All posts tagged 1911 Magazines

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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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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Wilson Combat range tests

This past weekend I got to take my 1911 collection to the range along with a friend and family member that all brought their 1911 handguns.    The real test I wanted to conduct is to see which magazines would all fall free from the guns when the magazine release was pressed and how reliable the guns were.    It still amazes me that the number of people with AR15 rifle or 1911 handguns that are not using the best on the market with their guns, even though they carry them or use them for self defense.   I have strongly felt that Magpul P-mags should replace every GI magazine in your inventory and I’m waiting to see if anyone comes out with handgun magazines as durable.   I believe it is coming.

Wilson Combat magazines have been my favorite every since my first and only bad reliability range day with my Colt 1991A1.    The second range trip with my Colt wasn’t very good because I had the same issue with the gun closing on an empty chamber.  In a defensive situation, this is as bad as the gun stove piping.  You will still have to manually cycle the gun to load it and you will even have to change the magazine out.   Get Wilson Combat magazines and avoid the problem and toss your USGI magazines or move them to plinking malfunction drill range trips.    Chip McCormick magazines are a close second place for me, but Wilson Combat has a good selection of gun accessories for your 1911 if you want to take a look.

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Speed loaders and training courses

I was fortunate to attend a sniper competition a few years ago where I must have learned more about combat than every before.   About 40 students were attending this training competition even and given the rules for attending the match.   Everyone was told to arrive with unloaded firearms, but to keep all of their gear in the cars and attend a safety briefing.    Well, one of the  best events for this competition/training even occurred in the first 30 seconds after the safety briefing.   Everyone was asked if they understood all of the safety rules and when everyone said yes, it began.    The Instructor explained the first stage of the shooting event.   Everyone was told to grab their gear from their car and immediately return to the firing line, unload the gear and engage the targets.   The attendees gave us a big smile while the students/competitors did an “Oh, Shit!”

I sat and watched every student run back to their car which was about 15-30yds behind the firing line, I noticed varying types of rifle cases and rifle bags, some shooters showed up with loaded magazines and others had to manually load the guns, as soon as they were ready to shoot, they engaged the targets.   I believe they had 6 minutes to take down all of the targets from 100-200yds.   The variations in time to engage the enemy targets varied by several minutes.   Anyone that had a M4 Carbine or 30rd magazine that didn’t have loaded gun magazines or didn’t have a speed loader, was the last to engage the targets.   I saw only 2 people out of 40 engage the targets in the first 5 minutes.   Maglula speed loaders are must for anyone serious about using a carbine for self defense, unless  you have the military style loaders.

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Gunsmithing and 1911 reliability

My first 1911 was a Seriea 80 which has a firing pin plunger, but in my opinion that was a good thing to add to the design and IMHO does not take away from the novelty of the firearm.   I have heard from so many of my friends that Kimber makes the best 1911s, but I still have yet to understand why I should bother spending over $1000 on  a firearm when I already own two 1911 handguns that cost me less than $400 each.   Springfield Armory GI models are very well made and I have had zero reliablilty issues with my guns.   I have to admit that I am not one to push the limits on the types of ammo that my guns eat and I think that may be the real reason I don’t have issues with them.

When I first carried for work, I carried a Colt 1991A1 and used hollow points, but I  had an awful lot of malfunctions with the 2nd round.   Not that often, but maybe about 1 out of 75 rounds might not seat all the way and I would have a stoppage.   I was told to polish the feed ramp and I did, and the gun did run more reliabile, but then I did have maybe 1 out of 300rds jam  on me.   I took a good look at ballistics charts and realized that a 45acp FMJ does enough damage and worrying about bullet expansion with such a large caliber was kinda pointless.   I wouldn’t get too caught up in doing too many tricks to get your 1911 to run reliable.   Find the ammo that really does work, in my case, FMJ and try sticking with Wilson combat magazines or Chip McCormick.  I mostly use 8rd mags and although there are some that claim that these are not as reliable as 7rd magazines, I have had zero issues.   One thing I do not do any longer is one up the magazines.  There seems to be some magazines seating issues if I force an 8rd magazine in the guns with 1 round in the chamber.

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Rotate your ammo and rotate your mags

There are various stages of CCW experience, those that have made the mistakes, those that have witnessed the mistakes and those that are doomed to see both.  Although a gun owner may be observing all of the firearm safetey rules there are still many things to keep in consideration when CCW a firearm.   Even though a gun hasn’t been fired, if it is being carried it will fill up lint or the gun can become dry.  I have carried guns through out the summer months and found out that I’ve rusted out screws or pitted firearms.  Clean your CCW guns for reliability sake, but also for protection.

It is extremely important for you to rotate your carry ammo.  Many reloaders know the importance of having the proper bullet crimp to prevent bullet setback, but this is something that is inevitable going to occur if you keep closing the slide on the same bullet.  Even if you are not shooting up your ammo, rotate the ammo in your gun magazines to make sure you are not slamming the same first round.  Defensive ammo can be expensive and I realize that you aren’t going to want to shoot it all up after a couple times of cleaning  your ammo.  If you rotate just an 8rd magazine full of defensive ammo, you should be able to dissassemble and clean the gun safetly about 24 times with the same magazine.

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Are Promags magazines any good?

Here’s the really short answer to that, that are good and they are better than they were a decade ago.  For those that went through the horror of having to deal with the 1990s and the BS from the assault weapons ban, many of us had to scrounge around looking for pistol magazines that cost 1/4 of what factory gun magazines cost.   I would normally say that you should really stick with the factory magazines that you have for your firearm, but MecGar and Promag do make decent magazines and they are considered in he B+ category.   I would say that the cost of these mags vs factory magazines insn’t significant, but you can get them for a reasonable price.

My Beretta 92FS is probable the most tested out gun I own that has used non-factory magazines.  I even have some no name magazines that hold 18rds each, but I to this date have no idea who made them and they have been extremely reliable.   I had a pistol course a few years ago in New Jersey where I had to leave all of my 15rd + magazines at home and only bring 10rd magazines with me, Promag Magazines ran the course and although I was shooting ball ammo, I had zero malfunctions out of over 300rds fired.   I never got around to testing them out with defensive ammo, but I highly suggest you test magazines with the ammo before you get into your comfort zone.

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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.

 

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Wilson combat 1911 gun parts

Everyone that I know that owns a 1911 made some kind of upgrade or customization.   I personally think that, that is the norm and it’s good to suggest to gun buyers that you should expect to customize the gun, especially when it comes to gun grips.   There are a lot of things you can do to improve upon the GI 1911 gun that the military used.   The first thing that I always recommend is getting the sights replaced with your own preferences.   I personally love the way that Glock sights give a good sight picture and I have had very good experiences with training with my Glocks, but I still love my 1911s.   Beavertail can be dropped in and you won’t have to worry about gun smithing, 99% of the time.   The Wilson Combat Skeleton hammer and thumb safeties are also things to think about upgrading to.

An issue I have had with my big hands is that whenever I put on my preferred gun grips which are Hogue fingerless grips I sometimes it can become difficult to sweep the gun safeties or hit the slide release.  I found this out the hard way with a 1911 and had to put in an extended slide release.    You learn from experience but be aware that replacing any part of the gun may mean making another adjustment somewhere else.   Wilson Combat magazines are very reliable and lightweight and drop from all of my guns when the magazine release is hit.   Not all magazines drop freely and this is something to pay attention to whenever you are testing out your CCW or defensive gear.

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