All posts in Magazines

Flush fitting 1911 magazines

I am pretty much stuck on Wilson Combat magazines for my 1911s but I am aware that not everyone likes the way they are extended on the base pads.   I am also not an IDPA guy, but I’ve attended a lot of events and I don’t really see much more than Wilson and Chip McCormick being used.    The Chip McCormick magazines from what I have seen are pretty much a toss up when it becomes a relibility question between Wilson combat magazines and them.   There are several things to keep in consideration with each magazine you try.

The first thing I want is reliability,  I would have to say that I’d try 3  magazines with a manufacturer and rotate through about 250 rds and then declare them to work.   The second thing I want from a magazine is for it to drop free.  Giving the number of gun manufacturers out there I wouldn’t claim that Wilson Combat magazines are always going to drop free for you, but I find them to be the best in these regards.   The extended base pads can come in useful if you want extra grip on the magazine when removing it, but I don’t really notice that.   If I was shooting a short 1911 gun, I might notice the lack of flush fitting more.   My Sig 239 is a great CCW gun but if I had anything that wasn’t flush fitting for that I would probable not like shooting it.

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The AWB is over, so buy Factory Mags

When I stopped and thought about writing this, I couldn’t believe how many years it has been since the AWB has expired.  It feels like it was just yesterday that I could get Glock or Sig Sauer magazines without having to spend $60-$90 for them.   Factory magazines are still more expensive than some of the other magazines out there, but they are always the best option for handguns.   There are plenty of decent manufacturers for AK or AR15 rifles, and most problems I have seen with AK mags can be fixed with a simple file to the tab on the mag wells.    I recently picked up a couple Glocks and XD handguns because I wanted to bring something to the next class I teach that wasn’t a Beretta, Sig Sauer or 1911.   Some people just have issues shooting 45acp and I didn’t own anything other than a Sig 220 and a 1911.

I have found the Springfield Armory XD 45acp to be the most comfortable 45acp gun to shoot that was not a steel gun.  I find the Glock 21 to be too bulky especially for my female students.   The factory gun magazines for my Glocks are less expensive than  Sig Factory magazines, but I have never had to replace anything on my Sigs other the springs.   Wolff Gun springs work very well in all of my rifle and pistols and I have stockpiles of them so that if I notice any slowness in cycling, I can just swap them out.   Rotating your gun magazines is a good way of making sure you don’t wear out the same magazine, because it’s a pain in the neck when you are trying to determine if the magazine is bad or if a shooter is limp wristing a firearm during a training session.

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Valley Forge Gun Show in PA, finding gun parts

It has been  year since I got out to the Valley Forge Gun Show here in Pennsylvania.  It is probable the 3rd largest gun show after the Pittsburgh NRA Convention, and the Harrisburg Farm Complex.   There are some pretty big fluctuations from year to year.   Two Years ago there was a run on ammunition and firearms because Obama was elected.   Then move forward 2 years and there are a lot of good deals on used firearms because all of the people that lost their jobs are looking to get there money back.   I predicted that and I also predicted that there would be a reset on ammunition prices.

This weekend I went to the show to price gun magazines, ammunition, rifle accessories and reloading supplies.   I picked up large primers, small primers, pistol primers and rifle primers just because I could.   That was another thing that just flat out disappeared.   Primers seem to be under $30 now and that’s not too bad.  I next went to the pistol and rifle magazine section and picked up Glock 19 magazines.  I saw piles of Wilson Combat magazines, but I never noticed any shortages on those magazines, EVER. I noticed the Korean Glock 19 magazines looked well made, and they were only $10 each, but I didn’t want to take the chance since I knew nothing about their reputations.

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Does a small semi-auto CCW gun mean more fragile?

It sure use to mean that, but pocket guns have come a long way.   Defensive ammo has gone a long way in recent years and the 38 special ammo your grandfather used in Law Enforcement is not the 38 Special you have today.    I did some chrono tests with a Smith & Wesson Model 19 and the  feet per second velocity between that and j-frame Model 637 was dramatic.   I was breaking 1000ft per second with the j-frame and it really literally blew me away.   I always thought that having a 4 inch barrel on a gun meant that it was shooting a load faster, but not the case with these two guns.

