RIA 1911 .45 ACP Tactical

[stinger 327]

As I said earlier, in the Chip McCormick line-up, just get the regular PowerMag. It is their best mag.

I was advised to stay away from the 10 rd. magazines. stick with 7 or 8 rd. Must be moe reliable.

 

[Bufford t. Justice]

Then you were advised poorly. Power mags work great

 

[JTQ]

JTQ wrote,
As I said earlier, in the Chip McCormick line-up, just get the regular PowerMag. It is their best mag.

stinger 327 wrote,
I was advised to stay away from the 10 rd. magazines. stick with 7 or 8 rd. Must be moe reliable.

Yes, I was the one that advised you to stay away from 10 round magazines. Just buy the 8 round PowerMag.

http://www.brownells.com/magazines/...avs|Manufacturer_1=CHIP MCCORMICK CUSTOM, LLC.

Bufford t. Justice wrote,
Then you were advised poorly. Power mags work great

I never said PowerMags didn't work. I advised against 10 round mags as the OP commented. In the McCormick line-up, their "flagship" mag is the 8 round PowerMag. It is their best mag. Are the McCormick 10 rounders good for 10 rounders, and possibly even the best 10 rounders on the market? You could probably make a strong case for that. However, I suspect if you asked Chip McCormick himself, what is his most reliable mag, he would most likely say the 8 round PowerMag.

As I commented earlier...

JTQ wrote,
The pecking order typically for reliable mags, all things being equal, are 7 round mags (the mag the 1911 was designed for) are the most reliable, then 8 round mags, followed by 10 round mags, and you can find 15 rounders somewhere, but they are really just a novelty (or paperweight) item.

For example (since McCormick doesn't offer a 7 round full size mag), if you asked Bill Wilson to pick the most reliable mag out of his full line-up of reliable mags, my guess is he would probably pick his 47 HD/+P mag (followed by the baseline 47), then he'd pick the ETM 8 rounder (then the 47D), and his least reliable (out of a bunch of reliable mags) would be his 10 rounder. I'm not saying 10 rounder won't work, but I'm convinced they will be the least reliable mag when comparing 7, 8, or 10 round full size mags.

What we have here is a guy that knows very little about the 1911. He is asking for advice to make his 1911 experience as good as possible. The 1911, like most autoloaders, is very mag sensitive. He's determined, from recommendations from THR forum members, he'd like to get mags from Wilson and McCormick. To help make his experience as good as possible, I think we should help him by recommending the best possible mag from those makers to ensure the most reliable operation in his pistol.

From McCormick, that would be the 8 round PowerMag, the best mag in their line-up.

From Wilson, that would be the 47, if 7 rounds is OK, but if you need to have an 8 rounder, the ETM is a better mag than the 47D. You may prefer the 47D for price or other features, but the ETM is Wilson's best 8 rounder.

I suspect neither maker will claim their best mag is their 10 rounder. You may like 10 rounders, but they are not the best/most reliable mag those makers produce.

 

[wally]

The 1911, like most autoloaders, is very mag sensitive.

I disagree. The controlled feed, single stack design of the 1911 makes it about the least magazine sensitive autoloader out there. If "fancy mags" fix your pistol, its not been made right and you are putting on a band-aid to cover up the problem!

As long as the feed lips are of good enough quality to hold their shape and are parallel at their release of the round (so it doesn't squirt forward or twist to get in front of the extractor hook) I can make any 1911 mag feed fine with a fresh spring.

Reshaping the feed lips at the release point will fix the junk mags if they hold their shape. Even Triple-K and ProMags can be made to function in a 1911, although the Triple-K often need heating and a quench to make them hold their shape

 

[stinger 327]

Well I finally got the Wilson 47D magazine, and the factory clip made in Italy that comes with RIA 1911 which is very nice and a CMC magazine. The CMC I like the least out of all 3. I don't know which magazine it is but its the only one gunshop had and it doesn't say power or power plus on it. All 3 are 8 rd. magazines.

 

[stinger 327]

Armscor doesn't make mags, actually very few gun makers make mags. They buy them from somebody else. I'm not sure who makes the mags that come with your pistol. I would have guessed Mec-Gar/ACT/Novak/Wolff as suggested by wally and rondog, but I don't know for sure.


You can buy a 10 round magazine for your Rock Island. The pecking order typically for reliable mags, all things being equal, are 7 round mags (the mag the 1911 was designed for) are the most reliable, then 8 round mags, followed by 10 round mags, and you can find 15 rounders somewhere, but they are really just a novelty (or paperweight) item.

Gun shop sells the factory RIA 1911 8 rd. magazine for $25.00. I like this magazine than the CMC I got. However the CMC magazine isn't the power or power plus. It is black in color 8rd. and fits flush with gun. It is more flush than the Wilson and maybe the factory clip too.

 

[JTQ]

A black, flush fit McCormick mag is most likely the Shooting Star mag.

Here is the Shooting Star mag at Brownell's http://www.brownells.com/magazines/...avs|Manufacturer_1=CHIP MCCORMICK CUSTOM, LLC.

