All posts tagged colt magazines

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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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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Another public service announcement

There are some things that I have to watch myself with because I can get too repetitive when dealing with some of my gun friends, but when it comes to public safety and gun ownership there are things that I am forced to re-iterate every year.    I was recently made aware of an incident where a novice gun owner went out and picked up a Kimber 1911 and was learning to shoot with it.   After probable putting about 1000rds through the gun it sat in his home unloaded for several months.   Just this past weekend he was in a hostile situation and ran up to his bedroom to retrieve it.

The gun was not loaded when pulled it out of his closet but he had ammunition standing when he loaded the magazine up the feed lips where so worn out that the bullets came loose when he popped it back in the gun magazine.   The manufacturer of the firearm was not important, but it is not wise to only have one magazine for a self defense weapon.  I rotate all of my Wilson Combat magazines for my 1911s and actually use GI magazines for range mags.  The GI magazines are not as reliable and I actually like that because I can practice clearing malfunctions with them.  If they jam too much I just toss them.   Don’t mix your range magazines in with defensive magazines.

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Range experiences with 1911s

pistol magazinesAlthough I understand that polymer guns are here to stay and they are far more technologically advanced than their early metal counterparts, I still enjoy shooting my 1911 handguns.   The 1911s that are being made today are really several generations beyond where the guns that crossed the European continent and fought on the beaches of the Pacific.   The best improvements I have seen in the 1911 design compared to the GI guns are #1 the pistol sights, and #2 the gun magazines.  The GI 1911 magazines weakness seemed to be the followers.   The slide stops were so heavy that many of the times the tabs on the magazine would bend and the slide would close on an empty chamber.

Wilson combat and Chip McCormack magazines have the best reputations for durability.   I’d have to say that I’ve had good experiences with both magazines and really can’t say one is better than the other.   When it comes to many of the other pistol magazines,  I always go with factory magazines.   Now that the 1994 assault weapons ban has expired and many manufacturers were able to get their standard capacity magazines back on the market.   Without any real threat coming from Congress on gun control, prices have come down and it’s really a good idea to stick with the magazines that your manufacturer makes for your gun.

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