Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
It’s an ugly world out there these days, and I’m guessing that it’s gonna get a lot uglier before it gets prettier. While being armed doesn’t make the world any prettier, it does a fairly good job of keeping the ugly at a distance.
Normally, I stick to factory/OEM magazines for guns if I can. What this means is that, in the case of , say, Browning HiPowers I use only Browning-made mags or mags made by whoever is making them for Browning. (Mec-Gar, most likely.) Why? Usually the folks who make the gun provide the best magazine for that gun. Spend $700 on a Browning and drop a $15 Triple K magazine into it (or a USA Brand mag) and become a master of the malfunction drill.
Some guns, though, are so ubiquitous that everyone makes a magazine for it. Take the 1911, for example. A hundred years of existence creates a fairly large aftermarket manufacturer base. What’s good? What isn’t?
Of the 1911’s I own, I don’t think I have a single genuine Colt magazine. Mostly because, for whatever reason, any magazine with the prancing pony on it starts commanding a lot of money. I’m poor. I’m trying to prepare for the apocalypse while my currency is devaluing. For the price of a genuine Colt magazine (which actually may not be the best choice for the 1911) I can get (usually) two of another brand of magazine at better quality. In the course of my travels I’ve tried a bunch of 1911 mags. Here are my two favorites:
Wilson Combat 8-round mags – These are some seriously nice mags. My experience has been that this is a terrific magazine in terms of quality. I’d have a stack of fifty of these in the bunker except for one little niggling detail…they price out at over $30 each. Owie. These are the kind of mags that if you’re wandering around with one in the gun and two on your belt, it’s worth the expense. But if, like me, you want the ‘lifetime supply’ and need about thirty or fifty….well, you’d have a really great lifetime supply but you’d also be hurting in the wallet pretty bad. My feeling on this is to buy three or four of the Wilson’s and use them for the everyday carry.
Second favorite mag, and the one I stockpile for that rainy decade is:
Chip McCormick (CMC) Shooting Star magazines – This is the magazine I stockpile. They’re 8-shot, come with a removable base pad, have an excellent follower design, and seem to work great. MSRP on them is around $20 but I can find them from time to time on special at wholesalers for about ten bucks. (Even at $12.99 theyre still a great value.) When that happens, it’s the best value out there for a high-quality 1911 mag. Only drawback to this mag (and to a lesser degree the Wilson) is that if you have the basepads on the magazine they may be too long for the flap on your magazine pouch to close properly. Obviously, on open top mag pouches this isnt a problem. Personally, I prefer the basepads on my 1911 mags because it gives me a little extra length to make sure my mag is seated properly. It also protects the mags when you do mag changes at the range and the mag hits the concrete.
I’ve also used a bunch of other mags, including quite a few GI mags of dubious age, and have found that there are plenty of mags out there that will work but not very many that work consistently, reliably, and affordably. In my experience, the two I’ve just mentioned are, to me, the best choice.
Other mags out there that might be better choices? Sure…It’s just foolish to think I’ve tried every brand of mag out there. Plus you may be shooting a higher (or lower) end gun than what I normally shoot and it may have a preference for a particular magazine. In my experience, with my guns, I’ve found that the Wilson and CMC mags seem to be the best mags out there for the 1911-pattern pistols.
