All posts tagged 1911 magazine reviews

Grip Pads, Flush fitting and drop free magazines for 1911s experiences with Chip McCormick Magazines

Chip McCormick MagazinesThe term ” love my 1911s” will probable be in every blog post I write whenever I mention them because if you look through all of handgun history, there really are not that many firearms that stay around very long because technology and manufacturing improved so much in the last 200yds that powder, bullet types and mechanics of revolvers and semi-autos evolved quickly.  I’ve held and shot some WWI and WWII 1911s and they really didn’t shoot much differently than my Colt 1991A1 or my Springfield 1911A1 USGI model.   If you take the M1 Garand and Compare that to the error, who wouldn’t take an 8rd bandolier over a bolt action when your life depends on it.   It was only a few years later that we fought in the Korean War and the M1 Garand was so badly out dated, but the M1911 A1 was still highly revered.   I believe in just the last year there have been major technological improvements to the caliber debate that we are arriving at a point where bullet “types” matter more than calibers so just by judging by Police Department Purchases there is a trend back to the 9mm.

The funny thing is so many people are owning AR15 Carbines that handgun capacity isn’t as much of a debate and we see plenty of people using 1911s as secondary firearms.  Even though the 1911 is considered to be a large firearm, it’s actually a very slim frame compared to Glock 45 caliber firearms and I find it very easy to carry IWB.    I’ve always leaned towards flush fitting Chip McCormick Magazines than any extended pads because I found that for CCW that extended magazine pads are more likely to catch on clothing and from my experience the butt of a handgun grip is usually what causes most firearm printing.   The 1911 is easily an 8rd capacity firearm and although for a brief time I carried it +1 to be a 9rd firearm, I’ve learned  you are pushing the compression limits on 7rd, 8rd or 10rd magazine springs and shortening the life.   Always test your magazines out at least once to check functionality because there are always production changes, and being in retail

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1911 Range review on gun magazines

Wilson Combat MagazinesI have several 1911 handguns that I have run over the years and still prefer the GI M1911 styles with some slight changes like the sights.   I’m a big fan of the Trijicon HD or high definition sights because they are so much better than the traditional tritium sights.  Much brighter in the day time, too.  I’ve messed around with the Glock 30 and the Glock 21 but I find the Glock 21 to be entirely too big of a handgun for CCW and just something so well balanced as the 1911 just can’t be beat.  The Sig 220 is a close second but the trigger pull differences between a single action and a SA/DA is considerable if  you are looking for first hit accuracy.  I love my Sigs but they are not going to be as consistent with the first shot being so much hard to pull.

Wilson combat makes a lot of gun parts for the 1911 and  you can customize this gun in just about any way you want.   Hand sizes can vary so customization of a firearm is important but the one thing that I find constant is my Wilson Combat Magazines are always going to be running in all of my 1911 handguns.  I prefer the 8rd ETM magazines because they feel a little stronger and with the numbers being printed on the bottom of the magazines its easy to keep a track record of my magazine rotations when I am shooting IDPA or other competition events.  I’ve also noticed a much better knock down ration with 45acp ball ammo on steel plates and that’s really just what is so good about the 45acp.

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The 1911 is a better gun

I started out with a Colt 1991A1 over 20yrs ago and at the time I thought I was getting a second rate 1911 but it was a good price so I got it.  I fell in love with the gun immediately and It just fit my hand that the first time I shot it I thought I was missing paper and it turned out I was shooting out the center of the target.   After shooting the gun for 3 range sessions I started having problems.   I had a good relationship with my gun  shop and when I went back in I talked to him.  He told me I should be using more than 1 magazine with the gun and talked about magazine rotation.  Then I picked up a few more Colt 1911 magazines and after a few range sessions the gun started closing on an empty chamber.

This whole issue was apparently very common with 1911s and many of the GI magazines were actually meant to be thrown away on a battlefield and not re-used.  I tried the quick fixes but they didn’t hold up, I later found out about Wilson Combat Magazines and now the Wilson Combat ETM magazines are my primary 1911 magazines.  Barrel designs and more durable parts have made the 1911 a superior firearm than it’s original GI version.   Although the guns are still pretty heavy compared to composite materials, many people still find the 1911 guns to be the most comfortable 45acp to shoot.

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