SA Mil-Spec finds a home.

[ed dixon]

Picked up my new Springfield Mil-Spec tonight. Too late and too tired to properly read the manual, fondle, ogle, etc. till tomorrow. This is not only my first 1911, but my first centerfire autoloader of any kind. I'm sure lots of questions will follow, but for now I'll just ask about extra magazines.

The guy who worked the transfer said most of the employees at the store/range prefer Wilson mags($35) in their Kimbers and SAs. These were on backorder, so I'm wondering if SA makes aftermarket magazines and wouldn't they be a safe bet? I've heard some brands or even specific guns just prefer one or two makers' magazines over the others. Any recommendations, provisos, warnings?

General new owner info also welcome.

Thanks. Ed

 

[dsk]

Congrats, I just picked up one of these myself. To answer your question, there are several brands of good magazines out there. My favorites are the Metalform, available through Brownells. The Wilson are of course also good, as are the new ones being sold by Wolff Gunspring Co.

 

[DamnedDirtyApe]

Congrats! I bought mine last October. After 1000 rounds, we're still on our honeymoon....no problems at all.

I like the Chip McCormick Shooting Star mags. Stainless seems to run a little smoother, but no complaints with the blue.

They sure ain't no $35.00 either. $12 - $14 is more like it.

Wilson Shmilson.

 

[Marko Kloos]

I second the Chip Mc Cormick magazines. I've been using nothing but Shooting Stars in my Springfield with no magazine issues. They're half the price of the Wilson mags.

 

[Bacchus]

Definitely try the Chip McCormicks. You can get two of them for the price of 1 Wilson.

 

[ajacobs]

Just to help you out a little

chip mccormick=shooting star they are the same thing
Metalform=factory springfield
Wilson, wolf, novak les bear are all almost the same design
Wilson's are much cheeper mail order than 35 bucks I buy mine with my discout (C&R FFL) from brownells for around 20 bucks

Most people would agree that 8 rnd 1911 mags require a closer eye on spring upkeep than 7rnders. They are also often harder to seat.

I would agree that some guns prefer some mags especially when you are talking the lower end mags. I have yet to see a gun that wilson 47cb's don't work in (they are 7 rounds). I have many 1911's and don't want to have to think about which gun is good with wich mag so I simplified it buy only using these, which I have near 40 of. That is not to say that other mags may not work across the board. I have heard pleanty of great things about almost all mags but wilson, metalform and shooting star come up the most. Metalforms come with a variety of follower typer and, like most manufactures, a variety of bases (welded on, with pad, slip on, without pad etc). I am not sure which follower is prefered in the metalform. Also their 7 round defeinatly seems to be more reliable than the 8 round.

 

[ed dixon]

Ordered two Chip McCormicks in stainless tonight. Should come in in a week. The only brand this dealer had in stock was Kimber for $22 per. Said they ordered in bulk from one name depending on who had the best wholesale price at the time and then just waited till they ran out. Got the McCormicks for $13 a piece. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how they run.