A friend of mine told me that everything he thought he knew about ballistics was thrown out the door when he got his first Chronograph and I agree.   I also though that because a gun fit in my pocket that it had to be weaker.  I am still trying to unlearn what I had learned with pocket guns, but another buddy of mine did some ballistic tests where he proved that his 32acp penetrated ballistic gelatin as well as a 38 special.   While there is definitely some variations in results from firearms, the ammo you put in your Kahr PM9 and the 6rd or 7rd Kahr magazines that you are using, may be far more potent than you realize.   The Kahr firearms are probable one of the most durable small guns out there and they have had several improvements over the years that put them above their competitors.

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Some words about Promag

I’m old enough to remember how much of a nightmare it was to find “standard’ capacity magazines for handguns in the late 1900s when the impact of the AWB was in full affect.   I use to buy semi-auto handguns based on how much the magazines cost and ended up sticking with 1911 handguns and Berettta 92FS firearms.   The Beretta 92FS is still a favorite 9mm of mine, but I have other guns that I prefer for myself.   While I was using my Beretta as a standard CCW gun, I only had 3 standard capacity magazines for it and one of my friends who was moving and getting married was selling his, I only ended up buying his gun magazines off of him.

I have had several Promag magazines from AR15 to 1911s and Beretta 92.   I would say that they are all manufactured from different times and quality varies, but the reliability has been fairly good.  I would not consider them for primary carry, but they are good range magazines.  I have a few friends that use them as primaries, but I would do thorough testing with them and consider having to use a pair of pliers if you have any issues.  I have had very good results from the Promag gun magazines that are made for the Mini 14 and Mini 30.   The 5rd magazines that Ruger ships their guns with are flush fitting and in many States the 20rd and 30rd are illegal, but the 10rd magazines make the Mini 14 a better defensive weapon in these States.  There aren’t very many other options for anything other than 5rd Ruger magazines.

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The Sig 220 vs the 1911 enthusiast

There has been much debate about the 45acp use in handguns.   With the number of shootings I have seen where 9mm bullets were used, I’d have to say that the 9mm is definitely not a powerful round, but I have heard of bad guys taking multiple hits from an M4 that kept on coming, so there are many things that can come into play.   The 1911 has remained a popular gun and not because it is the most reliable weapon in 45acp.   I have come to the conclusion that the modern polymer guns are superior to metal guns as far as durability and reliability, but many of them do have crappy triggers.

When the Springfield XD first came out, it was a big deal for 1911 guys to find something that wasn’t a DA/SA handgun and didn’t have a sponge trigger like Glocks do.  You can get a lot of improvement in reliability with a 1911 with good gun magazines like Wilson Combat or Chip McCormick.  I have respect for Glocks, but they do have an odd feel to them and are not traditional.  The XD 45acp felt more natural to a 1911 enthusiast and brought them into the modern world.   The 1911 still has one of the best triggers, but it is not in the same category as some of the guns being made in 45acp these days.   I have several Sig 220 that have been extremely reliable, but Glock has an edge over them as far as endurace.

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.380 guns be realistic about what you are carrying

I think this past year may have been the year of the .380 pistol.   I don’t know exactly why everyone went with the .380 this year, but it was popular and considering the run on the ammunition and it’s lack of availability,  I think I should have purchased some stock in .380 and not just gold.   I recently attended a Taurus firearm event where the TCP .380 was being shown.   When I think of .380 guns I believe that up until this year, I could only think of the Sig Sauer 230 and the Sig 232 and the Walther PPK.  I have enough friends that like the look of the PPK but were not a fan of the gun due to the hammer bite.   If you have big hands that gun is most likely not for you.

The TCP was a little finicky about the ammo it ate, but I have shot several of the Rohrbaugh R9 pistols and they were also very picky about the ammo they ate.   When  you get down to those small semi-auto guns, you better put the range time in to know the limitations of the guns.   You won’t get a pocket pistol that will run for hundreds of rounds without needing to change springs or be lubricated.   Rotating your gun magazines is a must for smaller semi-autos. The .380 is also a very mild round and I witnessed first hand the lack of energy it had when shooting steel plates.  I watched a recent video where I heard 4 shots fired, one miss, 3 hits and the metal plate only fell one time.  Be realistic about the guns you are carrying and and why.

