I'm looking for advice about 45acp 1911 magazines for use on the target range. Should I look for 8rd mags or avoid them and stick with 7rd mags? Are there magazines for under $20 that are reliable and durable or is spending more worth it in the long run? What brands are preferred and which should be avoided? Thanks for your help.

Target range only, I don't care about the guaranteed failure my Checkmates cause feeding the last round. And I'm not kidding, I'm pretty sure it's 100% failure rate for me.

But if I was ever forced to carry a 1911, I'd pick up some Wilson 47D and CMC Power Mags and see which worked best. I'd expect both to work without hiccup, but I'd have to test to see.

Wilson 7 and 8 round mags have never let me down. Neither have the slightly more expensive Tripp Research mags. Just grab the Wilson of your liking and get at it. They'll run about $5-8 north of your $20 estimate, but are very much worth it. Lots of options too...stainless, black, standard floor plate, slim floor plate, large "tactical" floor plate...

I have only used Wilson Combat in mine. So far they are %100. 1K rounds through them total.

Chip McCormick power mags and also Ed Brown mags for me.

I use WILSON, McCORMICK, oem KIMBER and SPRINGFIELD in mine. I haven't had any issue except the WILSON 8rd magazines are really hard to seat with a round in the chamber. So I use them with 7rds loaded.

Watch CDNN for sales on magazines. Greg Cote is a member here, his site is GREG COTE LLC. He has good prices and reasonable shipping costs. Many on the KIMBER forum swear by JOE'S MAGAZINES.

Wilson Combat 500 ETM 8rd magazines are my favorite, FWIW.

I pretty use Wilson 47Ds.

Wilson 47D. For everything.

Of the magazine brands mentioned so far, Chip McCormick Power Mags are available at the lowest price. I found them on sale for $22.89/ea. I'll probably order a 4 or 5 of those and maybe one Wilson ETM for comparison. Thanks for your input.

Wilson 47D is good for 7 rounds, ETM for 8 rounds, CMCs are reliable, I prefer Tripps in mine.

I prefer the newer 8 round Wilson ETM 500 magazines.

The older 8 round Wilson 47Ds are also pretty good, but I've relegated mine to range mags, and stick to ETMs as carry mags.

Magazine quality is an important factor for 1911 reliability. Quality 8 round mags are fine as long as they're purpose-built 8 round mags with slightly elongated bodies. Trying to cram 8 rounds in a 7 round magazine body with modified springs, floorplates, and followers is not a recipe for success.

Metalform makes a good magazine for a decent price.
My Ed Brown 1911 came with Metalform mags. If they're good enough for Ed, they're good enough for me.
I've never had any problems with them.

More good information. I'll have to order a few Metalform magazines and put them in the mix. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience.

I bought several magazines from Brownell's. When they got here, they were MecGar magazines. Less than $20 and totally reliable.
ProMag are useless and Checkmate are not that good either.
John

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Wilson 47D. For everything.

Yep.

I have a stack of them that are used in all my 1911s.
All 8 rounders and have never failed and have been 100% unless I screwed up a case while reloading them.

LOOK FOR SALES! I would never and haven't ever paid full hit retail.

I like Chip McCormick, Metalform and MecGar.

Wilson or Tripp Research Cobra mags.

That's all I use.

A year or two ago Guntests did a study over about two years of 1911 magazines. Not surprisingly the Wilson magazines did well. But their “Best Buy” was Mecgar magazines. They performed just as well as the best Wison for a lot less. Consiering who Mecgar makes magazines for (Beretta, SIG, CZ) I as not surprised. You might want to research the article on their website and buy it. I’ll also look to see if I stil have it tonight when I get home.

I have had dozens of Metalform 7-rounders, those originally came with my two Springfield Professionals, and I bought a bunch more directly from Metalform at a very reasonable price. I relegated them to range work when I blew out several floor plates in several Gunsite classes over a two year period. Stainless Wilson 47D's with metal Wilson slam pads for me.