Happy 1911

[KeithB]

The 1911 was designed as a fighting weapon to be 100% reliable under extreme conditions while still maintaining a high level of part interchangeability. IMHO except for better sights JMB hit it right on. Every attempt to make it something it isn't (a target arm) may improve accuracy but cuts into the other aspects one way or another.

Every so often I read of somebody shooting granddads GI issued 1911 with ball ammo stored in a clip for 50+ years and it works perfectly, then I'll read about somebody buying a new <insert brand name here> and can't even get it to cycle premium ammo reliably for XXX number of rounds. Really?

 

[462]

Bill,
The magazine with the weird feed lips doesn't work . . . the back is split down the center!!

The other two Randall magazines never feed Lyman's 452460 reliably enough, though installing Wolff extra-power springs was an improvement. Feeding the Lyman 452374 was never a problem. Out of frustration, I quit loading the 452460 and range sessions became trouble-free. Then, after reading about the different types of feed lips, I bought three hybrid Check-Mates and testing them with 452460 was 100% successful. Still, I've been shooting only the 452374.

If my concealed carry license application is approved, a pair of Check-Mate G. I. magazines might be just the ticket.

 

[Pistolero]

462, I don't think that long lipped, parallel lip mag would feed worth a darn, no matter what you
used in it. MAYBE feed 230 ball.

You are dead right, Keith. The farther we go away from the original design, the less stable
ground we are on. That said, I have a number of 1911s, that with good mags and good ammo
are dead reliable. But the confusion factors of non-standard magazines, off-spec chambers
and throat designs, plus some examples of way off-spec ammo can lead to real problems.
And when the original designer has been dead for almost a century, and with 20+ manufacturers
building their own interpretation of the design.....YMMV.

For the person looking for a personal protection JHP ammo for a touchy 1911, I would suggest the
Winchester White Box 230 JHP. This has a bullet shape which is essentially identical to military
230 ball with an open tip, and in my testing in wet newsprint, and online testing with ballistic gelatine,
opens very reliably, too. I personally carry 230 Gold Dots, which are a good bullet shape and a
superb JHP, expansion-wise, but a bit off of the shape of GI ball. Al has mentioned this ammo
favorably, too. I concur on that opinion. It is a little hard to find these days, unfortunately.



And a bit more affordable, too.

And with proper loading and a good TC, the H&G 68 is a gold standard load for 1911s if you
want a 200 gr SWC. Very few guns have any trouble with this, if seated to 1.225 to 1.250 LOA
and given a good TC as a separate operation. Many tens of millions of rounds of this load
have gone down range in IPSC competiton, a sport where malfunctions are intolerable.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Parallel lip mags hold the rear end of the cartridge too low, too long, increases the cartridge
feed angle, making it more nose high, rim low. Works OK for long enough ammo, but for shorter
cartridges, the steep feed angle can cause roof jams and other mayhem. The original GI
lets the cartridge rise at the rear as it moves forward, sliding the rim under the extractor and
keeping the feed angle more reasonable.

I have a number of well made parallel mags that work fine with some ammo in some guns, but they are not my
preference, and have, sadly, become ubiquitous.

I am considering whether it is doable to set up to modify parallel lip mags to hybrid style. It should
be possible to make an angle block, set the mag up in the mill and take a light cut to make
the same taper that the GI mags have, after the fact on a finished mag.

Bill

 

[Brad]

Shooting today with Paul. He has a new 1911. I noticed he had a few stoppages. I looked at his magazines and asked if it was generally the second to last round that jammed. He said yes.
He has hybrid feel lip magazines that came with the gun.

Kinda sad when I knew exactly when it was jamming based on my experience with mine and similar magazines,

 

[CZ93X62]

Colt magazines are all that I own and use in my Gold Cup. At $17 each about 6 years ago from The Evil Empire (MidwayUSA), it wasn't a tough decision.

 

[Brad]

I have an ancient blued, rusty, sorta cleaned up magazine with GI feed lips. It is 100% reliable thus far.
My Colt magazines with GI lips are also 100% reliable but so are my Checkmates.

 

[Pistolero]

Allen, Those are likely hybrid mags, which usually work well. But, not in ALL guns.

Brad, did you let him try a GI type mag? Now you at least know what to try. What ammo
was he using? If handloads.....TC or not, how tight?

Bill

 

[Brad]

I didn’t look at the crimp too much. Will follow up on that. All handloads, either a Lee 230 TC or Lee 230 RN.

 

[fiver]

that lee is kind of wide in the nose to mimic ball ammo, but it is usually reliable.
the 68's nose was designed to 'touch point' on ball ammo of it's time frame, that's why it has that radius on the nose.
think of it as a skeletonized jacketed bullet where they just took away weight, the lyman 460/430 is bout the same they just moved back the point of contact. [wider nose]

 

[Pistolero]

Inadequate or no TC has been a common theme for decades in 1911 choking on handloads, from my experience
assisting folks loading for IPSC and having reliablity problems. I would usually just pop a round out of
one of my mags and hand it to them and tell them to set their LOA and TC to match that. And they
would come back all smiles.
Those are two very reliable feeding bullets, IME. That makes me even more suspicious of TC issues.
And the GI mags should be at least tried, too. The hand cycling thing is worth doing.

Bill

 

[358156 hp]

Colt magazines are all that I own and use in my Gold Cup. At $17 each about 6 years ago from The Evil Empire (MidwayUSA), it wasn't a tough decision.

I have a boatload of these myself. They have yet to let me down. I'm on the fence about the Shooting Star followers although they have never let me down either.

 

[Pistolero]

Chip McCormack bought out the Devel patents on those collapsing followers to get the extra round in.
I have had good luck with them, but my carry mags are 7 rounders.

 

[JonB]

I've re-read this thread...because I am thinking about extra mags for my RIA 38 super. Pretty much thinking the Checkmate is the way to go. Now to just figure out how many I should get...2 or 3?

 

[Brad]

No such thing as too many Jon. Get 4 or 5

 

[JonB]

When I shot league, I always would buy 4 at a time.
but really, I'm thinking 2 would be adequate...just store away the factory mag...two is all I ever use these days.

 

[wquiles]

That is what I did. I bought two of them

 

[Charles Graff]

Magazines (clips in Texas) are the Achilles heel of the 1911 pistol. There is no telling just what your pistol will like. That is why we tend to wind up with a box full of useless clips.

 

[StrawHat]

I or like to thank those who have shared their knowledge of magazines with the est of us. I am a self loading illiterate. I know enough about the 1911 to make it loudly go bang but that is about it. IF I am lucky I will get several if my brother precedes me in death. I have one idea what magazines they have but when the time comes, I will reread this thread and buy appropriately. Or maybe I should buy them now?

Kevin

 

[Matt_G]

Yes, I know I am replying to an old thread.
IMHO, this one needs to be resurrected so new members will see it.
This is one of the best threads I have ever read on any forum.
What a gem this is.
The combined knowledge of the membership here never ceases to amaze and humble me.
To everyone who participated in this thread, especially Bill, thank you.