All posts tagged 1911 Magazines

Chip McCormick Magazines, flush fit or extended base plates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are plenty of new things I’ve learned just by watching the guys that are running IDPA or even 3 gun matches.   Some of the things they train and practice with are things people should consider getting into their CCW platforms.   When you are carrying a firearm for protection, one of the first things  you need to know to defense yourself is situational awareness, the next thing is having the ability to get your gun out quick.  While that’s a whole other discussion, the other thing to think about is being able to quickly reload.  If you have to fumble around with grabbing the Chip McCormick Magazines with flush fitting base plates before you even think about inserting it into the firearm for a mag change, then think about getting magazines with extended base plates.

Some magazine base plates can be too long for CCW, but there is a balance you should consider.  If competition shooters like extended base plates for faster scores, maybe you should consider slightly extended base plates.   Some of the Chip McCormick magazines are available with extended pads which make grabbing magazines, both inserting and removing much faster.   Sure you can just let a magazine drop free, but you can remove magazines faster than gravity if you practice.

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European firearms and trying to find replacement magazines

promag magazinesWe recently heard about a change in several of our Factory magazines, from Glock to Walther, there have been changes to the material and designs.  Some of our customers may not notice the difference, and in all honesty, sometimes we can’t tell the differences but they are there.  Some of the Beretta Factory magazines have gone up a few rounds with their stand capacity magazines.    I’m not sure of all of the changes that are taking place, we usually find out from our customers when they are the first to find out or someone asks for the new version of a mag.  Recently we’ve been getting  a lot of calls about Walther and CZ magzines and if there are any alternative manufacturers.

We’ve sold a good bit of Walther P99 magazines and recently we have moved several Promag Magazines for the CZ.   Today I had to do some research for a customer on Promag Magazines and find out if a CZ 75 PCR would run the  CZ75 magazines and Promag couldn’t give me a definite answer since they didn’t have the technical info on the gun, this seems to be the story every week around here because there is always some new variant of a firearm and nobody knows what “other” magazines will work with it or what holster they should by.   See previous blog posts about researching firearms and their ability to be accessorized or the availability before you buy.

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Ranger plates on gun magazines? Yep, that’s why base platers matter

Wilson Combat Magazines

Wilson Combat Magazines

I’ve been around the gun community for so long that there are certain things that just start to click, and then  you feel like you’ve arrived.   I didn’t understand why people were so particular about 1911 magazines and all of the various pads and plate lengths.   We’ve been selling AR15 parts and accessories for more than 7yrs and and I never felt the need for putting ranger plates on my pmags or GI magazines until I started shooting competition events.  Just those fractions of a second difference and primarily, the ability to securely grip or clear an empty magazine was improved if you had an extended base plate.  Sometimes magazines don’t drop free because of the shooting angles you are on and this seems to be very common with some 1911s.

I have stuck with Wilson mags for my Colt and Springfield Armory guns and haven’t looked back.   Some people like the 7rd magazines but I have never had an issue with any of my Wilson Combat magazines in 8rd, especially the ETM magazines.  The Black Elite Tactical magazines seem to be the hardest one for us to keep i n stock because our distributors don’t seem to get very many of them.   There are design improvements that are primarily geared to the competition shooter. The National IDPA event ususally gets a lot of Wilson Combat supporters and I was fortunate enough to attend some of those.   45acp is a great round for shooting steel and if you need a good magazine for your 1911, stick with the best.

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What the difference between the Wilson Combat 47D and the ETM magazines? Why switch?

Wilson Combat Magazines

Wilson Combat Magazines

The first thing I said to myself when we started carrying the ETM magazines was “why would I bother” and then I looked up the info and reviews about them and found  out that it was really all about competition shooting more than it was about another reliable 1911  magazine.   The Wilson combat magazines are the most expensive magazines that we sell for the 1911 but in the 16yrs I’ve been using them, I have had a very long and good experience in using them.   I have seen people crack them but I have never had that happen, over time and magazine is going to wear out and even the Magpul pmags I have in my inventory have shown some cracks after about 8yrs.   The best thing about the Wilson magazines for the 1911 are that the followers are very well balanced.  They move up and down without tilting which makes a very big difference when feeding FMJ into the throat of a 1911 handgun.

