Has anyone had issues with surplus Colt mags?

[Lexicon Devil]

Today at the range, I was having an issue with this magazine in particular. I experienced a continual FTF with the very first round using factory ball ammo in my Springfield Mil-Spec. It's a magazine that I always keep loaded as the firearm is my nightstand gun. I picked up a handful of these magazines at my LGS for around $5.99 each a few years ago, but I've never really experienced a problem with any of them up until now. Do these magazines wear out over time? At first, when I took the magazine out of the pistol to check it, I was depressing the follower in the mag; when it came back up, the follower popped out of the magazine body.I had to bend the feed lips inward in order to get the follower to stay put and get the mag to function properly. I know you get what you pay for, and I'll most likely get some Wilson Combat mags come payday. I don't want to rely on the ones I currently have for HD

[/URL]
[/URL]

[gunner336]

45 mags

IMHO I don't think those are Colt factory or GI mags

[Lexicon Devil]

IMHO I don't think those are Colt factory or GI mags

Hrm.... are they just cheap knock offs with a Colt stamp then? I just assumed they were Colt because of the baseplate.

[Beelzy]

That magazine is not a Colt factory one.

[heidad01]

It says colt 45 auto, but not made by or for Colt. The marking specifies the caliber. Good marketing for fakes.
Regardless, 1911 mags are not the most or even the least sofisticated mechanical gadgets. Take them apart, clean and deburr any sharp or rough edges as well as the follower and inside the tube with 400 grit sand paper and put them back together. Check and make sure the follower can be pressed down smoothly and will push back up without any binding. They will work fine for range at $5.99 a piece. Not like you are going into combat with them.

[heidad01]

And, if the follower pops out of the tube, that is becsuse the tube lips are not bent enough to hold the follower. Use a pair of pliers and bend them a tad more and sand smooth afterwards.

[Lexicon Devil]

It says colt 45 auto, but not made by or for Colt. The marking specifies the caliber. Good marketing for fakes.
Regardless, 1911 mags are not the most or even the least sofisticated mechanical gadgets. Take them apart, clean and deburr any sharp or rough edges as well as the follower and inside the tube with 400 grit sand paper and put them back together. Check and make sure the follower can be pressed down smoothly and will push back up without any binding. They will work fine for range at $5.99 a piece. Not like you are going into combat with them.

Thank you. Yeah, they should be fine for range/plinking use, but I think I'm gonna go with the Wilson Combat mags for HD. I don't want issues like that in a dire situation.

[M1A Rifleman]

Those are not colt factory mags. The price you paid should have been the first inicator.

[Black Majik]

There should be a small M, O, or C in the corner of the base plate to indicate metal form, okay or checkmate. I'll take a picture later as reference.

[81Degrees]

Crazy looking follower you have in those magazines. Here's some Colt factory mags for reference.

[sholling]

IMO a huge percentage of the "Colt surplus" mags found at gun shows and other venues are poor quality cheap Chinese knock-offs.

[Lexicon Devil]

As always, the community here comes through with the good stuff. All this info on top of the reference pics is great. Thanks, dudes. For some reason, I figured these were surplus BECAUSE they were so cheap. You definitely get what you pay for, and I'm just stoked that I found out at the range and not when it really counted. I wasn't looking for anything collectable - just extra mags besides the two Springfield included with the pistol.