Keep your range mags and your primaries separate
Gun magazines have various levels of quality. Some gun magazines are meant as throw aways i.e. 1911 magazines made in Tawain. I have several 1911 GI magazines that were pretty good range mags, but when they jammed up on me, and I could blame it on the gun springs, it was time to toss them. Buying Wolff gun springs that cost about $8 for an $8 magazine isn’t really worth my time, plus I’ve found that many of these have worn out followers and it’s really not worth the headach to tweak them, plus I’d consider them to not be worth using for self defense. Wilson Combat and Chip McCormick make very good gun magazines and both of them should help get your 1911 to be more tolerant of various types of ammunition.
The one thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how much money I spent on a firearm, I’m still going to have something break. When you put thousands of rounds through a firearm the you will eventually have to learn some level of gunsmithing. After taking some of my guns to gunsmiths and having to wait for months to get simple things done, it’s good to pick up an AGI video and do the changes yourself. The same goes for gun magazines. Parts on a gun magazine can wear out and depending on how much you spent on the magazine, you may want to just toss it in the trash. For some magazines, you will only have to replace the springs to get it back to reliable functionality.
The Mini 14 was hands down the gun that was hit the hardest by the AWB in the 1990’s. Ruger is now making 20rd and 30rd magazines available to the public and those magazines were going for close to $100 at one point in the later 1990s’. There is nothing wrong with having magazines for firearms that are not the best, sometimes it’s better to rotate through cheap magazines and practice malfunction drills or just toss them when they were out. You don’t want to use your carry mags all the time because if you are shooting through hundreds of rounds of ammo using the same mags that you use for your daily carry, you may find out at the wrong time that the springs need to be replaced. I picked up a good supply of Mil-Spec 1911 7rd magazines that I rotate through my guns and save the Wilsons Combat Magazines for the serious shooting. When the mil-spec mags start jamming too much, I just toss them.
Every time I get asked a question about which firearm or accessory someone needs I follow up with the question “For what?” I have seen plenty of well trained concealed carry owners walk around with a 5 shot j-frame and none of them feel under gunned. The reality is that in some nightmare situation, you’ll never be full prepared, and sometimes we just have to be practical when we are CCW every day. For most practical purposes, I’d recommend keeping a spare magazine in your gun safe in your home, or keep one in your car if you don’t think you can comfortable carry a backup. When most of us are out and about, the ammunition you have on you is all you’re going to be able to fight with, but keeping something near your car and easily accessible in your home is a good idea.
Although I understand that polymer guns are here to stay and they are far more technologically advanced than their early metal counterparts, I still enjoy shooting my 1911 handguns. The 1911s that are being made today are really several generations beyond where the guns that crossed the European continent and fought on the beaches of the Pacific. The best improvements I have seen in the 1911 design compared to the GI guns are #1 the pistol sights, and #2 the gun magazines. The GI 1911 magazines weakness seemed to be the followers. The slide stops were so heavy that many of the times the tabs on the magazine would bend and the slide would close on an empty chamber.
I think more than half the guns I have picked up for my collection were police trade ins. CDNN investments is always one of the best places to find used handguns. If you are a Glock, Sig or Beretta gun lover. Check out their yearly catalog for used but hardly shot guns. I picked up a Glock 17 a few month ago and like many of the guns that are trade ins, this gun had mostly holster wear on the outside. One of my friends got one that was much more worn especially around the barrel. While something like barrel wear has to be analyzed closely, it rarely is much of a concern to me. Many of the used firearms you find in gun shops probable have less than 500rds through them and the reason they look beat up is because of the holsters that they were used with and the fact the owner didn’t clean them very well.
Back when the 1994 assault weapons ban was into effect there were more headaches in the gun world due to the fact that factory handgun magazines were so expensive. People cut corners with other brands and had issues. When it comes to owning a handgun, especially an auto, I highly recommend having atleast 3 magazines. Not only can guns malfunction, but magazines do wear out and break at some points and its always good to have some extra comfort if one goes down. Most of the time it’s the floor plates that come loose and a loaded mag will just dump rounds on the ground. I’ve seen it happen with rifles and handguns. If you ever run a Carbine course, you’re defanitely going to want to have atleast 3 mags for your pistol, too.
Things like recoil springs and firing pins are pretty much a MUST for serious shooters because sometimes it’s not always the guns fault that something wears out or breaks. Sometimes bad ammo can wear out a firing pin faster than normal and recoil springs are going to wear out at some point. The 2nd recommendation I would have would be to store magazine springs and followers. Those will wear out, not as often, but as often as recoil springs. If you’re a plinker and occassion shooter, these won’t be necessary, but if you put a couple thousand rounds through your Glock every year, something is going to wear down at some point so it’s best to have the spare parts around when it happens.
There area a lot of good upgrades one can do to a firearm, a fighting rifle should be customized to fit an operator. Advanced Technology makes some quick and easy upgrades for your shotgun or carbine that can give you better grip or balance. Shotgun shell holders on the buttstock or riding side saddle is a practical tactical upgrade you can do on your remington 870. The fiberforce stock for the MAK90 is a way to legally get around some firearm bans and are a big step up compared to the stupid thumbhole stocks. Attach a rifle sling that fits yoru purpose from Blue Force Gear, they come in 1 point, 2 point and 3 point attachements. Minor firearm modifications make need to be done to attache rifle slings, but do some research on various rifle sling configurations to see what works for you.