Loose magazines in 1911?

M

Model12Win

Moderator
First off, I want to say SORRY for asking so many 1911 questions! Today I got my Rock Island Armory FS Tactical II Ultra .45, and man is it nice. I just got done cleaning it but I think I notice an issue.

With Wilson Combat ETM magazines, there is a measured .006" (1.5mm) movement of the magazine upwards when I push on the mag's base plate. I am rather alarmed at this... should the magazines be moving like that? Strange thing is, when I put the Act mag that came with the gun in, there is almost no movement at all.

It seems these expensive Wilson magazines might cause me problems on the range with that kind of play. If anyone knows what I should do, or even if this is acceptable/normal, please let me know.

Thanks guys!
 
Hmm, I would bet it won't cause any issues. But if it does you can always try different mags anyways. I have 1 Wilson and won't buy anymore. It performs fine but I don't like the plastic follower. I have heard that GI style followers actually can work best for feeding a variety of bullet profiles like swc and HPs, and I would rather have steel than plastic, although I believe the most important parts are the spring and the strength of the lips of the mag.
 
It seems these expensive Wilson magazines might cause me problems on the range with that kind of play. If anyone knows what I should do, or even if this is acceptable/normal, please let me know.
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I dunno, run with it and see. There're a lot of different magazines out there.

I'm just starting with the 1911, with an RIA GI, full size. the factory ACT magazine, 2 Springfield's and one Chip McCormick. All work fine.
 
Congratulations! Welcome to the world of 1911 PATTERN pistols.

Guns made by one maker, magazines (and other parts) made by other makers, all supposedly made to the "right" specs (which come from who knows where, if not the original GI/Colt specs).

First off, you discover a tiny bit of play in the aftermarket mag (and forget who's mag it is, the reputation of the maker only matters when you need them to stand behind it).

Second, DOES IT MATTER???
Forgive me for being Capt Obvious / Groucho Marx..
Doc, I get
movement of the magazine upwards when I push on the mag's base plate.
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Well, then don't DO that...;):rolleyes:

Get some dummy rounds (or make them), OR if you are where you can safely do it, use live rounds, and check the feeding, manually. DO NOT USE SNAP CAPS.

Test feeding both with the mag "normally" and with it "pushed up". You might find that you can't push it up when its loaded. But even if it does, what matters is that it FEEDS properly.

Is it all mags from Wilson?? Is it just in your gun??

It might simply be the differences in tolerances (specs) between that maker's mags and your gun.

Its only really a problem if they don't work, or if by pushing them up you can cause them not to work. (One reason they don't often teach the "cup & saucer hold anymore..)

If they lock in securely, feed correctly, and eject properly, its not a real problem. If not, then it is.
 
Thanks guys. I went outside and pointed in a safe direction and worked the slide with the loaded magazines. It seems to function just fine, all round went in smoothly with no hitches.

Today I am going to run some WWB and Remington UMC 230 grain ball through the gun. I just kind of found it off that I am getting this play with the high dollar Wilson ETM mags but the cheap Act mag locks up much better in the gun. Seems like the looseness might not be a good thing.

We'll see though. I'll get back with everyone when I'm done at the range today. I can't wait!! :D
 
Check to see that when the mag is pushed all the way up, that the tube isn't in contact with the ejector.
If the ejector is limiting upward movement, rather than the mag release or the basepad stopping against the frame, the mag will be bouncing off the ejector with each shot, eventually loosening or breaking the latter.
I had that issue with one gun, and it's only with the factory mag; aftermarket mags stop short of ejector contact.
 
Break that sucker in! It should be fine as long as the mag stays in there while you're shooting it. If you hear a "click" when you insert the mag, you're good to go.
 
44 AMP, I noticed you subtly suggesting (in all caps;)) not to use snap caps for this testing. Not being a 1911 aficionado, I have to wonder why.
 
Sounds like the catch slots in the Wilson were cut too large. Maybe the guy had a hangover that day.:D
 
I usually have a hangover when shooting. So nothing noticed, but I wouldn't think .06" is a problem at all. No reliability follow up report?
 
Reliability... err... not so good. :(

So it appears that the inside of the slide release was bumping up against the bullets in the magazine, which causes 5-6 premature slide locks of the 200 rounds of ball I fired through the gun. This left copper deposits on the nub of the slide release.

Supposedly, I can hit this area with a file to make it stop contacting the bullets... we shall see.
 
Model12Win said:
Supposedly, I can hit this area with a file to make it stop contacting the bullets... we shall see.
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Yep -- I've had to do this more than twice. There's a sketch showing exactly where to file in the "Gunsmithing" discussion area of the M1911.org forum.
 
"....006 inch is not 1.5 mm..." Isn't enough to worry about either. Sheet of 29 pound bond paper is that thick. Anyway, if there are no function issues forget about it.
 
Rounds in Wilson mags sit a little higher than most other mags. I assume that's why there's a problem with the Wilson mags but not with the ACT mags.
 
Wow this is my first Rock so no idea but Wilson mags I've had previously. Anyway if you can't fix it easily send it back to Rock Island Armory, don't mess up warranty by altering the gun itself. The Wilson mag is not likely problem in my thinking.
 
KyJim said:
Rounds in Wilson mags sit a little higher than most other mags. I assume that's why there's a problem with the Wilson mags but not with the ACT mags.
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Especially Wilson's ETM magazines. They were specifically designed to sit higher than in-spec 1911 magazines. They sit so high that I know of two pistols on which the slide won't close over an ETM magazine. One of them happens to be my pre-Series 80 Colt Combat Commander. The ETM mag locked up the pistol so tight the slide had to be driven back with a mallet. (Yes, literally. We chucked the slide into a padded vise at the range's shop and whacked the front strap with a rubber mallet).

Wilson Combat helpfully told me that my pistol was out of spec. Yeah, a Colt, that hadn't missed a beat in the ten years or so I had owned it.

My informal assessment is that the ETM magazines cause as many problems as they solve.
 
When ACT-Mags were known mostly for cracking, the importer swore that the problem was the slide hitting and damaging the tube.
The problems and denials went on for years. I bought six Novak-marked ACT-Mags, and had no problems with them, sold them to a buddy, and all six cracked with very little additional use, and no evidence of a slide ever hitting them.
 
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