Issues with my CQB

[BLR]

Well, with a Cobra mag anyway.

Tonight was the local version of a "Steel Challenge" - I shot it with my EDC gear (IWB leather holster, 1911).

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02969_zps61b4e8fb.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02970_zpse5139be4.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02971_zpsf56ca000.jpg

400ish rounds into the night, this developed:

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02982_zps9424a3e9.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02983_zpsee2abbdd.jpg

The jam would be easy to clear. A simple push of the slide, everything went into battery. BUT....it would do it twice a magazine (round 2 and 5, consistently).

The offending magazine:

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02985_zpsb26c8d24.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02986_zpsead89a18.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02987_zpsfe9de823.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo345/blriehl/1911s/Miami-20130212-02988_zpsa286cbd6.jpg

The problem hasn't been diagnosed as of yet. I'm still at the range. The issue isn't the gun, as this is the only problem magazine. The mag has been marked, and will be thoroughly examined shortly. I'm right now unsure of the issue.

Till latter!

[jetfire]

If it's not happening with any other mags, it's time for that mag to go in the trash. Life is too short for crappy magazines.

[BLR]

If it's not happening with any other mags, it's time for that mag to go in the trash. Life is too short for crappy magazines.


Yep. But I want to know why first. I'm not sure I'd call a Tripp mag "crappy," either.

[NETim]

I'll put my money on a less than prime spring.

I've got one Gen II Cobra that doesn't always lock back the slide in one of my CQB's. But it works fine in my other CQB. Haven't been able to divine the cause of that.

My ugly Gen I's have been rock solid. Unfortunately, they've got enough rounds though them that they're now sometimes failing to drop free due to spreading mag lips. (A squeeze of the bench vise took care of that as a temp fix, but they're no longer front line mags.)

The GenII's are pretty. :)

[jetfire]

Any mag that doesn't work is a crappy mag. I've had crappy Tripp mags, crappy Wilson mags, and crappy McCormick mags.

Although now that you mention it's a Tripp mag, I generally get a much shorter spring life with Tripp mags than I do with other "good" 1911 magazine brands. They tend to go and start doing exactly what yours did a lot quicker than others. YMMV.

[Kevin B.]

If it is the magazine, my guess would be the spring as well.

[NETim]

Any mag that doesn't work is a crappy mag. I've had crappy Tripp mags, crappy Wilson mags, and crappy McCormick mags.

Although now that you mention it's a Tripp mag, I generally get a much shorter spring life with Tripp mags than I do with other "good" 1911 magazine brands. They tend to go and start doing exactly what yours did a lot quicker than others. YMMV.

I like the Wilson 47D's but I think those springs crap out even faster.

[GJM]

I bought a number of Tripp Cobra .45 acp Mags, and follower kits for my CMC mags, back when they were all the rage. I ended up having some issues with pistols that previously hadn't had issues.

I decided that CMC mags worked just fine and never looked back. I still like the Tripp mags for my 10mm 1911 pistols, and they seem to enhance reliability, and cure some problems I have had with other 10mm magazines.

[SecondsCount]

I find the Tripp mags to be less rugged than a Chip McCormick but I really like their followers.

After many years of using Chip McCormick Shooting Star and Power Mag magazines with success, I found a good deal on four new Tripp Cobra mags and decided to give them a try. At the time I was running a Les Baer Concept VIII and tried them in that gun first. They would not lock the slide back. I called Virgil Tripp and he gave me instructions on how to adjust the follower. Knowing that 1911s are all built a little different, I decided to leave well enough alone and gave them to my wife to use. She was running a Dan Wesson CBOB and they performed fine in that gun...until after about a year of use. The Tripp magazines started hanging up in the magwell and would not drop free. I took them apart and thoroughly cleaned them as well as the magwell of the gun but still had the same issue.

After some frustration in trying to diagnose, I finally figured out that the feed lips on the Tripp magazines were starting to spread. The spread lips were distorting the body and causing the magazine to drag inside the magwell.

Considering that I paid about 50% more for a Tripp magazine over a Chip McCormick, I was somewhat disappointed. I am sure if I called Tripp they would take care of me but I am still not sure it would make me a satisfied customer.

[BLR]

I bought a number of Tripp Cobra .45 acp Mags, and follower kits for my CMC mags, back when they were all the rage. I ended up having some issues with pistols that previously hadn't had issues.

I decided that CMC mags worked just fine and never looked back. I still like the Tripp mags for my 10mm 1911 pistols, and they seem to enhance reliability, and cure some problems I have had with other 10mm magazines.

This.

