Wilson 47D Magazine Failure

Jeremy2171 · Aug 16, 2013

Sorry for the revival but I just returned 8 mags ...47s and 47Ds for various reasons.

ALL wouldn't reliably lock the slide back...several had feed issues (lip gap) and one when I ejected it lost the base plate into the abyss of grass.

Call to check on it and they said springs and followers aren't covered under warranty and they would be glad to charge me for 8 sets of new ones....I said what about the feed lips?? Oh well I guess we will check that and replace THOSE mags and then charge you for the remaining sets... mags are 2-3 years old...

Waiting to see what they say....

from the website:
"No-Risk Service Policy - If It Breaks from Normal Use, We Replace It!"
we will see...

9mmepiphany · Aug 16, 2013

I thought this would be better as a new thread than reviving one that was a couple of years old.

Here is the original thread

SSN Vet · Aug 16, 2013

I think Tripp has a much better follower than Wilson...

metal where it should be and poly were it should be.

RainDodger · Aug 16, 2013

I don't buy 47Ds anymore. They wouldn't lock the slide back on my Springfield either.

Zaydok Allen · Aug 16, 2013

Had good luck with my ETM's, but they aren't very old.

tarosean · Aug 17, 2013

Mags are consumable products. Toss em and carry on..

mljdeckard · Aug 17, 2013

Never had a problem with mine. I might try some Tripps.

tnxdshooter · Aug 17, 2013

I prefer Chip McCormick power mags over the Wilson and tripp mags.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

ku4hx · Aug 17, 2013

tarosean said:
Mags are consumable products. Toss em and carry on..

+1 If new springs and followers won't rehab them, they're like light bulbs and batteries ... use 'em up; toss 'em out.

9mmepiphany · Aug 17, 2013

tarosean said:
Mags are consumable products. Toss em and carry on..

This has been my experience also. Magazines are like brake pads and turbochargers, their wear is normal, as is their replacement.

Replacing springs is easy and relatively inexpensive. Cracked or expanded feed lips are usually a sign that it is time for replacement.

The only magazines I've ever owned that haven't needed replacement have been for the H&K P7

Jeremy2171 · Aug 17, 2013

Well there are many reports of Wilson replacing mags that are worn out for free. Hence the warranty statement...

I agree..mine are worn out..I'm tossing them back to the manufacturer

HOOfan_1 · Aug 17, 2013

9mmepiphany said:
This has been my experience also. Magazines are like brake pads and turbochargers, their wear is normal, as is their replacement.

Replacing springs is easy and relatively inexpensive. Cracked or expanded feed lips are usually a sign that it is time for replacement.

The only magazines I've ever owned that haven't needed replacement have been for the H&K P7

My dad bought a Llama back in 1968-1972. Between the two of us it has probably seen 20,000+ rounds. We are still using the original 3 magazines and springs, and I've never seen it jam or stovepipe, and it always locks open on an empty mag. For $30+ I would expect the Wilson Combats to work for more than 2 or 3 years and be a little more durable than a $1 light bulb.

LeonCarr · Aug 17, 2013

Back when I was pouring money into 1911s trying to keep them running, the magazines I had the best luck with were the Metalforms. The Wilsons and McCormicks worked good, but both of them either out of the box or short term eventually would not lock the slide open on the last round.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Pablito1 · Aug 18, 2013

I have a Wilson Elite Tactical magazine that is 3 months old. When the next to last round is fired the last round pops out of the mag and lands on top. The slide locks back and the round just lays there loose. No more Wilsons for me.

Regards, Pablito

JDGray · Aug 18, 2013

Tripp follower kits in SA magazines, work awesome for a cheap mag. I had Wilson followers go bad in just a few reloads, not the best design. To be fair, the slide stop on my Kimber was a bit hard to lift due to a microscopic dimple on the plunger face. My Tripp followers and springs had no issues with it however.

Hangingrock · Aug 18, 2013

I replied to subject about the quality of Wilson magazines on this forum a couple years or so ago. Some of the replies I received you would have thought I had taken their Sainted Mothers name in vain. When Wilson changed their design to the ETM I felt vindicated.

Jeremy2171 · Aug 28, 2013

Still no word....may have to give them a whats up call tomorrow....

Fishbed77 · Aug 29, 2013

I prefer Chip McCormick power mags over the Wilson and tripp mags.

I too have been very pleased with the Chip McCormick Power Mags. They have always functioned perfectly for me (and they cost less too!).

Jolly Rogers · Aug 30, 2013

The statement to discard worn out mags is all well and good. However Wilson does not sell inexpensive mags. They get top dollar for their products. Won't drink the koolade...
Joe

ku4hx · Aug 30, 2013

Jolly Rogers said:
The statement to discard worn out mags is all well and good. However Wilson does not sell inexpensive mags. They get top dollar for their products. Won't drink the koolade...
Joe

The only truly "expensive" magazines are those that don't work and can't be fixed in a reasonably short period of time. My time is worth a great deal to me and there comes a point where expending a lot of it on a problematic magazine is no longer worth it.

