theres only 1 magazine that will actually work, all the time. That is GI type 7 round. Not hybrid, not wadcutter, just GI profile. I personally know people who claim 100% reliability using whatever, but their guns never work. Lots and lots of "oh, thats the bad/cheap/crappy ammo.... the guns dirty/dry... I was holding it loosly" and so on. I'm sure many here will tell you that they have 100% reliability using everything out there, but I have never seen it, and I bet if I went out with them with 300 rounds, I wouldn't. I have a rate of feed malfunction of around 1 in 3000 (I used to shoot enough I can really make that statement) using Check Mate Industries GI mags. My Springfield runs about 1 in 200 malfunctions using anything else. Most 1911's run far less reliably. Check Mate sells direct to the public, and through Top Gun Supply. They are the only company I know currently making them. USGI magazines are the same, so if you can find them, they work. GI mags work fine with hollowpoints in my experience, but not everyones.
Educate me ... SA Mil Spec 1911 after market magazines
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JTQ
Member
It may be true, but I'm skeptical, much like the "how-I-did-it" 1911 magazine article that praises the hybrid lipped mags.
I believe you are correct, there probably is only one company making GI feed lipped mags. If that was the only style that worked, wouldn't it be logical that some other company may choose to make them? Wouldn't all companies make them?
With just a few exceptions, nearly every 1911 magazine currently in production uses wadcutter feed lips, from McCormick, to Wilson, to Tripp, to ACT-Mag/Novak, etc. Nearly every professional trainer, LE, or military that uses the 1911, probably uses a mag with wadcutter feed lips. They all may be wrong, but there probably is a reason they use them, and it's probably not due to cost.
I'd take that challenge.
I shoot a monthly defensive pistol match. I use a 1911 when I know I can recover my brass. I also shoot every week. There are three 1911 pistols I shoot a lot. All of them work with my $8 eight round mags while using my cast 200 gr SWC bullets. It's been over a year since I've had a mag related malfunction, that's somewhere around 10k shot through my 1911 pistols.
entropy
Member
They didn't even work reliably with ball ammo, I had to replace/repair 1911 mags constantly. As stated before, and particularly pertaining to military use, magazines are an expendable, and should be maintained correctly, and repaired/replaced when needed. As for casting aspersions on 8 round mags, stop it already. The only problem with them is they are harder to insert if you do not do it correctly.
JTQ
Member
Sure, but how do we know your mags don't have GI feed lips and therefore make his point?
1911 guy
Member
Checkmate, Colt, Mec-Gar, Wilson, MetalForm. Those are my go-to magazines.
Avoid no-name or unverified source mags like the plague. At best, they will work for a short time and then cause problems. At worst, they will never work properly.
If buying "Government Contract" magazines, make note of AlexanderA's post above. If the number is not correct, it's a fake.
Avoid no-name or unverified source mags like the plague. At best, they will work for a short time and then cause problems. At worst, they will never work properly.
If buying "Government Contract" magazines, make note of AlexanderA's post above. If the number is not correct, it's a fake.
I'm happy for you, and I wish more people had your experience. Of the 15 or so 1911's I have handled, I have never seen one make 100 rounds with wadcutter mags. I know that not all of them have the problem, but a sample of 15 out of 15 from Springfield, RIA, Remington, Metro, Colt,Dan Wesson, Nighthawk, Kimber, and some odd imports tells me the odds are not good. This applies only to 45 acp. My 9mm seems to run just fine.
DrDeFab
Member
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My Springfield RO works flawlessly with the OEM mags, MecGar 8 rounders (MGCG4508BPF) and some old Chip McCormick Shooting Stars I was given. It would consistently fail to lock back with three Wilson 47Ds I bought and later traded - seemed the followers would bind up when trying to lift the slide stop. I had similar results with those mags in two other 1911s. I'm not drawing a general conclusion about Wilson, just that you should test the combination you plan to use.
JTQ
Member
See the Wilson Combat FAQ in post #16
JTQ
Member
Just as a data point, were those wadcutter mags flush fit 8 rounders?
I'll assume your GI mags were 7 rounders.
I have never seen a 7, or 8 rounder (wadcutter/hybrid) really work after the gun got dirty, and dry. Most of what I had were 7 round Wadcutter mags. Figuring out how to make a 1911 run with these was how I got a working understanding of them, and how I got to know so many with 1911's with problems. The big issue is the round in battery, extractor behind the rim jam. The GI mags are all 7.
