All posts in Chip McCormick

When you are putting hardball ammo downrange with a 45acp

It better be a 1911 if you ask me.  I have several handguns in my collection but I am really bored with most modern 45acp guns because they are too bulky or just to darn heavy for my tastes.  I’m also not a big fan of short barreled guns or compact 1911s.   They are too much maintenance and the slower cycle action seems to make them more prone to having malfunctions.  If you have to ask me what the next best 45acp handgun is, I’d probable have to say the Sig 220 which is also another single stack gun.   Many 45acp guns like the Springfield XD and Glock 21 are too much bulk for my taste and having to hold that up for any extended period of time will make me want a single stack gun.

Many guns issuing warrants or doing house clearing in Iraq and Afghanistan are using the 1911.   When we get feed back from  our customers it’s almost always Wilson Combat or Chip McCormick magazines that they are using.  Both magazines have a long history of working well in the 1911 and both can be had for under $35 dollars.  I rarely use the 7rd magazines because that extra 8rd magazine barely extends out of my guns and the not quite flush fit doesn’t bother me at all.  Having 8rds of 45acp is something that will get the job done if you look at the stats on which caliber gets the job done, magazine capacity is rarely an issue for police or self defense shootings.

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Colt 1991A1 and Chip McCormick magazines range day

I have worn out more 1911  magazines than any other gun magazine and I guess it’s no surprise that I put a lot of 45acp down range.   My 45acp magazines get put to use and I have learned from experience to rotate through all of my 1911 magazines and replace the springs about the same time I replace my recoil springs.  All of this can depend on how many magazines you use for the most part.    I would always recommend that you have atleast 3 gun magazines for every handgun you own because not only does this spread out the gun magazine wear, it’s about what  you will most likely need if you are doing any type of competition shooting.

I have a Colt 1991A1 that has seen more action than any other sidearm and I refuse to do any major changes to it as long as the gun runs.  The gun fits my hand very well and I have had good luck with the proven Chip McCormick magazines that I have used for IDPA competition and for CCW.   I love my 1911s for competition shooting but I’m still searching for a 45acp gun that I can carry all the time.  Some of the shorter 1911 guns seem to be to much too much maintenance and I really don’t like the idea of carrying a firearm where I have to do a countdown to when it it needs to have its guts cleaned out.

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Another Wilson Combat vs Chip McCormick debate

We have to be honest when customers call us  up and ask us a question about a product.  Many times we hear the question “which is better” and the truth of the matter is this is usually somewhat of a trap for us because as soon as we make a claim about something being better than something else, the customer will hold us accountable if we were wrong or if they disagree.  Not like it’s a big problem but if you call us up and ask us what shirt size or vest size, we’ll defer the question and tell you you’ll have to measure yourself.   When it comes to gun accessories, so much of that needs to be fitted to a persons body and much of it is cosmetic or preference.

The 1911 is still probable the in the Top 5 for gun accessories, gun holsters and gun magazine sales.  There are many out there that want us to tell them if their 1911 will run better with Chip McCormick magazines or with Wilson Combat or some other gun magazine.   The truth of the matter is the 1911 sold these days is not the 1911 sold 15yrs ago and there are so  many difference that its something  you’ll have to figure out on your own.   One thing we will tell you is the Chip McCormick magazines are price almost $8-$10 less than the Wilson Combat Magazines which might be a good thing for someone that wants to great magazine for less money.

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1911 magazines the work and aren’t too pricey

I own several firearms but the ones I like tend to be the ones I actually shoot the least.  I love all of my 1911s but retired most of them from use because of one thing, I do not like manual safeties on firearms.  I find it kind of ironic that retention holsters are now so popular and basically put a manual safety on your gun, but the mindset is a little different.   Considering the number of Special Ops that have gone back to the 45acp says something but I am still  not a huge fan of the 1911 for concealed carry.   I think there is a difference between pulling a firearm from a duty holster and carrying a firearm that is concealment and then disengaging a manual safety.

The more steps and object you put in front of a process the more your margins of error are going to go up.  If you train you can always improve your ability to effectively deploy a firearm, but that’s not what I would spend time on and just carry a different firearm.   Chip McCormick magazines are about $10 less expensive than Wilson Combat Magazines and have more of a GI feel to them.  I personally prefer to use 8rd magazines and do not have issues with them.  I also prefer flush fitting magazines but I realize that not everyone just CCW the guns and might want a larger base pad for competition shooting.

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Wilson Combat Vs. Chip McCormick

We’ve just gotten another restock of the Wilson Combat 1911 ETM magazines due to customer demands.   I still don’t think there is that much of a difference between these magazines and the standard Wilson Combat magazines.   Wilson Combat magazines and Chip McCormick magazines are pretty much the staple of 1911 fanatics and you really can’t go wrong with them unless you already have a finicky 1911.   If you want a combat reliable firearm watch out for some of the high prices accuracy guns, they are not GI combat worthy and sometimes people want too much in a firearm and there really are tradeoffs.

Most of our customer base tell us that differences between the Wilson Combat 8rd magazines and Chip McCormick power mags are minimal.   Wilson Combat magazines seem to help feed non-round nose bullets like hollow points and semi-wad cutters.   Chip McCormick magazines are almost $10 a magazine less than the Wilson Combat ETM magazine so you really have to balance the value of upgrading to the ETM.  The ETM magazines do feel a little thicker and also have numbers on the bottom for competitive shooters, but for $10 more?