Does your factory magazine look like this Wolff branded mag? http://www.brownells.com/magazines/....htm?avs|Make_3=1911&avs|Manufacturer_1=WOLFF

 

[stinger 327]

A black, flush fit McCormick mag is most likely the Shooting Star mag.

Here is the Shooting Star mag at Brownell's http://www.brownells.com/magazines/...avs|Manufacturer_1=CHIP MCCORMICK CUSTOM, LLC.

Does your factory magazine look like this Wolff branded mag? http://www.brownells.com/magazines/....htm?avs|Make_3=1911&avs|Manufacturer_1=WOLFF

The factory magazine is made in Italy and I think the brand is STI? not sure but it is a beautiful shiny black magazine that I like even better than the CMC Shooting Star.
The CMC magazine I bought is a Shooting Star magazine. I didn't get the CMC Power magazine as gunshop didn't have it.
I will have to mail order the CMC Power magazine.
Wilson has another one besides the Combat 47D.
It is Wilson Combat #500 ETM 1911 Govt .45 ACP 8rd magazine - Stainless for $32.95.
What's the difference between the 500 ETM and Combat 45D? the price is almost the same between the two. Not a big difference in price.

 

[JTQ]

stinger 327 wrote,
Wilson has another one besides the Combat 47D.
It is Wilson Combat #500 ETM 1911 Govt .45 ACP 8rd magazine - Stainless for $32.95.
What's the difference between the 500 ETM and Combat 45D? the price is almost the same between the two. Not a big difference in price.

from post #71

JTQ wrote,
The feature that will be most noticeable to users is the ETM has a longer tube than the 47D. There are a couple of other less obvious things like the follower is a little different, and the tube is a little stiffer. You will find the ETM easier to seat than the 47D. The 47D's work great for many users, and I prefer the basepad on 47D's over the ETM, but the ETM is Wilson's best 8 rounder. Only you can decide if it is the right mag for you.

The factory magazine is made in Italy and I think the brand is STI?

I don't believe STI makes a single stack 1911 mag. If STI actually did make a 1911 mag, it would be made in Texas, as that's where the stuff they make comes from.

As a few of us posters have previously mentioned, your factory mag is most likely made by ACT-Mag

http://www.act-mag.com/index.php/id-1911-mags.html

 

[stinger 327]

from post #71



I don't believe STI makes a single stack 1911 mag. If STI actually did make a 1911 mag, it would be made in Texas, as that's where the stuff they make comes from.

As a few of us posters have previously mentioned, your factory mag is most likely made by ACT-Mag

http://www.act-mag.com/index.php/id-1911-mags.html

I do know it says, "Made in Italy" on the RIA 1911. I will have to check for that brand name. You maybe correct on above brand.
I got the Wilson 47D 8rd. I will get the Wilson ETM along with the CMC Power magazine so I can compare. All in all I will end up with 5+ magazines to play with.

 

[wally]

I do know it says, "Made in Italy" on the RIA 1911.

I believe these are ACT/Novak's mags and are very much like some of the older Meg-Gars. They have worked very well for me.

 

[stinger 327]

I believe these are ACT/Novak's mags and are very much like some of the older Meg-Gars. They have worked very well for me.

I do like the ACT/Novak magazine better than the Chip McCormick Shooting Star magazine. I just wish they had those CMC Pro Mags in stock so I could compare those to this magazine as well as the Wilson. I like these Wilson stainless steel magazines the best so far out of the 3 that I currently l have.

 

[hardluk1]

Factory mags - http://www.act-mag.com/

 

[stinger 327]

Factory mags - http://www.act-mag.com/

Thank you. These are the ones made in Italy for the RIA?

 

[stinger 327]

One lesson I learned is to not buy a bunch of any mag, even if they are very highly rated by what seems like everybody on the forums. Buy one of the more well regarded mags and see if your gun likes them. If it does, then buy more.

The most recommended mags for 1911's on just about all the forums, in alphabetical order are CheckMate, Chip McCormick, Tripp Research, and Wilson Combat. Everybody has a opinion as to what is the best. Some will use nothing but Brand X. Others will say Brand X is the worst mag they've ever used. You'll need to experiment to see what works best for your gun.

Some places where I've bought mags in the past

Top Gun Supply http://www.topgunsupply.com/1911-magazines/

Brownell's http://www.brownells.com/magazines/handgun-magazines/magazines/index.htm?avs|Make_3=1911

there is also factory direct

Chip McCormick http://www.cmcmags.com

Tripp Research http://www.trippresearch.com/store/store_1911.html

Wilson Combat (they have a Labor Day Sale right now) http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Full-Size-1911/departments/2/

I will buy from Top Gun Supply. They have a great policy

NEW POLICY ON SALES TO AGENCIES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:
Due to recent legislation such as the NY SAFE Act and many proposed anti-Constitutional laws, Top Gun Supply and Top Gun Police Supply will no longer sell any firearms or magazines to law enforcement or government agencies in any areas where that product is not legal to own by its law abiding citizens. This is not meant to be a punitive measure for our fine men and women patrolling our streets. This should be deemed a clear message directed towards all law makers across the United States that we will not provide product to local, state or federal government agencies if it is banned from the people.

We join together with firearms manufacturers, distributors and dealers in reverence for the 2nd Amendment.