1911 advice

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ogmudbone

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howdy y'all, noob here. i have a Kimber custom classic 1911 full size(govt) model and bought a chip McCormick mag for my pistol. the first one i bought works flawlessly. the second i bought a week ago and i must depress the mag release button in order to insert the mag in the frame...is this common or did i purchase the wrong mag for my gun. does Kimber require a particular mag to work proper in the mag well?

thank you for all advice in this matter.


OG
 
Look at the top edge of the mag where it is striking the edge of the mag catch when you insert it. There should be a shiny spot. Very gently round that sharp edge down with sandpaper and polish it. (it will probably take more than OOO steel wool, try 320 grit sandpaper)) If it is still resistant to insertion you're going to have to remove the mag catch itself and radius and polish it leading edge. Take only a little bit off and recheck. If all of the edge on the top of the mag is rough I would radius and polish all the way around including the underside of the feed lips where the cartridge slides when it comes out of the mag. Just enough to remove that rough stamping. Cartridges should slide out smoothly with no scratches on them.
 
thank you for the advice...im not quite sure what part of the mag that is...this is the first auto loader i have ever had. i will however figure it out.. again thank you all for the advice and i shall put it to practice asap.
 
Thank you all for your advice....I have the original Kimber mag and 2 Chip McCormick mags. 1 of the chip mags I bought with the gun almost 5 years ago, it works flawlessly and in fact requires very little effort to insert in the frame. The second Chip mag I bought a week or so ago and after following your advice I am able to insert it with a slight slap on the bottom. Before I polished it up it would not go in at all without depressing the mag release button. I do not know how to remove the mag release to polish that, I intend to get the AGI videos on the 1911 and remedy this problem. I have much better light here at the house than the gun shop had and noticed something about the mags and why they did not insert properly. The shape of the top of the mag where the shells insert into the mag itself is actually slightly different on the early/late model McCormick mags. The older mag has very much more pronounced bends in the lips on the mag and they are also a bit longer than on the new mags. I also noticed that the follower is slightly different as well. You must have good lighting and really look close to see the small differences, but they are big enough to cause the hassles I'm experiencing. Once I learn to take out the mag release button and polish that, I'm sure that will eliminate future hassles. That and now I know what to look for in the construction of the mag shape that my particular weapon likes. Thank you all again for your help in this issue, and thank you for the advice on the 320 grit sand paper, it worked like a charm.


OG
 
I have the original Kimber mag and 2 Chip McCormick mags. 1 of the chip mags I bought with the gun almost 5 years ago, it works flawlessly and in fact requires very little effort to insert in the frame. The second Chip mag I bought a week or so ago
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I think this might have been your problem from the get-go. New aftermarket (and some factory) mags sometimes take a little use to break-in. Having to "tap-in" a new mag is not unusual. You did no harm with the sandpaper, but in the future don't worry about it, and especially if you get a different brand magazine.

I also noticed that the follower is slightly different as well.
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Don't worry about that. With a fully loaded magazine, what the follower type is does not matter in the slightest at first - the gun never "sees" the follower as a functional element until the last round - then the gun will respond to how well the follower positions (and retains) the last round for loading, and then how well it locks back the slide after that round is ejected. Round followers, flat followers, dimpled, non-dimpled, skirted, unskirted, all follower styles can work perfectly in a properly design system/gun. And that word "system" is important. The entire gun is a system, and changing one thing hear and there alters it. In my experience the shape/strength of the tube body and the strength/health of the spring matter more than tiny differences in the follower.

Now here's (yet another WA local's) a great amatuer analysis of magazine construction. Don't take it as complete gospel in all respects, but it's a dang fine tutorial and amateur analysis:

http://how-i-did-it.org/magazines/

Welcome to the forum, 1911-style guns, and you will find the shooting community in WA quite supportive.
 
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well i guess that explains why my gun like a certain shape of the feed lips. i know all things have a certain way of operating. and they all have things they do and don't like. i have ball ammo and some hollow points to go and shoot at the range ....i may have to get some different mags for the different ammo.

thanks for posting the articles on the mag construction and operation.


OG
:)
 
get a very small flat blade screwdriver and depress the mag release partially until the screw will turn about 1/4 turn. it will be retained in a recess for removal. reverse for installation.

gunnie
 
get a very small flat blade screwdriver and depress the mag release partially until the screw will turn about 1/4 turn. it will be retained in a recess for removal. reverse for installation.
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For some reason I fail to understand, Kimber elected to make the screw a hex head instead of flat, so you'll need a tiny little allen wrench instead of a screwdriver or sear spring.
 
Hey thanks for the tip on the mag release. My Kimber was made in 1997 and it uses the flat head screw. Very small at that. Need a jewelers screw driver for it me thinks. Thank you for educating me on the removal/installation of that. I will polish that up tomorrow. Will the 320 grit work on that as well or should I use a different grit?


OG
 
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