Rotating your magazine in your inventory is very important if you want to keep on top of your reliability.  For people that are  shooting thousands of rounds of ammunition through their guns each year, knowing when  you need to change out the springs on  your Wilson Combat magazines before they start to fail is really a good policy.   I have a few other parts on my Colt 1991A1 that could use some checkups on but I’ll probable take it to a gunsmith to replace hammer springs ect.  I have not run hollow point ammunition through my 1911s in a long time, but to prevent over penetration I probable should do some research into getting some of the

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Warranties on gun magazines?

chip mccormick magazines I have had 1911s around for years and the 45acp is probable one of the top 3 calibers that I reload.   There are lots of things you can do with various bullets.  I’ve seen people load bullets in 1911s and they ran like champs, other 1911s had issues with hollow points or semi-wad cutters.   There are always thing you can tweak on a 1911 to make it more modern, and in fact,there are 1911s out there now that really aren’t like the 1911s that the Government had but they are very fun to shoot.   There is something about the balance and grip feel on the 1911 that is so natural unless you have small hands.

I started out with GI magazines for my 1911 and quickly found out how inferior they were.   I have mostly used Wilson Combat Magazines but recently for financial reasons, I guess it was time to test out Chip McCormick magazines and see how well they fared.   We did have an issue with 2 magazines in the last 5 years where the base plates fell off the mags, but Chip McCormick does have a 3 year warranty on their magazines.  I don’t understand any company that wants to stay in the shooting business that doesn’t back their products up with decent warranties.   Based strictly on customer purchases, I don’t see why anyone should consider deviating from the things that work.

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Magazines, ranger plates and magazine grip extensions

chip mccormick magazines I never really bothered with magazine extensions on my CCW guns because I’ve mostly learned to stick with the standard capacity magazines instead of trying to turn the gun into something that it was never meant to be.  For instance the Sig 239 is a great CCW gun and although you can put a 10rd magazine in there, the profile of the gun is going to change and depending on the clothing that you are wearing,  you may have just created a snagging location or a hang up on your shirt.   Sometimes moving around a little with your CCW method will give you an idea of how your clothing may bunch up or scrunch up in certain areas around your gear.  The Material of various shirts makes a huge difference and even though it light flow straight down over your gun, high winds can cause embarrassing situations with even the smallest CCW gun.

I never witness there being a difference in 1911 reliability between 7rd and 8rd pistol magazines but I’ve always felt the magazine durability has improved enough to get 8rds out there.  I have noticed some gun magazines have increased their capacity but the Chip McCormick magazines that I use are the Power Mags and they have a slight magazines extension that helps with faster reloading.  All of my 1911s drop these mags without any snags which is something my Colt factory magazines do not.  Drop free magazines are important because that is one step that can slow down a reload of the firearm.

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Still seeing the 1911 being used in Law Enforcement

chip mccormick magazines Today we had a police officer mention firearm retention during arrests and why the Blackhawk Serpa holster was his preferred gun holster.   Another Officer mentioned that he still used a 1911 because he liked the idea that if someone was unfamiliar with this firearm that even if they got it in a struggle they might not be able to shoot it.   There are always different scenarios that you can run with, with each tactical or mechanical device and you use.  Training and gaining muscle memory is something that is hard to change and it’s very hard to jump back and forth with firearms and be proficient.   I suggest consistency is more important and will make you less prone to making errors.

