D.B. Cooper
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- Joined
- Oct 2, 2016
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- 4,400
So. Which brand of aftermarket magazines work best in the 1911? (Specifically, for a USGI 1911A1 from cmp.)
(Grabs popcorn to watch the melee that's about to begin.)
Yes, it is a contentious topic as there are currently about two dozen builders of 1911's, and they aren't all the same, and there are bunches of 1911 mag makers and they aren't all the same. Not all combinations work well together. You really need to find what "your" 1911 likes, and then buy more.(Grabs popcorn to watch the melee that's about to begin.)
You might have to test a few to see which your particular gun likes. That said, Wilson 47Ds have preformed consistently for me, in the small handful of 1911s I've tried them in.
McCormick also makes great mags (now part of the Wilson family) and like my comments about the Wilson 47D's above, the Shooting Star is at the bottom of the McCormick line-up. The PowerMag and RPM are the top mags in the McCormick line-up.McCormick Shooting Stars have treated me well. I think they're a pretty good value. I've had eight of them long enough that they're on their second set of springs.
Colt hasn't made mags since the 1970's. In the ensuing years, they have contracted mags from a variety of suppliers in a variety of configurations. I believe CheckMate is the current mag supplier to Colt. When you buy a "Colt" mag, in general, you have no idea what you're going to get until it is in your hand, and if you don't know much about 1911 mags, you probably still don't know what you have.D.B. Cooper
I don't know if they would be considered aftermarket but I have never had a problem with factory Colt mags.
Chances are good the Kimber and CMP GI mags are both made by CheckMate who produces many of the current 1911 "factory" mags for a variety of 1911 makers.I've had great results from the Wilson 47D and ETM, CMC (though these also have had the most issues for me), Tripp, Checkmate and Metalform.
The only true garbage mags I've had were two that came with a couple Kimbers I bought, guns run fine with good mags anyway.
But I'd certainly look into some of those GI mags from CMP, I've heard they run well and last I saw them they were pretty cheap
Chances are good the Kimber and CMP GI mags are both made by CheckMate who produces many of the current 1911 "factory" mags for a variety of 1911 makers.
Nothing in the gun world is faked more than genuine, "Colt", or "GI" mags. You may end up with an actual product or some junk from a third world country that will drop the baseplate with the first loading. Buy at your own risk.
Nothing in the gun world is faked more than genuine, "Colt", or "GI" mags. You may end up with an actual product or some junk from a third world country that will drop the baseplate with the first loading. Buy at your own risk.
Does the CMP have GI mags?
I don't do business with ebay-ever. I've been burned/cheated too many times, both as a buyer and as a seller.Nothing in the gun world is faked more than genuine, "Colt", or "GI" mags. You may end up with an actual product or some junk from a third world country that will drop the baseplate with the first loading. Buy at your own risk.
...7-round mags seem to generally be more reliable than 8-rounders...
I was one of few "default" armorers for my unit in the Army (Hard to find medics with gun experience in a medical unit). Whenever we got shipment of new unissued 1911s, boy they were ROUGH and took us an average 20 minutes to hone/polish sharp edges for each weapon to reliably cycle the slides so officers could qualify without jams at the range.Specifically, for a USGI 1911A1 from cmp.
Whenever somebody had 1911 magazine issue at the range (This is after Army), I hand them my Chip McCormick 8 round Power Mags and Presto! Problem solved.So I think I'll just go to Brownell's (cheaper shipping than Midway) and buy one of each of the 3-4 brands named here.