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Magazine capacity and balance, don’t forget it

There was a transition away from the high capacity or should I say, Standard capacity firearms back in the late 1990’s after the AWB of 1994, but it was mostly because the cost of a gun magazine might have gone up 200% or more.   You could easily spend $1000 for a firearm and magazines depending on what it was.   Once thing that I will that will never change is balance and speed.   I think we have recently witnessed the pinnacle of the M4 Carbine accessorizing craze because now we are seeing more and more that people are wanting lighter carbines and 15 lbs AR15 variants is something that really doesn’t help you out in close quarters gun fights, speed does m ore than what optics you have in close up fighting.

When it comes to caliber and capacity, you really need to put some thought into how much weight you want in a firearm especially a handgun.   I’ve shot some double stack 45acp handguns that were so heavy that taking them in and out of  holster felt like I was wielding a ball and chain.  Throw in spare gun magazines and the bulk and weight can quickly become extreme.  The Springfield XD is a nice 45acp gun, but the balance of a 1911 or even the Sig 220 seem to handle better.   And lets not forget, the reason for a handgun is to fight your way back to a rifle, so why bother trying to carry all that handgun ammo.

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Is a 6.8 SPC worth getting?

That is a question we get quite often around here and we always throw a question back to a customer.   People call or show up wanting us to give them advice but there are a lot of liabilities in telling people what to get or do.   So much of gun accessories and firearms has to do with the job at hand and a persons gun skills.   I’ve heard people claim that you can’t shoot long range with a 5.56 gun but I see it done all the time at local gun clubs.   Sure there are instances of high wind where a 5.56 bullet isn’t going to do very well, but sometimes only a 50 bmg is going to get the job done.

Even the trusty and reliable Mini 14 is an often over looked hunting Carbine, but I’ve seen white tails taken up in Vermont with 75gr expanding rounds.   The 6.8SPC would be a more powerful round than what the military is using today but it’s not really going to solve all of your problems.  Most of my friends that own them are using them for hunting rounds and not even for Carbine training ect.  The only problem you may run into when changing uppers in with the gun magazines.  The 5.56 round is better than any handgun round if you use the right kind of ammunition and the AR15 platform gives you lots of caliber options that are really best for upgrading your gun for better hunting.

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10rd magazines for 1911s?

This is something I’ve only delved into once and it wasn’t a great experience.   Back in the early 1990’s we had all of that assault weapons ban BS and and aftermarket gun magazines were everywhere.   Some of us that owned certain firearms ended up with unreliable firearms that should have been durable.   $90 Glock magazines were not uncommon and $14.99 for a jamming Mini 14 30rd magazine from USA magazines, which I believe is been long out of existence.   Many people fell back on revolvers and there was a big upsurge back into the 1911 because it was one of those guns that was originally designed for fewer than 10rds which was what the Assault Weapons Ban limited you to.

So some of us messed around with aftermarket 10rd magazines and all of the ones I tried failed pretty quick.   We tried to make the 1911 into it’s highest capacity that we legally could, but the balance pretty much got messed up.   Gun magazines, even a few rounds bigger than standard capacity can make the gun imbalanced or make it harder holster.   There are a lot of reasons to use 10rd magazines like Wilson Combat magazines or Chip McCormick which have a good reputation in competition shooting, but they will protrude considerable.   This may cause snagging on shirts ect if you are considering using one for CCW.   If you’ve ever practiced with you’re gun, which you should have, firing 8rds and reloading is probable a better CCW than thinking a 10rd magazine is going to give you more protection.

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Philadelphia Mob’s it’s only a matter of time

Today I was listening to a local talk radio host who had a local reporter on and they were talking about the Flash Mob stuff that was going on there.   In some people’s minds these incidences are not racial, but that is absolutely absurd.   We’ve had at least 3 mob incidences against young white males or old white men and it’s always black on white.   In some camps of our society, racism only applies to things that a white man can do and not the other way around.  Racism exists in all societies and cultures but only those living in the world that Political correctness has created think it only exists when a victim is black.

One of the callers challenged the local news writer about what the news article would be if a gun owner shot one or more of these individuals when they were committing the crime.   The news reporter basically said it at this point it would say something about a “gun owner defends against a mob” I’m paraphrasing, but I thing it was bullshit.  We know that if a gun owner shot one of these individuals and reloaded with using spare gun magazines that it would be excessive or bull  shit that someone that trained to shoot shot 5 or 6 of the criminals and it was unfair that someone would do that against un armed youth.   Considering the ages groups of some of these Flash mobs it would probable not sound justified if a 65yr old man shot 11yr-19yr olders, but the reality is it may well be if things keep up like this.

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Magazines that aren’t flush fitting

I have never really liked the feel of having a pistol magazine protrude out of the bottom of the gun unless it is because the gun grip is too small for me.  I’ve seen a few of my friends do this on their Glocks, namely the Glock 26 because it is such a small gun.   I did put an extension on a Sig 239 which is the  only gun I currently own that has this.   The first gun that I owned was a Colt 1991A1 and it only came with one pistol magazine.   It was a Colt magazine which i thought would be the best gun magazine to have, but that turned out to not be true.   After having a few problems with the slide stop not catching, I found out the magazine tab was bending and causing the issue.

I believe it was at a gun show that I picked up 2 Wilson Combat magazines and my Colt 1991A1 ran flawlessly with ball ammo.  The gun magazines really ran well with hollow point ammunition but I found the gun to be too picky with hollow point ammo that I pretty much gave up on worrying about it.   If you look at the velocity that a 45acp is flying at, I don’t think you’ll have massive over penetration issues compared to 9mm ball.   Wilson combat magazines have varying base pads and from my experience this is mostly a concern for competition shooters.   If the magazine drops free I don’t need to worry about gripping it and pulling it out for a fast reload.

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