There are reasons I love the 1911 and reasons I don’t use it as a primary sidearm but if I did carry it, I would probable have to put in more range time to remember to disengage the safety every time.  If you are looking for reliable and consistent 1911 magazines for under $30 the best one I use is the  8rd Chip McCormick magazines called the Power Mag.  I have never seen a reason to  not use 8rd magazines although I think the 1911 looses it’s balance with 10rd magazines.   The 10rd Power Mags are very popular for competition shooting so again, it’s also about training and adjusting to the firearm or device.

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Wilson Combat Magazines vs everyone else

I’ve mentioned many times in my blog posts that my first handgun was actually a Colt 1991A1 and I got a screaming hot deal on it.  $375 out the door for as far as I know an unfired firearm that was brand spanking new.   My first experiences with it were like many, it did not run out of the  box and I had to do some minor tweaks to my approach for carrying this firearm, what type of ammunition to use and what type of magazines.  I only had 1 magazine with it when I got it and it did not last more than a couple reloads before the magazine lips started to bend and the gun would close on an empty chamber, the problem was that I was using USGI magazines that are in all practicality, throw away magazines.

There are many new fancy 1911s out there Kimber is what I consider fancy as well as Les Bauer.  I have seen plenty of feeding problems for people that did not use Wilson Combat Magazines and eventually they figure it out and go to an online discussion forum and find out what works best. We recently noticed that some companies have upgraded their standard magazine capacities have learned the technology to do that, I have not found any truth that the Wilson Combat 8rd magazines were less reliable than the 7rd magazines.  I think an 8rd 45acp is the best option since 10+ rounds of 45acp tends to make the guns too heavy.

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What is our best selling, least complained about 1911 magazine?

The best selling 1911 magazine is hands down the Wilson Combat 1911 magazines.   We couldn’t narrow it down to just one magazine because there are several different types of magazine bases that competition shooters  might want something that a CCW owner doesn’t want or need.  The Wilson 47D is our most popular 8rd 1911 magazine and the #47 is the most popular 7rd, but the Elite Tactical Magazines have gained ground for the competition shooters.   The ETM magazines have a number base plate and the windows are in a different cut than the tradition Wilson magazines.   They are higher priced than the Chip McCormick Magazines which come in as a close 2nd as far as sales.

The thing that many 1911 firearms seem to have trouble with are the magazine follower/hold open tabs.  Many of the GI magazines wear and bend but the one piece Wilson Combat Magazines have a more reliable balance and catch that holds the firearm open when the last round has been fired.  I personally don’t have an issue carrying 45acp ball ammo because when I carry that gun it’s usually when I’m up in the mountains and more likely going to have to use it against and animal than in a highly populated area where over penetration might be an issue.   I have heard rumors that 8rd magazines are not as reliable as the 7rd magazines but I have never witnessed that.

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When you are putting hardball ammo downrange with a 45acp

It better be a 1911 if you ask me.  I have several handguns in my collection but I am really bored with most modern 45acp guns because they are too bulky or just to darn heavy for my tastes.  I’m also not a big fan of short barreled guns or compact 1911s.   They are too much maintenance and the slower cycle action seems to make them more prone to having malfunctions.  If you have to ask me what the next best 45acp handgun is, I’d probable have to say the Sig 220 which is also another single stack gun.   Many 45acp guns like the Springfield XD and Glock 21 are too much bulk for my taste and having to hold that up for any extended period of time will make me want a single stack gun.

Many guns issuing warrants or doing house clearing in Iraq and Afghanistan are using the 1911.   When we get feed back from  our customers it’s almost always Wilson Combat or Chip McCormick magazines that they are using.  Both magazines have a long history of working well in the 1911 and both can be had for under $35 dollars.  I rarely use the 7rd magazines because that extra 8rd magazine barely extends out of my guns and the not quite flush fit doesn’t bother me at all.  Having 8rds of 45acp is something that will get the job done if you look at the stats on which caliber gets the job done, magazine capacity is rarely an issue for police or self defense shootings.

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