We've discussed this before and it seems you mentioned a certain Metalform magazine for 1911's being fairly reliable in the 45's. I'm about to stock up on 1911 mags and thought I'd check with you before spending money. In the past I've had Chip McCormic 8 rounders that never gave me issues and then some older ones that Scott Tschirhart gave me and a few of them had weak springs. I've had a few Wilson mags that wouldn't lock the slide open. Had on Tripp Research Cobra mag that was flawless. I've never had a problem with factory Colt, Springfield or Kimber mags so I'm inclined to just go to Springfield and buy more but I thought I'd ask just in case. Of course, anyone else can pipe up if you wish:)

On another note, I'm still strongly considering a Ruger LW Commander 9mm and I'm guessing the 9mm magazines that come with the guns tend to be reliable with ball and JHP ammo?

rob, I've tried several brands of 9mm 1911 mags in my old Commander. Two out of three Colt mags were good, including the original late-60s original: the third one was crap.

Most of the ones I have are Mec-Gar, and they all work fine. The 1911 was designed around the 45 acp and the shorter OAL of the 9mm can give problems. I love my old Colt, but it is a finicky feeder and absolutely does not like short cartridges.

The 1960s-vintage alloy frame is somewhat fragile, and most hollowpoints chew chunks out of the soft ramp. Modern metallurgy and design has cured those problems. If you get a Ruger with the titanium feed ramp and feed it from Mec-Gar mags I would bet that you will have no trouble.

I believe I have 19 of them?

G.I. Joe gives them a thumbs up.

as are Chip McCormick Power mags... my 25+ 8 round Chips need a spring replacement but they are great well made mags that have stayed loaded for decades

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

9mms so far. I can't help but think it would be a useful and versatile pistol.

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Some Metalforms and go with that. I'll try some of the Brownells mags if I pick up a LW Commander in 9mm. That is a tough decision. I already have a Sig P226 Elite (jacked by the wife tho) and my stainless CZ75). So it's not like I'm hurting for another 9mm. It's also tempting to just buy a LW Commander 45 to compliment my GM. What I CANT do is just keep buying and buying right now so I need to do it right once and not change my mind:)

I'd wait on the Ruger Lwt until they get a few hangups straightened out...

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

I have a million rds through 1911's and I still am using my Pachmyre and Chip McCormick mags from the 80's. If I couldn't find Chips I would look at Wilsons , Very good quality with a warranty if they split. A bit pricey but good. J.Michael

I'm in no hurry to add another firearm, just thinking on it:)

Metalforms have always performed for me in 45 and 9. Lately I have been using the Wilsons and they are great.

and carried them with my last duty 1911, about 2006. I used the blue 7 round mags with the round follower and welded baseplate. Never had a failure with them.

A couple of years later I read Metalform sent some mags out with bad springs. A former Chief gave me a couple of CMC Powermags for the nickel Rock Island I was carrying off duty. 8 round mags had a spotty reputation but these were great. A couple of years ago I learned CMC was making a blue 8 round mag called the Classic that fit flush and looks at home in a blue or GI 1911. I ran four of them pretty hard for awhile and they seem to be as good as the Powermags.

I'm sure there are other good mags out there but those are recent ones I have experience with.

I may have to try and round up some blue CMC's.

Ran across this today and thought it might interest you.....

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=632985

Myself I use only Wilson 47's and Baer 8 rounders, back in the late 80s I tried different types and pretty much all sucked. Bought a couple of Wilson 47D's and have never looked back, still using several that I bought back then. When the springs get weak I buy spring/follower kits and keep shooting. I did have two that were sticky on ejection from the mag well, after years of abuse in IPSC shooting, sent them to Wilson for review and they sent two new mags back in less than week. I am kinda partial to the style/design of them but 20+ years of IPSC shooting prove that work and hold up.

Gunner

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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

I may try some of the 47D mags. I'll just get a collection and see how they do:)

I tried some of the Triple-K that Brownells had on sale awhile back and they worked just fine with hardball (haven't had time to try them with all types of jhp yet).

I think if a 1911 works well then it will work with any brand of magazine. I suppose if there is something marginal with a 1911 and a magazine aggravates it then there can be problems.

I've always read that Wilson mags are the best. Kimber mags seemed to be pretty cheap, and similar to old GI mags. But they all seem to work for me.

Everyone (well, a lot of folks) say the magazine is the weak link to the 1911 and I really haven't found that to be true. I suspect it's so they can justify selling expensive mags to "fix" what really isn't a problem...the Wilson Vickers mag is over FIFTY BUCKS! Most 1911 issues I've had were from guns that should have never left the factory and had nothing to do with the magazines. I've had good luck with the CMC Shooting Stars except for the really old ones that were used hard and passed down to me second or third hand and new springs would have fixed them. For now I ordered two CMC "Match Grade" stainless 8 rounders. Best guess from reading the description is its built to even tighter standards than the Shooting Star mags, made in America and with better grade springs than the old mags. They have a flat welded base plate which I prefer. If they work well I may buy more at under $23 a piece.

I think the weak link is the extractor. It seems that it must be within a narrow range of adjustment to work well.

A lot of folks have a spare fitted at the time they buy a custom 1911.