1911 magazines

[DrHenley]

Originally Posted by pitor

Good info Jim, and your experience may be the result of poor quality materials used in those mags.

I don't think so. I think it is simply because if you stress steel beyond a certain point, it's going to bend. I doubt if the GI mags had better quality steel in the springs than the Checkmate or Wilson mags, they just aren't stressed as much. The main problem as I see it is trying to cram 8 rounds into a magazine length designed for 7.

I'm trying different brand springs (ISMI, Wolff, Checkmate) to see if any particular brand has more issues in an 8 round mag than the others, but it will be a while before I know anything. It's hard to compare, however, because only the Checkmate springs will work with the patented Checkmate follower. The standard springs are too long front to back to fit between the bullnose and the back of the mag. I have to use Chip McCormick followers with the IMI and Wolff springs.

I think the solution is making the mag body slightly longer to prevent the spring from being so tightly compressed. But then you can't use the standard mag body anymore. Wilson probably should have made their 47D body slightly longer.