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DGW, I wasn't calling anyone Barney Fife, It's a spare mag you pocket after loading a single round at the ready before loading a full Mag. It loads the +1's.
Anyway my post was in response to the OP and the Uplula could be a solution to his thumb/finger issue he referenced. I also stand by my Checkmate suggestion. Ruger selected them on the SR1911 for a good reason and the features of their hybrid follower design appeals to some shooters. Considering the total cost of active shooting, $40/50 more in the total cost of a half dozen mags considering their life expectancy is not worth debating further.

Hello LEDW.....Sorry that I mis-interpeted your "Barney Fife" comment, but actualy, I found it to be rather funny.

As far as life expectency goes, I've got some surplus USGI mags that I paid less than $4 for back in the day. I've been using them for close to 25 years and they still work just as well now as they did on day one.
It's all about design and proper materials. Price?....not so much.

Leastways, that's my experience.

DGW

Basically where some of the different mags make a difference is with the length of the guide lips. A friend of mine from the forum has a Colt Series 80 govt and a variety of magazines. He also reloads and uses the Lyman 452460 a lot. Those familiar with that boolit know that the COL of the finished round is going to be shorter than those with H&G 68s or round nose bullets so that the forward drive band does not engage the rifling. Now with his GI mags, which are in perfect shape, he gets double feeds every now and then. He has also had the entire mag self-unload when dropping it onto a table from a couple inches above the surface. Now with his aftermarket mags (I do not know if they are Wilson Combats, Kimber Tac-Mags, etc), the lips on them are a bit longer and he no longer gets double feeds, etc. Those mags do not self-unload when dropped on a table either.

So aftermarket mags can make a difference with certain bullet styles.

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I agree 100%.
Generaly speaking, when one sets about modifying the 1911 platform (or it's ammo) beyound it's design perimeters, it aint unusual to also need a specialty mag of some sort. I see that a lot with the shorty's, and/or when attempting to use non-standard bullet shapes.
That aint however, the fault of the original magazine design. All it means realy, is that the origonal mag design was intended for different ammo and/or for a different gun than we are trying to use it with.

Like I've said before;
A 1911 is a 1911, a 1911A1 is a 1911A1, and a Government Model is a Government Model. There's them three and their clones. Everything else is...well... is "something else". Who knows what kind of mag you'll need for that?....I surely don't.

DGW

henI bought my Kimber T.L.E II back in 2005 it only came witbh one factory 7 round mag .The only other .45ACp mags they had in stock at the time were Wilson Combat 8 rounders so I bought 4 of them .They work like a charme ,but so does the stock kimber.I aggree with the other guys here stock gun, stock mags and and stock leignth bullets and just about any 1911 mag will work just fine .I like my Wilson's and plan to buy one more of them so I'll have 5 mags for carry use ,but I've got a bunch of surplus mags that work just fine too ,I just like the 8 rounders for personal carry .but thats just me .You ain't got to spend an arm and a leg to get good mags for the 1911 ,Unless the feel lips are bent of the spring is worn out they all work well .
Lou

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A big part of the "which" depends on what you're going to do with them. If you're going to stand at a bench and shoot, your requirements are different than someone who's going to be dropping them.

I have a bunch of Chip McCormick Power Mags that work great for me (USPSA/IDPA) at one range where the deck is gravel. At my home range it's all beach sand. Once the CMC's get a little dirty they give me all sorts of trouble. They need to be cleaned frequently, but because of their design they're a pain to clean.

I started buying Metalform Elites, besides working great they will work a lot longer when dirty/sandy. As important, maybe more so, theyre easy to disassemble and easy to clean. Only down side is they're not cheap.

I keep buying mags hoping that eventually I'll be able to rotate them through a whole match without having problems or needing to clean them. At that point I will probably half as much money invested in mags as I do in the gun.

That my friend is either total BS or you have not shot many 1911's with many different mags

I never had one fail either.

I have a whole box full and just grab a handfull.

They all work flawlessly.

Spend what you want, but it's not necessary to spend a lot

REV

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"I've never had a 1911 magazine fail me."

I have. And I've had them make the gun not work also. Don't mean much, who does and who doesn't.

Not much to be surprised about in that !!


REV

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I've posted this picture before. I won't go into my full axe grinding rant about PSI and all my bad P220 mags or how PSI stole from me… oh waiting I'm doing it…

It's a ACT/PSI 1911 magazine that is split, that I've never fired a round out of. I only use it as my Barney mag.

I've been building and tinkering with 1911's since the late 70's. About 10 years ago I discovered Metalform's 7 round mags with the rounded steel follower and welded baseplate. They are probably the single best 7 round mag available. For the last couple of years I have been using Chip McCormick's 8 round Power-Mags and they are the best 8 round mag I've used. I know some folks like the Wilsons but the pistol was designed to work with a steel follower and I can't bring myself to trust any mag with a plastic one.

The only problem I've had with after market mags has come from old WWll or Korean War surplus that wouldn't drop when the magazine release button was pushed. All fed and functioned perfectly however. Rod

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I guess your right Texasgunner, I've only owned 8 or 9 1911's in my life and maybe shot 3 or 4 others, but of those I've had and shot "IMHO" any jams I had were due to feed ramps, recoil springs, reloaded ammo etc.
or the gun just needed a good cleaning. "If a mag fails, it's usaully damaged in some way". "IMHO".
Jim

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last week I bought two spare mags for my Ruger. A Chip McCormick blued 8 round that I paid $25 for and a Kimber blued 8 round just like it for $14.50 out the door. I do believe some more of those Kimbers are going to come home with me next time I get near that particular gunshop with cash in my pocket.

I like that both of those are flush fit with the bottom of the mag well, better than the stock Ruger 8rnd with bumper that sticks out quite a way past the mag well. They all cycle good, so there ya go