We all have to decide for ourselves what is reasonable when it comes to time and effort, but in the long run, magazines are simply not something expensive enough for me to worry about ... none of them.

HOOfan_1 · Aug 30, 2013

ku4hx said:
The only truly "expensive" magazines are those that don't work and can't be fixed in a reasonably short period of time. My time is worth a great deal to me and there comes a point where expending a lot of it on a problematic magazine is no longer worth it.

We all have to decide for ourselves what is reasonable when it comes to time and effort, but in the long run, magazines are simply not something expensive enough for me to worry about ... none of them.

Well, many people buy magazines by the boat load. That cost adds up.

Why would you buy a $32 magazine that seems to wear out rather fast, when you can buy an $18 magazine which will last much longer?

JTQ · Aug 30, 2013

I've got no stake in the debate, I have an eclectic collection of mags, included within that group are a couple of Wilson mags.

However, for our retired Marine, Jeremy2171, for what it's worth, the USMC specified mag for their 1911's is the Wilson 47, the 7 round full size mag.

For HOOfan_1, I suspect the USMC feels their Wilson mags are

a little more durable than a $1 light bulb

Springs and followers are wear items. If they are worn out, I wouldn't expect Wilson to replace those for you. If your feed lips have cracked, that is probably something worth asking about a warrantee claim.

HOOfan_1 · Aug 30, 2013

JTQ said:
Springs and followers are wear items. If they are worn out, I wouldn't expect Wilson to replace those for you. If your feed lips have cracked, that is probably something worth asking about a warrantee claim.

The guy said he has had them for 2 or 3 years. I can't imagine he has shot enough in 2 or 3 years to wear out a spring or follower of reasonable quality.

Not to mention I was replying to this

tarosean said:
Mags are consumable products. Toss em and carry on..

and this

ku4hx said:
+1 If new springs and followers won't rehab them, they're like light bulbs and batteries ... use 'em up; toss 'em out.

and this

9mmepiphany said:
This has been my experience also. Magazines are like brake pads and turbochargers, their wear is normal, as is their replacement.

Which is to say that I an not commenting on the quality of Wilson's magazines, for all I know the OP's experience is an aberration. I am commenting on the fact that other posters think it is perfectly normal for a premium magazine to be worn out and thrown away after 2 or 3 years of use, without even knowing how many rounds the OP has fired.

He has 8 Mags....even if he has fired 15,000 rounds in 3 years, that is less than 2000 rounds per a magazine.

Tires are a wear item than needs to be replaced too...but if I buy $300 a piece Pirelli tires and they only last me 2 or 3 years and 15 thousand miles, I wouldn't expect anyone to tell me "yeah, just toss em and replace em, that is normal"

9mmepiphany · Aug 30, 2013

HOOfan_1 said:
Tires are a wear item than needs to be replaced too...but if I buy $300 a piece Pirelli tires and they only last me 2 or 3 years and 15 thousand miles, I wouldn't expect anyone to tell me "yeah, just toss em and replace em, that is normal"

I don't know about your $300 Pirellis...I gather they aren't the high performance ones... but I know more than a couple of guys that go through $1k tires in about a year and 12-15kk miles who just throw them away when they get to that point. When they are worn out, why wouldn't you throw them away?

I budget to replace my tires every couple of years

I am commenting on the fact that other posters think it is perfectly normal for a premium magazine to be worn out and thrown away after 2 or 3 years of use, without even knowing how many rounds the OP has fired.

If you read Hilton Yam's articles, he believes a normal replacement cycle for 1911 mags is about a year...but that is on a duty gun with which he stays in practice for defensive purposes. His advice is that once a mag starts to cause feeding problems, they should be discarded...it isn't a matter of age or number of rounds, but of function. I don't think mags for competitive purposes would even last that long.

1911 mags wear out a bit faster than mags for many other guns, it is part of the price for choosing to carry a 1911. The ones with the fastest failure rate seem to be the 7-round mags converted to carry 8-rounds...it is the additional upward pressure.

The Wilson 47D seems to fare better as a 7-round mag, the ETM is more optimized for 8-rounds (longer tube, stronger spring)

HOOfan_1 · Aug 30, 2013

9mmepiphany said:
When they are worn out, why wouldn't you throw them away?

I agree...but if I spent $1K per a tire, and I was only doing normal day to day driving and those tires only lasted 15K miles, I wouldn't be buying those tires again. My $120 per tire, tires tend to last 30,000 miles.

I didn't know 1911 mags were supposed to be so wear worthy. I only have experience with those 45 year old Llama mags, and they do everything I need them to do...they are a little chewed up too.

Wilson 47D Magazine Failure

Member

Moderator

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Moderator

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Moderator

Member

Similar threads