrying a 1911 to defend your life choosing any magazine that does not feed the 1911 the way it was meant to be fed is very foolish.

Let the steel shooters play their games. Life and death needs something better for those of us that cannot afford to give thousands of dollars to a gunsmith so he can make a 1911 run right with the wrong magazine.

No wonder gunsmiths love working on 1911's. These magazines have made gunsmith's livelihoods more lucrative and have created a cash cow that heavily advertising magazines like American Handgunner have been loathe to contradict by stating the truth.

[35remington]

Waksupi, if you are sure the Colt magazines have the tapered rear lips and hybrid design that has a bit later release point than the inferior new breeds, buy them. 7 shotters with a dimple. Be very sure, though.

Recently Colt has been selling the wrong 8 shot McCormick versions; the site mentioned has the real deal at a very good price. Chip will gouge you a lot more than that with an inferior magazine.

The aftermarket magazines and the badly shaped feed lips they are saddled with have given away the controlled round feeding (the 1911 was designed to work like a Mauser rifle, feeding the rounds UP from below into the grasp of the extractor) that promotes best reliability in a 1911. Adding eight shots in a seven shot magazine has also screwed them up, and they would have been better to lengthen the magazine a bit. Wouldn't have been hard to do as most magazines have slam pads now anyway. Extra length would have allowed a more appropriate spring.

[MtGun44]

I have had very good success with the Metalform magazines with the
full 3D sheet metal formed followers. Their 7 shot is normal length and
for the 8 shot, you have a mag about 3/8" longer than normal. These
eventually will crack at the back due to the square inside corner, but it
takes years. In my 27 yrs experience with IPSC 1911s and lots of rounds,
these are some of the most realiable, but they do not last forever. I
recommend the removable bottom, metal formed (complex looking, not
simple flat) follower versions.

In my experience, the McCormick standard 8 rd mags work fine, but the lips
eventually will bend a bit at the rear and need to be reformed periodically,
and the fixed bottom versions will lose the bottoms in a few years heavy
use. Welded back on they last very well.

Eventually almost all mags will crack at the rear top corners. I have had
some success welding them with a heliarc set on 5-6 amps, but it is tricky
work and probably not worth it.

The slickest feeding and dropping mags I have ever used were nickeled
original Colt mags from the mid 80s, very reliable and drop from the mag
well like jet propelled. No longer available, sadly.

Wilson are good, but the plastic bottoms need to be replaced with their
steel bottoms, extra $$, if you are serious.

The Cobramag is expensive, but seems pretty well made. They use a plastic
version of the Metalform (originally Laka) sheet metal follower, but with a metal
lip where it engages the slide lock, unlike the Wilson which is all plastic. My
experience with the Cobramags is only about 4-5 months, but they look real
good and may be worth the high price. They have plastic bottoms, we'll see
how they last, hitting the concrete many times each match.

Bill

[35remington]

MtGun, if you are speaking about the corners on the bottom of the magazine lip cutout in the back, radiusing them with a round file like NVCurmudgeon suggests does indeed prevent most cracking in that area.

I do that with mine upon receipt as well. I have old GI's still going strong with that quick treatment. Some of the new designs are already radiused but are still stuck with crappy feed lips.

If paying 35 dollars for a Wilson ETM or 40 dollars for a Tripp gives you warm fuzzies, kudos to your bank account. I'd rather do it a better, cheaper way.

I did say I had strong convictions.

[flinchnjerk]

Brownell's Stock # 969-000-178
Do the new aftermarket mags offer things that JMB didn't think of? In my experience, you betcha.......... nose-dives into feed ramp, bolt-over-base stoppages, live round stovepipes, rounds jumping the follower ( the old 7th round jumps right out of the gat, slide locks back with 8th round lying on top of follower trick), rounds getting ahead of the extractor (causing push-feeds that will at best lessen the extractor tension and at worst break the hook), spring too weak to engage slidestop when mag empty.....35 remington, I too have rather strong views on this subject.

[35remington]

Nice to see another voice in the wilderness. I've had most of those problems with the new designs too.

[Dale53]

I shot IPSC for five years. In that period of time, I shot 75,000 rounds of .45 ACP in two custom 1911's. I bought a case of Genuine GI mags, kept what I needed and sold the rest. The only modifications that I did was to use a needle file on the inside corners as mentioned above. I had VERY FEW failures to feed of ANY kind. So few, that if I told you the number I would be accused of lying. Suffice to say, it wasn't a problem.

I have a couple of "trick" magazines and they have also served me well but I vote for the original GI magazines.


Dale53

[danski26]

I like the Wilson 8 rounder. Has not failed me.

[JIMinPHX]

I usually find good quality reliable 7-rounders for a 1911 at the gun shows here for about $10 each. I also find a lot of junk in the $7-20 range. I need to see the mags to pick out the ones that I like. I usually tell the good ones by looking at the shape of the feed lips & quality of the weld finishes. I really don’t know how to describe them well enough to help somebody else pick them out.

If you were happy with the old mags before, then I would suggest getting new springs for them. Some guns get very fussy when you go changing mags on them.

[Lloyd Smale]

anymore i just use wilsons or buy the guts for a wilson and put them in the miltary mags.

[MtGun44]

Wow. You guys seem to have a lot of probs with 1911s. Of my 6 primary
ones that I have shot a lot (like 5000+ rds per year, now that I'm not serious
about IPSC any more) I'd estimate that I have had about one or two
stoppages per year OR LESS for the last 15 years. Most are due to me
being lazy and failing to clean the chamber. Never have had ANY of most of
the failures you are talking about in a pair of 70 Series Gold Cups (the
main one on the high side of 80K rounds through it), a Wilson LE Comp
.38 Super that is semiretired now, but probably ran at least 80-90K
thru it, a plain Jane Kimber Series One that is my primary IPSC gun
now, maybe 35-40K thru it, and my carry ltwt Commander, and Ltwt
Officers ACPs both with only 2-3000 rds since they are mostly "for
serious". Not special guns, and lots of different mags but not very
many problems and very, very few traceable to mags other than the
cracks on the back letting the lip bend out and causing them to not
drop smoothly any more. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Bill

[BD]

My experience pretty much mirrors MtGun's. My primary IDPA gun has about 75,000 rounds through it and it's coughed three times. Once when the ejector broke during a match and twice due to my reloading errors, (no powder, no crimp). I use Wilson 47Ds and replace them every two years or so when the lips start to spread. I use new wilsons in my carry 4" 1911 and it has never missed a beat. I have a 3" 1911 also which became completely reliable once I through the kimber mags out and replaced them with Wilsons.

BD

[wonderwolf]

I have 25+military surplus 1911 mags. I don't leave them loaded if I'm not planning on shooting them anytime soon. But they have never failed me. yeah its only 7 rounds but that dosn't bother me. I got about $5 a pop in them. The only mags I like over those are RANDAL mags but good luck finding those.