Since there was so much info on full-size mags, I went into some research and review into mags for the Officer/Defender framed 1911s.
I went into this with a very picky, very finiky, pre-break-in, fresh out of the box Kimber UltraCarryII 45ACP, and went with two popular upgrade mags as compared to the original equipment mag from Kimber.
From left to right; Chip McCormack Match Grade, Wilson Combat 47OXC, stock Kimber 7rd
The Chip's have a well-marked stainless steel body with a full-length seam weld along the spine that is beautifully polished. The floorplate is predrilled for a basepad, and has been spotwelded in 4 places, and ground smooth.
The Wilson sports a similar high-polished, fully-welded stainless body with cut-out windows for round count. The floorplate slides on to rolled lips are is locked in place with a inner lockplate. I like the Wilson's body a bit better, because it's faster to get a round count over the drilled holes in the Chip and Kimber mags.
The Kimber mag has a parkerized steel body that has a fully welded spine, but the weld looks very splotchy when compared to the welds on other mags. The floorplate is also drilled for a basepad, and spotwelded in four places.
The Kimber mag fits flush in the UCII, and has a slight 1/32nds lip on the front, just barely past the front of the grip. The parkerized finish gives a bit of drag as the mag is inserted into and ejected from the gun.
The CMC MG also fits flush, but lacks the lip on the front of the mag. This gives the grip absolutely nothing to snag on, and a sleeker profile. They are available with a basepad in different thicknesses, but I opted for a slick look. Plus, I wanted this as a carrygun, not a mag-dropping, speedloading, steel comp gun. The polished body makes the mag slide effortlessly into and out of the gun. Even with the slide locked back and the gun held at a 3 o'clock position, the mag still flies out of the magwell.
The Wilson mag has a basepad built into them, but it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. They are fairly low-profile, sticking out about 1/8th to 3/16th of an inch, and has a lip on the front of about 1/8ths". There is an advantage to this. In the case of a partial mag ejection, you now have a perfect lip for your left hand to use to strip the mag out of the gun. Just like the Chip mag, it flies into and out of the gun effortlessly. The beauty of polished stainless.
The followers and feedlips are different from mag to mag. The follower on the Kimber is a stamped steel parkerized unit, very resemblant of the USGI Colt follower. It doesn't seem very smooth when loading the mag or simply manipulating the follower my hand, but the magspring does seem to be very stout. The Wilson is definitely the bird that stands out. It's follower seems to be Delrin, a self-lubricating polymer that is very tough, and puts up with dirt and small debris very well. It is an anti-tilt, and can be manipulated easily and smoothly. The CMC mag uses the tried and true Shooting Star follower. While not being anti-tilt, it does load smoothly after the first round, and has a fairly strong spring; midrange for this trio of mags.
The feed notch in the mags also differ. The Kimber has the smallest area for the slide to strip a shell off the mag, while the CMC's feed notch is similar, but slightly larger. The Wilson dwarfs the competition with a monstrous notch for the slide to grab brass like no one's business.
The feedlips on the mags are an important part of the feeding equation. The CMC has the shortest feedlip from the spine of the mag to the mag opening, while the Wilson is just a bit longer, but just by a hair. The Kimber's feedlips are about 1/32nds longer than the CMC's (I should have brought my dial calipers from my shop before doing this). What I find wierd is the angle of bullet presentation of each mag. I'm sorry I don't have a pic, because the examination of this was difficult enough to scope out, and nearly impossible to photograph. The Wilson presented the bullet at the highest angle to the breech, while the Kimber seemed to be 2 or 3 degrees lower than that, and the CMC was about a degree or two lower than the Kimber. What this SHOULD equate to is the Wilson presents the round at the best angle to help feeding onto the ramp, and into the chamber, while the CMC basically nosedives the bullet into the feedramp.
So, what does all this mean as far as reliability? Honestly, all the factors should make the Wilson mag the most reliable mag for the Officer 1911. Self-lubricating follower, biggest extraction notch, highest feed angle, you name it... but the mags I've had the most luck out of was the CMCs... I can't explain it. Maybe Chip lubes each mag with his own magical, natural 1911 lubricant before shipping. I still think the gun is still in break-in, but it has yet to miss a lick with the CMCs, while still getting a nosecrashing FTF every once in a while with the Wilson. Forget the Kimber mag. It will be a doorstop soon enough.
Ideas? Suggestions? thoughts of how I can improve my review?
This post has been edited by Synistar13: December 19th 2009 4:31 AM
December 7th 2009 5:40 AM
