What brand and where to buy 1911 mags?

[Spots]

Just traded into a S&W Performance Center 1911 and wondering what brand mags people prefer? Google fetches a million opinions, but I generally trust the knowledge base here more than the average forum. And do you have a preference where you order from or know of a place that regularly runs good deals on them?

[Garufa]

How much do you want to pay?  

$40 mags do the exact same thing that $10 surplus ones do.

All of mine are Chip McCormick Shooting Stars or Mec-Gar.  Right in the sweet spot of price so as not to be cheap, and not to be overly extravagant.  Mec-Gars are OEM for many, many manufacturers these days.

Edited April 19 by Garufa

[krunchnik]

Also Metalform makes a good quality magazine for a reasonable price-

Is it .45acp or .9mm?

Wilson Combat are also very good mags at a higher price-their 47D's are very good but in the $30.00 range-if in .45acp-

[Sunfish]

TRIPP stuff has worked really well for me. I have also fixed a bunch of problematic mags with their springs and followers for a very fair price

[Spots]

Its a .45 acp. Im not looking to go super high end, but Id like to get a dozen or so good quality mags that I know will run and function. Id like one or two flush base plates for carry, and a couple 10 rounds for range use. 

[deerslayer]

Wilson 47D

[South Paw]

Buy a few different magazines and see which one your pistol likes best. 1911’s can be finicky and you never know what will work best and what won’t work. 
I’ve been lucky with the WC 47D’s as well. 

Maybe you can borrow a few different mags instead of buying them to try out?

[Grayfox54]

I've been shooting 1911s for a lot of years. Even shot IDPA with one for about 12 years. Lots of companies make decent range mags. Metalform makes Colt's factory mags and they're cheaper straight from their website.  I traded into a batch of Ed Brown mags a while back and they seem to be good. Mec-Gar is known to make good stuff.

But the only mags I'll use for carry or competition is Wilson Combat. The toughest and most  reliable 1911 magazines you can get. They ain't cheap, but they're worth it. 

[Patton]

Wilson Combat are the best in my experience for 45acp. Metalform and ActMag have done well for me.  My bad experiences have come from Triple K and Chip McCormick if I load more than six rounds in them.  A lot of other mags are Rebranded Checkmate magazines.  Kimber, Springfield, Ruger, and Ed Brown are just Checkmates, and they are okay.

[scatman]

Another vote for Wilson Combat mags.

[1gewehr]

My default mags are MecGar.  I have some McCormick Shooting Stars as well, and they have been reliable.  I've got a couple of Wilson mags, but don't see that they work any better than the MecGar.  They are prettier, though!

[Tom B]

I have been using Brownell's mags with good luck, both 9mm and 45

[Sleep profit]

 Wilson. Would be my pick honestly All of them have worked great in my 45 find your best deal 

Edited April 20 by Sleep profit

[et45]

Wilson 47D.Buy once,cry once.

[gregintenn]

I have some with ball bearings embedded in the followers. No idea what brand, but they are my favorite. Short of that, you usually get what you pay for. I’d suggest avoiding triple k.

[Alleycat72]

LOL.  Mine were used in Korea. Same springs and everything. 

[hipower]

6 hours ago, et45 said:

Wilson 47D.Buy once,cry once.

Wilson or McCormick would be my choice in 1911 mags. Have a few from the Israeli source and some from Rock Island. No problems with them either.

As AlleyCat does...I have a few Korean War era that my Dad brought back too. I hadn't thought about them for quite a while though. Always seem to grab the Wilson.

Edited April 21 by hipower

[hipower]

16 hours ago, 1gewehr said:

My default mags are MecGar.  I have some McCormick Shooting Stars as well, and they have been reliable.  I've got a couple of Wilson mags, but don't see that they work any better than the MecGar.  They are prettier, though!

Glad to hear your comment on MecGar mags. Been thinking of some 9mm and looking at them for a source.. 

[hipower]

On 4/19/2024 at 6:17 PM, Spots said:

Just traded into a S&W Performance Center 1911 and wondering what brand mags people prefer? Google fetches a million opinions, but I generally trust the knowledge base here more than the average forum. And do you have a preference where you order from or know of a place that regularly runs good deals on them?

That's a gorgeous Smith! Wanted one of that model for a long while...but I've been too cheap to buy one. Also get sidetracked by other things!

[Patton]

13 minutes ago, hipower said:

Glad to hear your comment on MecGar mags. Been thinking of some 9mm and looking at them for a source.. 

Mecgars are supposedly good to go in 9mm, and even in the 10rd 9mm variety.  

[ken_mays]

I use mainly Wilson or McCormick Powermags (8 round) for 45.

The Wilsons have a captive follower and are better to use on aluminum frames than the floating follower on the McCormicks, but you need to watch the springs, they wear out pretty fast.  

[Erich]

I have had great luck with checkmate mags. They are the OEM for Sig 1911's and they run equally well in my Colt, Springfield,  Kimber, and Sig 1911's.

I had a number of old Colt GI mags. I sent in 10 in for the Ed Brown swap offer the summer of 2019. 3 of 10 were out of spec (to narrow at the top) so that the follower would bind. Brown wanted me to pay to send them back and all around terrible CS.

[Grayfox54]

The Ed Brown mag exchange program is still going on. That's how I ended up with a bunch  of their mags. Basically, you send them your junk 1911 mags and they'll sell you theirs for either $10 or $15 bucks depending on stainless or black nitride. 

Over the years I'd collected a whole pile of junker 1911 mags. Sent 'em in and got a brand new mags cheap. Got a bunch of .45s and a few 9mm. Unfortunately, they were out of .38 Super at that time.  But it was still worth it. 

So far they've been completely reliable. Good range mags. 

https://www.edbrown.com/magexchange/

But I'll still only use Wilson for carry. 

Edited April 21 by Grayfox54

[Spots]

25 minutes ago, Grayfox54 said:

The Ed Brown mag exchange program is still going on. That's how I ended up with a bunch  of their mags. Basically, you send them your junk 1911 mags and they'll sell you theirs for either $10 or $15 bucks depending on stainless or black nitride. 

Over the years I'd collected a whole pile of junker 1911 mags. Sent 'em in and got a brand new mags cheap. Got a bunch of .45s and a few 9mm. Unfortunately, they were out of .38 Super at that time.  But it was still worth it. 

So far they've been completely reliable. Good range mags. 

https://www.edbrown.com/magexchange/

But I'll still only use Wilson for carry. 

Id be all over it if I had any old mags to send in. Thats a good deal for sure

[Patton]

Ed Brown magazines are checkmate magazines and very good in all calibers. There 8 round 45 are longer bodied and bot 7 round magazines made for 8 rounds. I just did the ED B exchange for six 9mm magazines. If you are sending about four or less the exchange isn’t worth it because you pay shipping both ways.