There is no better 10mm mag than the Tripp.

FWIW, this is the first failure I've seen with a 45 of theirs. I've not seen an issue with the 38S mags either. For my money, the best 45 mag is the ETM right now.

Also, update on the mag - the spring if fine/newish. Less than 500 rounds through it. I'm going to disassemble it today and start comparing it with a new mag.

[NETim]

I've come to the conclusion that Tripps' bodies are a little on the soft side. The feed lips do spread, at least on the dozen or so Gen I's I bought in '07. I recently brought them back into spec in my precision bench mounted mag squisher* after they would not drop free. I don't know how much life is left in them now after this warning shot over the bow. I am slowly replacing them with Gen II's.

I've run McCormick PowerMags some but not much. The follower dings up the feed ramp and I'm not sure I like that. However, they run fine in my guns.

The Wilson ETM's are great mags and when fitted with steel baseplates, are my carry mag of choice. I'm not wild about the all plastic follower for long term use, but these mags don't see much range time in my universe, so they should last quite some time.

The Tripp Gen II's haven't got enough rounds through them for me to get a feel on their long term durability. One mag won't hold back the slide on my new CQB though. I'll have to get the recipe on reforming the follower to make it work.

Even though it costs me a round in capacity, I like to drop the Tripp conversion kit in 47D's and then replace the baseplate with the 10-8 steel "wedge" baseplate. Hell for stout. (This was before the arrival of the ETM. Still like the configuration though.)

*which looks suspiciously like a vise.

[1986s4]

I am by no means a 1911 expert. That mag looks dirty and possibly combined with a weak spring.....? Maybe there isn't enough push from the bottom?

[SteveK]

McCormick Power Mags and Wilsons and never look back. Don't get attached to your mags. If they start acting up junk them and buy new ones.

[cdunn]

I would clean it and replace the spring and follower with a new one from Tripp, before I bought a new one spring kits are cheap.

[EVP]

I do not know a lot about the intricacies of 1911s but why are magazines the weak point of the platform?

Is there something in the design of a single stack that prevents it from performing like a double stack Glock 9mm or HK magazine?

Just wondering why a better solution has not evolved yet.

[NETim]

I do not know a lot about the intricacies of 1911s but why are magazines the weak point of the platform?

Is there something in the design of a single stack that prevents it from performing like a double stack Glock 9mm or HK magazine?

Just wondering why a better solution has not evolved yet.

I think that's 'cause we're trying to get the 1911 to do something it wasn't designed from the ground up to do, i.e., feed JHP's and SWC's reliably. Things have to be more perfect with a 1911.

[JAD]

I do not know a lot about the intricacies of 1911s but why are magazines the weak point of the platform?

Is there something in the design of a single stack that prevents it from performing like a double stack Glock 9mm or HK magazine?

Just wondering why a better solution has not evolved yet.

Aftermarket extended-capacity 1911 mags work just like aftermarket extended capacity Glock and HK mags... sometimes. 7 round Colt mags designed like JMB drew them work fine. Getting an eighth round can be difficult (though I have yet to have an issue traceable to a .45 ACP 47D). .

[BLR]

There could be anything from unburnt powder to lead shavings to me dropping the mag in the sand wrong with this. I only reported the failure out of fullness in reporting as I've said that gun has been one of the more reliable guns I've owned.

Based on this, I don't think there is enough data to support anything.

[NETim]

There could be anything from unburnt powder to lead shavings to me dropping the mag in the sand wrong with this. I only reported the failure out of fullness in reporting as I've said that gun has been one of the more reliable guns I've owned.

Based on this, I don't think there is enough data to support anything.

I'm afraid your CQB is unrecoverable. I happen to need a stablemate for my two CQB's though, even if yours doesn't run 100% with subpar mags. I'll pay shipping.

[rockymtnnut]

Is there a slight chance its.......how shall i say this um dirty??

[JonInWA]

Bill, if you're having a repetitive problem, it sound like a systemic problem-with that magazine. Stuff happens in the merry world of 1911s/1911 magazines, and it simply doesn't necessarily matter how new the magazine (or its sub-components) are. Since your other magazines are performing well, at this point, rather than spending an inordinate amount of time trying to isolate what is probably a one-magazine issue (as opposed to a systemic issue{s} pertaining to the platform or all of your magazines), I think that your time and resources might be better spent is simply discarding the offending magazine (or at least setting it aside for future detailed analysis if similar problems crop up with OTHER magazines), and just replacing it with another...

As an aside, I personally suggest that you might want to try some of Check-Mate's magazines.

Best, Jon