[Legion489]

Buy CHIP MCCORMICK SHOOTING STAR mags. I have used just about every thing and they are the best (the ones I always got back to anyway, because they work!) that I have found.

The worst 1911 mags are easily Kimber mags. I have yet to see a factory Kimber mag that works as is, and the few that do have been reworked, from a little to a lot. Of course now there will be endless posts about how the Kimbers are great and the ones they have work, but when I show up to see them, either I am not allowed to see the "working" Kimber mags or they don't work when tried.

Same thing with the Lee LoadMaster. I always hear of a working one, but have never seen one that worked yet, mostly because one does not exist.

Colt does not (and no one else does for that matter) make their own magazines. if you have Colt "factory" mags, look at them, there are five different makers marks and one "blank" (unmarked) mag sold by Colt. The five marks are fairly easy to look up but I have no idea who makes the unmarked one off hand.

 

[Legion489]

GUN TEST MAGAZINE (current issue, so OCT or NOV 2016, not at home so can't look)) had an article on 1911 mags. I, personally, use CHIP MCCORMICK mags pretty much exclusively, but yeah, there are a bunch of others in the range bag too.

Ones I WILL use:

Chip McCormick (any - prefer stainless)
MEC-GAR
Metalform (not tested by GUN TEST)
Pachmayr (7 round - great mags! Not tested by GUN TEST)
Colt (Colt does NOT make mags. There are at least 6, probably seven makes if you look at the mag markings)
Springfield Armory - see "Brownell's" below for same description.

Ones I have that might be OK:

Sarco (yes, really) Bought some of the "Price Buster" mags and they ALL (yes, all twelve of them) fit and functioned perfectly. No idea about long term use however as they are "practice/back up" mags and not loaded 365. They got rid of the "Price Buster" and have new mags that might or might not be OK. The new ones were NOT tested by GUN TEST MAG (they did not test any Sarco mags) or me.

Wilson - bought a used one and got screwed, it didn't work. The scum admitted after I confronted him that it was bad, that's why he sold it to me. GUN TEST liked it.

Magazines I have NOT used but would try:

Brownell's - GUN TEST liked them and they are just down the road. ANYTHING I have got from Brownell's that wasn't 100% was exchanged with NO problems! A few of them they didn't even need it back, they just said "Chuck it! We'll send a new one!"


Magazines I WILL NOT use:

Kimber - Gun Test tested the top line Kimber mags and liked them. Maybe Kimber has finally bought a decent brand of mag (they don't make their own either, no one does) or quality control has improved, who knows. EVERY Kimber mag I have tried has been JUNK! I have yet to see a Kimber mag that works when I could see it being used in a gun in front of me. Just like a working Lee LOAD MASTER press, everyone has one, they just can't show it to me when I am there or load ammo on it at the time in front of me. If you have either and they work, great, I got no problem with that, but please show me when I stop over, don't just say it does. I know two nationally known (and mentioned in the 1911 thread on this site) 1911 pistolsmiths that have stated that they don't even bother with Kimber parts or mags and throw the mags away and will give you the Kimber parts back if you want them, but refuse to use either parts or mags when working on a gun for their own use.

My 2 cents. YMMV.