1911 noob here,
im about ready to pull-the-trigger on my FIRST 1911, either going to be a Springfield TRP or Kimber Warrior…
I know that the magazines are critical for function on a 1911 and want to stock up before i get my gun…
read a lot about the wilson combat mags, are these the ones i need to buy for these particular guns???
thanks
Bruce:)
Yes. I’ve been using the WC 47D magazines for more than 15 years and in my opinion they are the best. I’ve been shooting 1911’s for around 30 years and before I got turned onto the Wilson mags I used standard government issue mags and whatever other commercial products I found. I’m a big fan of Wilson Combat 1911’s and their customer service is outstanding.
thank you
Bruce
Generally I’ve found Hilton Yam’s advice on magazines to be spot on. Here’s a link to the article.
Consistent with Yam’s article, I found my Wilson 47Ds lost spring strength fairly quickly, and they were inconsistent in locking back the slide on my Springfield Armory 1911. I’ve had much more consistent results with the CMC Powermags. At this point, all of my remaining 47s have been upgraded with the Tripp Super 7 kit, and are (now) very reliable.
Were I buying additional magazines today, I’d purchase additional CMCs or Wilson ETMs per Yam’s advice.
I loved my ETM’s when I had my 1911. Never a hickup.
If I ever get another 1911 I will pick up more ETM’s or some Tripp mags.
I only order ETMs as well. The only non ETM magazines that I currently own are mags that come with the 1911 but I usually trade or sell them in short order. However, I do have a couple of Nighthawk magazines that I received with my new gun that I haven’t gotten around to selling yet and haven’t given me any problems yet.
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I would personally say that Tripp Cobramags are THE mags to buy.
My experience with Wilson 47s mirrors that of JSGlock34’s, weak springs remedied by Tripp 7rd kits.
I will also add that the 47D magazines are good magazines. I would like to try some Tripp cobra mags sometime down the road. I hear they are much nicer than the 47D’s. Either way, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the Wilson’s.
I have some 47D’s I will sell you if you want. I used them for almost 5 years on duty but got tired of buying rebuild kits every 12 months. For the life of me I can’t figure out how springs can loose tension when not being cycled a lot. I replaced them with CMC and am very happy with them.
Dan
I’ve always used CMC Powermags without an issue, 8 rounders only. I don’t have experience with the 10 round mags.
Couldn’t tell you about the other brands, I got into the Powermags back when they were cheap and never saw any reason to change. My mags have seen extensive use, many thousands of rounds in over a dozen different guns.
If you don’t mind a 7 round mag, USGI mags are great. Easy seating, smooth feeding. Stick with hollowpoints that mimic the 45 ball ogive (like the Golden Saber) and you’ll have no issues with feeding from GI mags, assuming the pistol is built to spec :laugh:.
My recommendation is to pick one of the mag types mentioned (47D, powermag, Tripp, whatever), buy two of them, and test them for a few hundred rounds. If they run in your gun with your chosen ammo, buy a bunch more. If not, try another type. Just don’t buy a pile of mags without testing them in your gun first in case you got an oddball. There are certainly guns out there that won’t run with 47Ds.
I know you didn’t ask but I’d highly recommend buying the TRP over the Warrior (I have no faith in Kimber QA/QC). If you can afford it, buy a higher end pistol like a Wilson CQB or Springfield Professional or something. Spending less than $1800-2000 on a 1911 is a crapshoot, you might get a great gun and you might get a project. Just the way it is these days.
I have had similar experiences with Wilson 47D’s that Hilton Yam found. I am a pretty heavy 1911 user and fire around 10,000-15,000 rounds/year through my duty 1911. All of those rounds are on Wilson 47D’s or Chip McCormick Power Mags.
The 47D’s have become my training/competition mags, while the Power Mags are what I load up defensive/service ammunition in and carry off the range. THe 47D’s lose spring tension quickly, and I end up replacing all the springs in the mags about once a year with wolff +10% extra power springs. I have also had the base plates of the 47D’s work loose over time and pop off or loose when dropped. I have to double check them after picking them up off the ground to make sure the base plate isn’t sticking halfway off the bottom of the mag. I also find that dirt/sand and grit that gets inside the mag body will chew up the plastic follower on the 47D’s as opposed to the metal follower on the CMC power mags. This causes the follower to have a grittier/rougher feel even after disassembling and cleaning the mags.
Which 10 rounders would you folks who own a TRP recommend? The Trips or the 2012 CMC version?
I specifically mentioned the TRP because my research has found that CMC made some slight changes to their 10 rounders to work properly in a TRP.
Please allow me to add to my statement about 47Ds that I replaced springs often. I apologize for that omission. I should have gone into more detail. I replaced the springs on my carry mags once or twice a year. I never replaced the springs on my training mags. My first set of 5 training mags had about 15k rounds though them when I replaced them. I treated those magazines roughly, I’d drop them and sometimes step on them. I’ve had the base pad pop off a couple of times and had the follower get chewed up, but afterwards they still worked.
I’ve had good luck with Wilson 47D Mag’s.
NYH1.
I’m not aware of any “slight changes” made by Chip. CMC 10 rounders work flawlessly in my SA PRO.
I’ve seen Steve Baily of Heirloom carry them as part of his on duty kit.
This is what I was referring to:
New CMC are marked with a 12.
In case anyone is wondering where I’m getting this info on CMC 10 rounders and the TRP…this is the thread
http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/m1911/190760-springfields-trp-chip-mccormicks-10-round-power-mag-3.html
Since I can’t link, I will copy this, apparently it had to do with the magwell.
Hello David,
The Springfield TRP is the only model that the 10rd Power mag will not work in.
We do have some customers that will trim just a hair off the shroud with a utility knife or something sharp so it will fit. Please be careful when doing so.
We know and understand that this is however a temporary fix for our customers. We may have a better solution to fix this issue in the future.
We thank you,
Starr
CMC Customer Service
47Ds are my preferred magazine. I like the ETM and the Cobra Gen 2 mags, but have decided that the low pro base pads on the 47D is better for me.
I will say the Wilson 47d mags have held up much better than the original Tripp Cobras which are basically junk now. I had to replace springs fairly early in their service life and now the feed lips have spread so far the mags no longer drop free.
Edit to add:
I stay away from the power plus mags from CMC. The followers prevent mags from dropping free when they pop forward and partially out of the mag body, which is about 75% of the time. Happens with 8 and 10 rounders.
They work well, but they’re the only one of mine that actually fell apart when I let them drop out of my gun on an empty reload.
Must have been a fluke, but when it hit the deck…the follower popped completely out of the magazine.
Only happened one time…but …
Very interesting.