1911 .45 ACP Tips and Tricks

It’s not a trick but a tip that has helped a number of 1911 owners over the years. Try chambering empty cases, using different brand magazines. If you find one that feeds empty’s from slide lock, it’s going to have a great chance of working with a number of profiles and seating depths.



It’s a lot easier to find a mag that works than to modify the pistol, for function and you’ve done nothing that can’t be reversed.

9mmepiphany said:

Those are likely the same magazines

The 8 round mags were developed by Devel and the follower design was sold to Chip McCormick who marketed them as Shooting Star mags...even after the introduction of his PowerMags

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To be clear, Chip and Wilson make more than one style/type of 8 round mags. I have had problems with some, but not others. Not all Chips McCormick’s and Wilson’s are created equally.

The only safe bet, in my experience, is to stick with 7 rounders.

9mmepiphany said:

Wilson introduced their ETM (Elite Tactical Magazine) to address the advantage of the Power Mag.

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I would have guessed the ETM was introduced to address the advantage of the Tripp CobraMag. The CobraMag uses a longer tube than the 47D and PowerMag which are really just 7 round tubes with modifications to the springs and followers to allow squeezing an extra round in the mag. The CobraMag 8 rounder was designed from the ground up as an 8 rounder and not a converted 7 rounder and has a longer tube than previous mags. The Wilson's ETM and the CMC RPM gave those companies mags with tubes equal in length to the CobraMag.

9mmepiphany said:

When McCormick started producing his Shooting Stars, they were the first to really give the Wilson 47D any competition...but Wilson had the head start based on reputation and wide usage

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I'm not completely familiar with the timeline, but I would have guessed, though I don't know, the Shooting Stars predated the 47D, but not the 47.

I had always thought the 47D was a response to CMC's Shooting Stars which gave the user 8 rounds while everybody else was only offering 7 rounds. The 7 round 47 is a pretty well thought out mag. The 47D was a compromise mag, trying to squeeze the proverbial "10 lbs into a 5 lb bag". In the short length 8 round mags, the Devel/Shooting Star follower outperformed the Wilson 47D since the Devel/Shooting Star follower is a spring itself, and is more size efficient than the 47D follower, allowing more room and more spring in that length tube with 8 rounds stuffed in.

aaaaa said:

Here is one that does not make sense and I have been advised against it as it will damage the extractor, but oddly it is in the book "The Colt .l45 Auto Pistol" Desert Publications, which looks like a reprint of an old gun manual:

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You will most certainly lose extractor tension more rapidly and I’ve heard tell of tips breaking off.

Whatever magazines you chose always keep in mind that they are consumables. As for more than 7-rounds, nearly all well known experts agree that 8 is not too much to ask of a magazine these days and so you may opt to carry those as back up to a loaded and inserted 7-round for carry comfort.

I've shot probably 30 to 40 thousand rounds in my 1911 using first the Wilson 47Ds then the ETM mags when they came out. No problems seating full 8 round mags with one in the chamber. They've been totally reliable.

aaaaa said:

More from the book "The Colt .l45 Auto Pistol" Desert Publications:

I have to assume they do not count the knuckle as a finger joint, so the second joint would be the last joint before the finger tip? Any other joint would have the gun held very awkwardly. But with revolvers I have been told to have the pad of the finger tip, not the joint, across the face of the trigger.

EDIT: Later the book says,

So it seems they do mean you can stick your finger way into the trigger.

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Can and need to or want to are different things. You need to find what works for you. I use the inside third between the tip and the first joint. Basically how I was taught how to fire a rifle accurately. I also do the same with a shotgun.

Tallball said:

When a shooting friend gets a new full-sized pistol, congratulate them.

Pro Tip: Don't bring a 1911 to the range when they are trying out their brand-new polymer pistol for the first time, because you will embarrass them.

(I usually bring a Ruger P-series so that they can feel good about their new pistol's ergonomics and trigger.)

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Lol that's funny! After being the proud owner of a 1911 since August 2021 I'd be a moron if I said I didn't think that they had the best triggers of any handgun I've ever shot.

aaaaa said:

So I see an ad for a TISAS 1911 A1 .45 PISTOL 5", BLACK CERAKOTE - 1911A1S5

Question: What does "S5" mean in that listing?

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It is Tisas coding, and could be anything.

Looking at the Tisas website, perhaps the "S" indicates "Service" pistol and the "5" indicates 5" barrel.

https://www.tisasusa.com/product-p/1911a1s.htm

aaaaa said:

Lets hear some other tips and tricks for these magnificent guns.

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If you want to understand the 1911, get some specialized training w/ it that pertains to the platform. Too few do.

jmorris said:

It’s not a trick but a tip that has helped a number of 1911 owners over the years. Try chambering empty cases, using different brand magazines. If you find one that feeds empty’s from slide lock, it’s going to have a great chance of working with a number of profiles and seating depths.



It’s a lot easier to find a mag that works than to modify the pistol, for function and you’ve done nothing that can’t be reversed.

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I just buy Mec-Gar mags and call it good...

When holstering a 1911 (or any of my cocked & locked single action exposed hammer fired pistols) I always place my thumb on the rear of the slide between the hammer and the firing pin.

It stays there until the pistol is fully seated in the holster.

9mmepiphany said:

This is unfortunately true.

All pistols have their own little quirks. The 1911 may have more than most; and folks like to apply them to other platforms...even worst when the reverse occurs

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Good heavens you make it sound like the 1911 is a complicated piece of machinery that requires a phd in mechanical engineering to operate. It's one of the simplest handguns to operate and maintain.

jeepnik said:

Good heavens you make it sound like the 1911 is a complicated piece of machinery that requires a phd in mechanical engineering to operate. It's one of the simplest handguns to operate and maintain.

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LOL. Shirley you jest!

I just went through almost a case of 9mm trying to get one to work, and Im actually doing pretty good. Ive got it up to about 95%, and Im only about half crazy.

jeepnik said:

Good heavens you make it sound like the 1911 is a complicated piece of machinery that requires a phd in mechanical engineering to operate. It's one of the simplest handguns to operate and maintain.

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Thing is, the original engineering was excellent for its time if specs were kept to. In the way back, multiple companies proved both that point and their worth by executing faithful copies for the War effort.

Nowadays a great many have copied the design, bastardized elements, and changed calibers, requiring changed geometry. And so, adding to the multitude of small, spring loaded parts, the pistol you chose (and/or magazine) may or may not function well from day 1.

That would be fine in some cases if you are a machinist who enjoyed a good rescue or not fine if you lack that particular skill. There will always be the wretched few whose love affair with the slab side inspires a willingness to forgive all of the above which should never be mistaken for simplicity of ownership.