1911 mags vs. money

[Boondocksaint]

This one's been bugging me for a while.

I have a Kimber TLE 1911. I have used several different kinds of mags, and they all work great. I've used $30 WC and $11 Chip Mc's.

What's the deal. I can get two CM 8rnd mags with bumper pads for the price of one Wolf or WC mag. Why shouldn't I just get two mags for the price of one "name brand". Is there something I'm missing?

[bwiese]

I've not had good luck w/Chip McCormick mags in my two stock Colt Gov't Models. Sometimes funky on last round, and wouldn't hold open when empty.
One other aftermarket mag seemed a bit 'iffy' too when fully loaded.

The stock Springfield mags that accompanied my Springfield Armory UltraCompact (this is their equiv of a 3.5" bbl Officer's ACP) were also troublesome.

In all cases I went back to Colt-marked magazines. I think these were really made (OEM'd) by Mec-Gar so you could try those too.

I have borrowed Wilson Combat mags at the range and they have worked fine in my Colts. These had the fancy bumper bottom and could hold 1 extra round, etc.

Mags can cause lotsa failures in guns, you can't overlook them.

Bill Wiese
San Jose

[C.G.]

I know what you mean. For my Beretta I got all factory mags (about $35 a piece). For my Sig I bought three Mec-Gars at about $20 and I like them better than the factory mags that come with the Sig. On the other hand, I don't think I would buy Pro-mags.

[Blackgun]

I don't think you can go wrong with Chip Mc's mags. I have those and have never had a problem when I used them. I now use only Corba mags. I like the plastic follower that hold the round at a little greater angle and they have a steel insert for the slide lock to catch on.

[art_e@hotmail.com]

I've never had problems with CMC or SA mags either.

I've only used CMC powermags though, I hear the other type can be problematic.

[bwiese]

Hmmm. Maybe you have real tight race guns or something when you're using CMC mags.

My CMCs were used with bone-stock 5" Gov't Model Colt 1911s. Neither gun had over 1K rounds thru 'em - one is a blued Series 70, the other my dad's S/S Series 80.

Tried 2 CMC mags, took 'em back to Jackson Arms and swapped for different CMC mags. Still same problems.

I dunno what CMC PowerMags are, though - ones with springs stiff enough to work? ;-)

When CMC mags don't work with generic, near-new factory Colt guns that work fine with other mags, I do blame the mag.

cg wrote:
For my Sig I bought three Mec-Gars at about $20 and I like them better than the factory mags that come with the Sig.

Mec-Gar is the OEM house that makes (quality) mags for many gun companies. If you have a gun from a major mfgr, there's a good chance the mag - even if factory-labelled - has been mfgd by MecGar. I think Sig factory mags are indeed made by MecGar - you just might be seeing variations across time/production runs.

On the other hand, I don't think I would buy Pro-mags.

I wouldn't either. ProMag, USA Mags and Precision all have produced some real losers -esp those produced right before 9/94 Fed. AW ban.

I do have some ProMags for my Browning HiPowers and they do work OK. Was buying anything I could before 12/31/1999 CA hicap ban set in.
Just to be on the safe side, I am gonna replace the follower and spring with OEM stuff. But the mag bodies turned out to be OK: feed lips are correct, and mag catch opening is cut at right height.



Bill Wiese
San Jose

[kalibear]

I prefer steel followers so CMC Powermags (8 rounders) is what I use at the range. Works great with the extended basepad too for 1911s with magwells.

[Mike Searson]

I only use Wilson Combat Stainless magazines.
That's what Marine Corps Recon uses (Only the 7 rounders, though...the Corps has reported problems with the 8 rounders) and I have not had one fail in the 15 or so years I've been using them and hundreds of thousands of rounds fired. I've used them in Springfield's and Colt's.

YMMV

Kalibear, you're going to have to let me try those one of these days! They sound good.

[imported_Hylander]

Another vote here for CMC 8rd Power Mags.
Never a Hick-up.
Even the Shooting Star 7rd. mags funtion perfect

[Army]

8 and 10 round CMC PowerMags have yet to let me down.

Got the 10 rounders from Sportsmans Guide a couple years ago. Not one problem. They still push them for under $20 too.

[Otony]

The Colt marked magazines are made by Metalform. Both Colt and Springfield use Metalform for their mags, while most European companies use Mec-Gar.

Brownells is a great source for the various Metalform mags, with good prices, or you can buy them directly from Metalform (in quanity, they offer a nice discount). VERY good quality.

I use Mec-Gar for my Hi-Power mags, and used to use them for SIG mags when I owned a SIG. Also VERY high quality mags, IMHO.

[joel1316]

My Metalforms work great! I bought mines in bulk as you can mix and match magazines for a great discount.

[Boondocksaint]

Thanks so much for the info. I guess it's a trial and error kind of situation.

I'll stick with my 8 round Powermags w/ basepads as long as they work. I've only put about 800 rounds through it so far, and they're still great.

Kalibear, you're right about the basepad with a magwell. Works great, and looks even better.