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IWB carry for a 1911

I have always thought that carrying a full size auto meant carrying the gun in a paddle holster or a shoulder holster, but that like many other conclusions has changed.   I have never been afraid to just carrying one firearm and not have to worry about carrying backup magazines although I’m not going to tell you that  you need to do the same.  With the prevalence of people carrying cell phones on their belts, you do have to be careful about where you are placing  your spare gun magazines.   There have been times where I have noticed that certain types of shirts and sweatshirts and even some jackets will ride up too high on my waist when I am trying to retrieve my cell phone.

If I am going to an environment where deep concealed carry methods need to be employed,  sometimes we may have to stick to just one gun and avoid carrying spare magazines on the waist.   I have thrown spare magazines for my Colt 1911 in a pocket, usually my Wilson Combat magazines but I have found all too many times that my 5.11, Woolrich Elite or Eotac pants will eventually work a bullet out of the gun magazine and that’s not a good thing.   I think the only other deep cover option I would consider would be a ankle holster that could carry spare magazines for an auto.   The good thing about the 1911 design is it’s slick thin design.

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NAA Guardian, pocket gun options

Many of my shooting buddies have been CCW for 1-2 decades longer than I have.    I have watched the evolution of weapons they have carried over the years and they have all ended up carrying guns and calibers that I would never have wanted to carry before.   In my opinion it was always about how much damage the bullet could do, followed by reliability, and finally durability.   I was always turned off by some of the pocket semi-autos that I cam across because the recoil tended to be pretty nasty.   I am not afraid of shooting 50 BMG rifles, but I don’t like shooting too much recoil in a handgun.   I know an individual that actually has developed nerve damage from shooting too many heavy handguns and if it hurts after I shoot it, I don’t want to carry it as a CCW gun.

My first adventure into CCW was with a friend that had 20yrs more experience than I did.   He showed me he had evolved to the NAA guardian .380 pistol and that in his opinion, it was the only gun he could carry at work with any level of comfort.  My only issue with some pocket guns is that they are so small that I can’t feel them, and I like to know I can feel the gun on me at all times.   The real issue I have noticed with NAA Guardians is that you have to really pay attention to the round counts you have put through your gun and how many you put through your NAA Guardian gun magazines and rotate out the springs before you have any issues.   The NAA Guardian is strictly a CCW gun and will handle some of the hotter loads for the .380 compared to some of the Kel-Tec counterparts.   I was fortunate enough to test out some of the Rohrbaugh R9 pistols next to the NAA Guardian and the only thing the R9 had over the NAA Guardian was the trigger pull.

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Reliability of the 1911 GI or MilSpec guns

My first 1911 was a Colt 1991A1 that I picked up for $375 for a gun shop.   The gun was hardly used and I don’t believe it was ever shot.  Every 1911 that I own has been had for under $400.   I have had maintenance issues with my Colt 1991A1, but I believe the gun has well over 10,000 rounds through it and I’ve made a few customizations to improve it.   I miss my gunsmith, but he did mess up something on the gun when I took it to him to have the feed ramp polished.  When he was polishing the feed ramp he hit the slide stop and put a niche in it that I noticed immediately after test firing that the gun would not lock back.   He found the mistake was his and fixed it, but I thought that it was a good time to replace the slide stop with an extended one.   When I put Hogue gun grips on Colt, it made the grips a little fatter and it was a little difficult to hit the slide release with my thumb.

I messed around with polishing the feed ramp and using Wilson Combat magazines and noticed a good improvement in feeding SWC and HP ammo, but I was still not happy with it not running flawlessly.   At this point, I don’t care, I’ve seen enough junks of wood fly out of the back of backstops to notice the difference between a 45acp and 9mm ball ammo to know that one type of ball ammo is better than the other.   I would never use 9mm ball in a defensive situation, but a 45acp is fine by my book.   I have also noticed absolutely no difference between Wilson Combat magazines that are 7rd vs 8rd.   I have done the 8 +1 in the chamber on several occasions and never noticed any reliability issues as long as the gun wasn’t stored like this for very long.   Even though I believe manual safeties aren’t the best type of device to have on a CCW gun, I think 8rds of 45acp ball ammo in a GI 1911 is not a negative.

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