Originally Posted by TGS
I really appreciate the responses.
Very true. While the Pearce finger grooves are comfortable, they actually add a lot of thickness. I really began to notice this as the lower outboard edge began to wear down.
"It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
-Maple Syrup Actual
Got the gun, tried out figment of a few mags. The 8rd CMC Powermags did not want to lock back. It seems a little janky with the follower not being folded down like the Colt and Wilsons. The Colt 7 rounder locked back fine as did a Wilson 10rd one. It’s just the CMC…
The only mags I have for my 1911s are factory Colt 7 round mags (stainless and blued), actual USGI mags for ball at the range only, Wilson 7 round 47C-HV HD/+P mags (my loaded carry mag is that, giving me 7+1), Wilson 8 round ETM HD/+P (500A/C-HD) mags (when carrying, two of them are my reloads), and Wilson 800A ETM-V Vickers mags (used interchangeably with the ETM HD+Ps, though as I find the time and money I'm slowly transitioning all my 8 round mags to these). You can catch the Colts on sale at CDNN on occasion, and the Wilsons...whenever Brownells has a sale, etc. I had a big long post on ar15.com concerning 7 round and 8 round mags (that weren't Wilson HD/+P mags), dirt/shooting suppressed, and how that effects how deeply the slide stop gets driven up into the notch in the slide when dirty or when the barrel has a load on it (like a silencer). Short version is, Colt factory 7 round mags always functioned fine no matter how dirty the gun got; 8 round mags with the collapsing follower with the standard 7 round mag body (like most 8 round mags like Checkmates, etc), did NOT consistently fully engage the slide stop or force it fully into the slide stop notch as the gun got dirtier - to the point where in as few as 8 mags the slide stop notch started getting peened out; on one gun it fully rounded the slide stop notch requiring a gunsmith with a mill to recut the notch in the slide to restore correct function. That was actually the impetus for the test in the first place, when that happened one afternoon when plinking for fun.
Basically - those are the only mags I trust to always feed and always lock the slide back, so long as the mag is in spec. Every now and again I'll get a Colt mag where the follower is stamped out just that tiny bit wrong and it won't engage the slide stop at all; I use those for malfunction drills at the range. Everything else, I'd have no problems using them as carry or other important use mags. Everything I have has at least 10 cycles on it by this point. I'm replacing the ETM HD+Ps with the Vickers mags because the Vickers followers have a nice bump in the middle of them, like GI and factory Colt mags; the original solution for preventing inertia feeding.
Could the 47C-HV HD/+P mags cause any issues when no +P ammunition is ever used? I don't plan to ever shoot +P in it (I have USPs and G21s for that), but I want to get the most reliable mag possible.
I know many praise the power mags, but like I said, it was the only mags out of a few brands that didn't want to lock back. That flat piece that's not folded under like the other mags seems like it might be the culprit, the follower just kind of tilts forward easily and the spring feels weak compared to the other ones, and I tried multiple Powermags.
I haven't cleaned any factory preservatives out of the gun yet. I know Wilson says to run a few hundred rounds through their 1911's before disassembling it, does that apply to most 1911's?
I had success with them when Chip owned the company. Now that Wilson owns CMC, the recipe may have changed, but then not all 1911s are created equal.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
I'd be a lil bummed if there's something off about my new Colt that doesn't like Powermags, but I also remember encountering this same thing with another Colt before, and another 1911 I handled who's brand I can't remember (Springfield I think)
So, just so there’s no confusion 1911 components including mags are not 100% plug and play. 1911s are art, not science.
If your Colt works with Colt 7 round Mags, that’s the starting point.
After that different guns and different ammo types may affect what mags work well.
Brand X may work great in my gun but not in yours and vice versa.
General guidelines:,
if you want eight round mags, stick with modern 8 round mags which have longer mag bodies to accommodate the extra round.
With problematic 8 and 10 round mags, I’ve had good luck getting them to work by replacing the spring and follower with the Tripp “Super 7” and “Super 9” kits. I give up around, but I get a magazine that works reliably.
Don’t fall in love with your magazines, magazines and Magazine springs are consumables.
Is this an “as good as fix”? Essentially tubes are same except fo number of witness holes and this fixes weaker 8 rd spring? Thanks!
in my experience, this is the case. the 47 kit (spring, follower) drops into the 47/D body.
Finally got to put some rounds through my new to me Dan Wesson Specialist .45acp 5". Don't let the image fool you, while accurate... I did run into some trouble.
Usually, a maiden voyage gun for me is usually cold and our qual. The gun is accurate, and I am sure the 3.5# trigger adds to that (it will get + down the road) but it had plenty of failure to feeds with 230 Gold Dot and 230 Hard Ball.
The maiden voyage was fired with 230 Gold Dot and it was slinging brass to hell. A good 12'+ from me. Out of 50 snappy rounds I was met with around 4 failures to feeds. I was frantic to get the gun running to make time that I really did not get to see the true issue. Stuck in the chamber at an angle and usually a hard mag slap sends it home. Some require slide manipulation, and I did not do the tap rack as during qual I am not afforded spare rounds. Even though this was not official to carry on duty yet, it felt like it.
This was my second attempt using 230 hard ball. It looks like 100%.
It's actually a 98 because I got dinked 2 points as a 12 second stage was completed in 15 seconds because of the culprit reoccurring failure to feed.
I got it home and checked the chamber. The feed ramp edge is a tad sharp cornered.
I checked the recoil spring (it felt good to me) and its short to a new 16#
Another issue I found was the frame cutout area for the barrel feet appears to have not been cleaned up. Was this a lunchtime or Friday frame? There is some metal build up that was not machined clean and is making contact with a barrel feet corner. The barrel link was also push outward and can see a shiny marked where it's been riding.
There is a .0110" edge of the top of the ejection side frame rail.
I got some work to do on the frame (I will remove the raised material), touch on the barrel edge, change the recoil spring and give it another go.
I was using brand new 8 round WC flat spring HD mags and it was a bich to put in round #8.
If you're going to be a bear….be a GRIZZLY!
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