JTQ
Member
Fair enough. Thanks.
Over the several decades that I have been shooting a 45 ACP M1911, I've never had much success getting them to shoot semi-wadcutters. Periodically, I'd experiment with semi-wadcutters without success but I have not really tried real hard either. 230 RN bullets have functioned flawlessly for me regardless of the source of magazines. I'm happy loading and shooting 230 RN bullets.
I generally stick with seven round magazines. I have a couple eight rounders and they have performed well inn my M1911s but I'd rather stick with what the gun was designed for.
Now, I recently bought a new Colt Gold Cup and so far it has shot semi-wadcutter bullets flawlessly. But, I do not have many rounds through the gun though.
I represent a small data point and many folks have success shooting semi-wadcutters in their M1911's.
I generally stick with seven round magazines. I have a couple eight rounders and they have performed well inn my M1911s but I'd rather stick with what the gun was designed for.
Now, I recently bought a new Colt Gold Cup and so far it has shot semi-wadcutter bullets flawlessly. But, I do not have many rounds through the gun though.
I represent a small data point and many folks have success shooting semi-wadcutters in their M1911's.
Any opinions on how you think these bullets will feed?
https://www.hevsbulletsandmore.com/45-200-GR-HHP-p/ber00336.htm
https://www.hevsbulletsandmore.com/45-185-GR-HBRN-p/ber00210.htm
https://www.hevsbulletsandmore.com/45-200-GR-HHP-p/ber00336.htm
https://www.hevsbulletsandmore.com/45-185-GR-HBRN-p/ber00210.htm
JTQ
Member
It depends, but yes, in general.
A few for instances.
1. In the Wilson line-up, the 7 round 47 ( https://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-M...ize-7-Round-Standard-Base-Pad/productinfo/47/ ) and the 8 round 47D ( https://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-M...ze-8-Round-Standard-Base-Pad/productinfo/47D/ ) use the same tube length, but the 47D puts an extra round in that tube. To get that extra round in the tube, they use a lesser follower and lesser spring (my belief) than the spring and follower in the 7 round 47. My view is the 7 round 47 is one of the best mags available, while the 47D is the worst mag in the Wilson line-up, a line-up of very good mags, top to bottom including the 47D, though. Everything has to have a worst even a place like Harvard Medical School, and the 47D is Wilson's bottom of the class.
On the other hand, the 8 round ETM Series (500/800 models) ( https://shopwilsoncombat.com/45-ACP/products/378/ ) uses a longer tube than the 47 Series and is designed from the ground up as 8 rounders rather than converted 7 rounders like the 47D.
2. In the Tripp CobraMag line-up, their 7 rounder ( http://www.trippresearchinc.com/7r-45-wg/ ) and their 8 rounder ( http://www.trippresearchinc.com/8r-45-rg/ ) use mag tube length's designed for their respective capacities. Their 8 rounder has a longer tube.
3. In the CheckMate line-up you need to sort through their feed lip and follower options in addition to tube length differences. In this thread you've seen folks prefer different feed lip designs and what works for one of us, may not work for you. I generally like CheckMate mags, but I won't buy any more non-extended tube 8 rounders, since they are shorter than even the Wilson 47D's and are really tough to seat with 8 rounds in the tube and the slide forward.
There are so many options with CheckMate it's tough to make a choice. I generally stick with 7 rounders, with wadcutter feed lips, and prefer the removable baseplate/bumper pads. However, as you can see in this thread, others will insist my preference won't work for them. I typically buy my CheckMate's from Top Gun Supply. https://www.topgunsupply.com/magazines/1911/check-mate.html
JTQ
Member
Colt now dimples their barrel feed ramps. I don't know if your Gold Cup has that feature, but it was created to increase feed reliability with non-ball ammo.
JTQ
Member
It's the feed ramp on the barrel (throat) not the frame feed ramp.
Google "Colt dimpled barrel". Most of the pictures go to other forums and I'm not sure the forum likes us giving links to other forums.
colt dimpled barrel
mljdeckard
Member
My stock Kimber ones were fine, but I switched to Wilson 47Ds years ago, no flaws.
Demi-human
maybe likes firearms a little bit…
Berry well!
I use Berrys bullets in many forms. The bullets are good. But, again, it is the subtle geometry in your pistol with your mags that will define whether they feed well or not.
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