1911 Questions

[Redram]

I have a couple of questions concerning 1911 45 ACP.

1. Who makes the best magazines (7-8 round)?

2. What type of sights should I put on my Rock Island tac 1911?

[GoodOlBoy]

#1 - Wilson Combat hands down on both. Their 8 rounders is all I use in mine.

#2 - Novak or Trijicon night sights.

GoodOlBoy

[buckhunter]

Not 100% sure but it seems that there are different magizines for different brands of a 1911's'. If I shot a Para I would use Para or if I shot a Wilson it would be a wilson. For a Mil Spec I would standard issue. Then again that just me.

[GoodOlBoy]

All single stack 1911 magazines are interchangable (with one exception of a company whose name I dont remember who jacked with their design and none of their parts fit anybody elses). So are the parts, unless you REALLY get an oddball pistol made by some off the wall company (see above) who claims it is a 1911 but isnt. My milspec Thompson will swap parts from dads springfield, an original singer, a colt, etc etc. That is the beauty of a 1911 it is a platform gun. You can make it as complicated, or as simple as you want it, and you can do it all yourself (with a few VERY minor exceptions if you are all thumbs) from "over the counter" parts.

My thompson has a titanium springfield firing pin, a set of wolff springs, a videki trigger, etc etc.

a 1911 (generic term used for the 1911a1) can actually also exchanged parts with an original 1911 (non a1 variation). Now with colt and a few companies there is a difference in firing pins and extractors in 70 series vs 80 series. This was done because some people cannot figure out how to safely handle a 1911a1 without companies adding extra safties, etc to keep them from hurting themselves. The same folks probably shouldnt use anything other than a butter knife, and should never be allowed to use a fork. It should be noted that the magazines on the 70 and 80 series are interchangeable. IE you cans use da same ones

In point of fact all of the magazines in my thompson 1911a1 have been used in my dads springfield (and I have used his) and one of them was originally purchased for a ballister molina 1911 (not a1) that I owned for a very short amount of time until it was discovered the previous owner had tried to recut the feed ramp and had botched the job.

The only other noteable exception is the 1911a1 commander models. They take a different magazine (which wilson combat ALSO makes. . . .)

wonder if some people only shoot the same brand of ammo as the name of their gun? Must be a bear to find Marlin branded ammo for a Marlin rifle chambered in 30-30 winchester. . . . . . know what I mean?

GoodOlBoy

[GoodOlBoy]

By the way as an add. that Rock Island is a good 1911a1, and it will take any of the standard 1911a1 parts. You should already have novak sights on it.

Oh and here is what Wilson says on their web page about their magazines.

Our .45 magazines are so inherently reliable they'll make virtually ANY 1911 pistol function EVERY TIME, including YOURS!

I use almost strictly their #47D magazine. 8rnd stainless with a base pad.

http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_magazines.asp

GoodOlBoy

[Redram]

I was not sure about what sights are on it. I wanted to replace them with tritium sights. That was the main concern I had about the gun was the sights.

As far as the magazines go, I have had great luck in the past with gun show magazines (GI mil-spec). With the price being low on them, if you find a bad one, you are only out about $7.00.


One more thing, the Rock Island came with one Mec-Gar magazine as standard issue.

Regarding your comment about the 30/30 winchester ammo in a marlin rifle. I was in a gun shop and overheard a guy wanting 308 Browning ammo. The store owner told him he had a 308 Win, but the guy argued and stormed out of the store looking for a box of 308 Browning the day before deer season. Some people should not be allowed to own guns, I guess, if they don't know what they are doing.

[bulletpusher]

GoodOlBoy, (Son of Mine)

I believe if you check your Wilson Combat magazines you will find the the one's I use and that I bought you are the 47DE. The differance is that the bumper pad on the bottom is a little thicker.

The other thing is that the Commander or Combat Commander and the officers models in their various guises will take a full size 1911 or 1911A1 magazine. But you can not go the other way, because the shorter magazines will not seat into the grip of a full size, etc., etc,.

The Wilson Magazines cost more than a lot of the others especially the mil spec. mags but from personnel experience and from the experiences of several people that I would trust my life and the lives of my family to protect have never had a Wilson fail or jam.

That same can not be said about all of the others no matter what the price. There are a whole bunch of magazines that are very good but I'll stick with Wilson, they have never let me down.

Bulletpusher

[popplecop]

Wison are good as are Chip McCormick, use both in my 1911s interchangeablely with no problems.

[buckhunter]

This is good to know. I knew you could interchange a lot of the internal parts but alway guess and wrongly so the magizines couldn't be interchanged. It a good thing to know cause I have about 50 milspec magizines I got somewhere.

[GoodOlBoy]

on the milspecs I would check two things. Make sure that each one does not fail to feed (IE no jams, stovepipes, etc), and make sure each one will fall out of the 1911 when you push the magazine release. If they work perfectly and fall free then by all means use them. If they don't work perfectly, or don't fall free (or both) then I would sell the ones with the issues on gunbroker and use the money to buy a wilson mag.

I have 1 metalform mag that I replaced the spring and follower with a wilson combat spring and follower kit. The mag was free when I bought my 1911, and it only ocassionally wouldn't feed correctly. The wilson kit cost me around $14 and fixed the issue. It is now every bit as reliable as my wilson mags, though I only holds 7 rounds.

GoodOlBoy

[Seawolf1090]

I have been using MecGar magazines since I bought my M1991A1 in 1995 - they work, and have NEVER failed me! MecGar is a subcontractor for many gun manufacturers and makes many OEM magazines.
I have a Wilson and a McCormick - they are excellent - the MecGar is just as good and half the price.
I once made the mistake of ordering a half dozen 'no name' magazines from The Sportsman's Guide. Two failed catestrophically IN the pistol! The welds on the floorplates broke, and the mags self-destructed. I threw all six away after stomping them flat. I learned real quick to "buy the best!"

[Jack]

I've acquired a bunch of different 1911 magazines over the years. A lot of them I'll use at the range, but not for carry.
The milsurp and milspec ones are often cheap- but, test those in your gun- some are reliable, some aren't.
My gun didn't like McCormicks until I learned a little trick- the slide stop cut on the McCormicks would bind on the slide stop in my gun (the slide stop is original, NOT an aftermarket) until I learned to take a file to the right place on the McCormick- then they work like a charm. Two minutes with a needle file is worth the savings, for me, over some of the premium magazines. I suppose the lesson there is, every gun has its preferences.
The Wilsons are not cheap, but they are excellent. Ed Brown makes one that's very good, too, IMO.
For carry, I use only Brown's or Wilson's.

[GoodOlBoy]

I had several MecGar mags. They had split lip followers, and REALLY had to be kept sparkling clean not to have issues. They are the reason I went to Wilson Combat mags. I have 1 Chip Mccormick. It fails to feed often enough that it is in my range bag for range shooting only. I don't try to save money when it comes to my life or my families life.

GoodOlBoy