How many mags do i need for a handgun?
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.
It’s very rare these days that I work as a firearms instructor but I still work with a lot of people that are just getting into carrying firearms for the first time. I must admit that I made a lot of the novice mistakes in buying holsters and accessories when i first started carrying, and sometimes its nice to give first hand accounts of what NOT to do. I’ve seen a lot of people pick up a good quality handgun and then completely ruin the firearms reputation by using 3rd rate pistol magazines that jammed the gun up. The 2nd most common thing I see are people shooting with cheap ammo. I don’t get the whole Wolf handgun ammo thing. I own and shoot many Com-block rifles and the Wolf ammo works flawlessly, but I have never had good experiences with their handgun ammo.
I’ve got my credentials from the NRA to teach students, but it wasn’t for any financial gain or to be a full time teacher. The real reason I got into training was because of all of the bad instruction I’ve witnessed from untrained teachers. I’ve seen guys show up with their girlfriends and basicall load up a handgun to full capacity and begin their first experiences on the firing line by telling them to “rack the slide”. I believe I’ve seen that type of firearm instruction one too many times, and I believe i’ve seen it atleast 3 times. The female has her finger on the trigger while she fearfully tries to pull back on the slide and sometimes instantly jams the gun. The first time I saw this happen there were shooters on a firing line on both sides and I just stood there shaking my head. Not only are we going to see an accident about to happen, but this girls first experience wasn’t going to be a good one. I know now to be more assertive and speak up when I see stuff like that, but luckily there were no major mishaps.
Finding magazines that work in your 1911 shouldn’t be a project. If you have been using the best magazines on the market, you are down to probable only 2 or 3 manufacturers. The 1911 pistol design is a very durable design, but part of the problem we see in the gun is it can take a toll on the magazine slide stop tab and some manufacturers have remedied that. Wilson Combat and McCormick are two that we see. Chip McCormick has known the competative shooting sport and knew since his companies inception that the guns were great, but the magazines on the market were all based on the chinsy, slimsy throw away design the military used.
Modern firearms are pretty much superior to everything that was designed a generation ago. Some people get stuck in the past and might think that a P51 Mustang is equal to an F117 Stealth fighter and then everyone just smiles at grandpa and listens to his stories. Manufacturing has become superior to what it was 20yrs ago in many ways, but the rifles and handguns of WWII just don’t hold up to what is getting kicked out in Modern Military terms.
1 was a Colt 1991A1 and It came with 2 Colt 7rd magazines. I shot about about 500rds through it and I had an occasional malfunction. The problem I kept having was the slide would close on an empty chamber. I did some reading and found that it was most likely the magazine slide stop tab was bending and wasn’t full engaging the slide stop. A pair of needle nose plyers fixed that for a few hundred rounds more then the problem came back. I found out about 
The 1911 Pistol is one of the most popular competition pistols in the shooting industry and on the firing range. Not only is it about nostalgia, but the 1911 is one of the most tweakable and customizable handguns you can own. Shooting a 45acp is not always the easiers, but you will have more fun reloading 45acp than any other caliber if you are a target shooter.
Promag and Mec-Gar make decent magazines, I wouldn’t suggest them as primary magazines, but factory new magazines can be pricey. I would suggest regardless of which number of magazines you are normally carrying, keep 3 or 4 range mags for each handgun you own.
There are several well known secondary rifle and pistol magazines, but Factory magazines are usually the best to obtain. Factory magazines are made by the companies that manufactur the firearms and that’s usually where you’ll get the best magazines. There are exceptions to the rule with rifles. Magpul isn’t making firearms, but they do one heck of a job of making a reliable and durable rifle magazine. Sturm Ruger is the largest firearm manfacturer in the United States. They make more guns and sell more guns than anybody else.
Promag magazines have gone through the decades being one of the top end of the replacement or after marketa magazines and they are still holding up. Pistol reliability has drastically increased over the last 15yrs and so has the machining and manufacturer of rifle and pistol magazines. Whether you have a Keltec P32 or a Mini 14, you can find Promag magazines at a reasonable price and use them for primary or secondary uses. During the assautl weapons ban of 1994 until the sunset of the ban, 
We’ve all heard about how the 1911 isn’t as reliable as a Glock, but firearm reliability has increased for just about every semi-auto that is in production these days. Guns that were made 50-80yrs ago are manufactured better, magazines have become more reliable and ammunition is far more reliable now than it was even 30yrs ago. When using a semi-auto, we have to think about the purpose for it and what we think we need in a certain situation. I love the people that think they are going to fight off 50 bad guys with there Glock, but the reality is that if you think you are going into that bad of a situation, bring a rifle.