Ref Wilson 47D magazines
JRH6856 wrote,
Just curious, do they function flawlessly in all positions? Such as upside down? The article linked in post #39 suggest they might fail under those conditions and not having any to test myself, I've always wondered.
That is an interesting article and I've read it several times over the years. The author claims that due to their wadcutter feed lips, Wilson mags display a loss of controlled round feeding is just that, a claim. The author makes that claim early in the article and then tests a bunch of mags, but never demonstrates the loss of controlled round feed in his tests. Note, there is not a McCormick or Tripp mag in the test.
Many make the logic leap that since Wilson mags have wadcutter feed lips and will display a loss of controlled feeding, they will avoid the Wilson mags and buy another top rated mag, McCormick PowerMags. If you've ever held Wilson and McCormick mag side by side, you'll notice their feed lips are virtually identical. Both use wadcutter feed lips with the same release point. Another very highly rated mag is the Tripp Research Cobra Mags. They also have wadcutter feed lips, though they do have a slightly later release point.
While I've not been to any of the big name 1911 training courses, if you look at pictures or videos of trainers from Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, or Shootrite, chances are good you'll see them using Wilson mags. Certainly it's possible they use them because Wilson gives them to these instructors for free, or even pays them to use them. However, those guys are rolling on the ground, shooting from the oddest positions imaginable and I'll guess those mags work just fine or they wouldn't be able to conduct their classes. The USMC uses the 7 round Wilson 47 mag in their 1911's, and I suspect they shoot their guns at odd angles, even upside down sometimes.
There is a lot of love for CheckMate's hybrid feed lip mags on a few forums, but ask any group of 1911 shooters what mags they use and chances are they are using a mag with wadcutter feed lips, whether it is Wilson, McCormick, Tripp, CERTAC, or ACT-Mag/Novak/Wolff, they all have wadcutter feed lips. I'm not claiming any of those are the best, just that if they didn't work, they wouldn't be popular.