Defective.. worn out magazines... What do you do with them?

Ordinary_Guy · Apr 20, 2022

Old Bill said:
I am interested in what my fellow Fanatics do with unreliable mags.. For me they are gone from Service/Carry use as soon as I Identify them. I do not "adjust the feed lips, change out the Springs/followers etc to "get them working again" then try to put them back for service/carry use. As long as they "somewhat work" I clean the exterior of a few of them carefully with something like B12 Brake Cleaner...then lightly spray paint the lower sections blue...Those go into the range bag.. I load and mix them into my practice.. their failures serve as a training tool.. I smack any others with a hammer and they hit the trash can..

My thought is Magazines are a consumable Item and the above policy keeps some falling out of inventory requiring replacement by new magazines.. What are your thoughts? The idea of having unmarked less than reliable magazines in my general inventory .. spooks me to be honest/

Ditto on Ed Brown's trade-in deal. In my experience the mags you get are EB-branded Checkmates! You can't do better than that.

flechero · Apr 20, 2022

Springs. I'll change a spring [and follower since it comes with it] if the spring goes weak. $8-$10 for a rebuild kit is worth it to me since good mags are 3-4 times that.

I wouldn't want to adjust feed lips or the like.

HooDoo Man · Apr 20, 2022

Maybe changeout for new springs if I know for sure the mag itself is good. Exchange for Ed Brown mags. Or just trash them.

1Sgt_Jerry · Apr 22, 2022

The Ed Brown trade in is an awesome deal. I used it and glad I did. The more mags you trade / order, the better the economy of scale for shipping and all. At least was able to turn junk into something cool.

Zipper046 · Apr 23, 2022

I used mine for target practice....AS THE TARGET! alot of fun hitting them broadside....even more facing them towards you to see if you can hit them (like cutting a playing card in half).....LOL.

Although next time....probably try the Ed Brown trade-in program....LOL.

Old Bill · Apr 27, 2022

Ordinary_Guy said:
Ditto on Ed Brown's trade-in deal. In my experience the mags you get are EB-branded Checkmates! You can't do better than that.

Here is the deal on Training Mags as I see it.. if we do not experience and practice immediate action drills in response to various unpredictable failures to feed magazine issues.. IMO training is lacking .. I keep a butt ton of good mags around ( I bought more than 100 Chip McCormicks.).. Sold some to offset my costs and kept the rest.

I also keep several mags I know cause function failures.. as I said before I paint the bottom half of them blue marking them as training mags and when I am training they go into the mix.. I don't want to see the blue paint while I am shooting and in fact if I do I know I have taken my eyes off the target/threat which is something I do not subscribe to. They fail at random times in random ways and I deal with that.. IMO It is a good thing making them a useful training tool.

We are not going to mix a blue training magazine into our service mags for the same reason we do not mix snap caps into our Service Ammo.... Because a key requrement in safe shooting is we pay strict attention at all times to what we are doing which something we just have to do .

Now some of the fellas rebuild their mags here and for say IPDA shooting or just training in general . If your not a Latham.. that makes sense to me for many reasons (not the least of which you get an excuse to mess with your 1911 stuff ).. but for defensive purposes once the feed lips need to be "realigned:" Springs need to be replaced.. IMO one should avail themselves of that Wilson trade in program and/or relegate a portion of those magazine to a training role making them/ setting them aside as described.

Last thing..

Cleaning.. I would like to get some feed back on what fellas think about the following..

After a day of shooting (any defensive arm) .. I clean the weapon at the range before I head out.. then I shoot a mag or two before I call it quits for the day.. Now I still punch the barrel more out of habit than anything else but I do not dissasemble that firearm if I am going to carry it as a Defensive Arm. (I punch the barrel between range sessions as well. In booth cases I go a bit OC with a small flashlight to make sure I did not leave a piece of the patch behind..

Next time I go to the range.. I shoot the first magazine in my Defensive Arm exactly as it is being carried no fiddling whatsoever. Yes it uses a few rounds but it keeps my inventory moving ..

I have challendged others to do so and more than once..the result has been Point, Press ,, No bang.. Even with the 1911. Then follows the puzzled expression.. (A whole nother can of worms there) not exactly the correct response to a failure to fire.

Anyway...

Flames greatly appreciated If I am engaging in wrong and or stupid thinking.. please "Learn Me" now as I am no fan of "Learning the hard way" .

"Cult of the Dummy Cord"

BIGDAVE101 · Nov 15, 2023

crush... trash

Bob Lee · Nov 15, 2023

Old Bill said:
Here is the deal on Training Mags as I see it.. if we do not experience and practice immediate action drills in response to various unpredictable failures to feed magazine issues.. IMO training is lacking .. I keep a butt ton of good mags around ( I bought more than 100 Chip McCormicks.).. Sold some to offset my costs and kept the rest.

I also keep several mags I know cause function failures.. as I said before I paint the bottom half of them blue marking them as training mags and when I am training they go into the mix.. I don't want to see the blue paint while I am shooting and in fact if I do I know I have taken my eyes off the target/threat which is something I do not subscribe to. They fail at random times in random ways and I deal with that.. IMO It is a good thing making them a useful training tool.

We are not going to mix a blue training magazine into our service mags for the same reason we do not mix snap caps into our Service Ammo.... Because a key requrement in safe shooting is we pay strict attention at all times to what we are doing which something we just have to do .

Now some of the fellas rebuild their mags here and for say IPDA shooting or just training in general . If your not a Latham.. that makes sense to me for many reasons (not the least of which you get an excuse to mess with your 1911 stuff ).. but for defensive purposes once the feed lips need to be "realigned:" Springs need to be replaced.. IMO one should avail themselves of that Wilson trade in program and/or relegate a portion of those magazine to a training role making them/ setting them aside as described.

Last thing..

Cleaning.. I would like to get some feed back on what fellas think about the following..

After a day of shooting (any defensive arm) .. I clean the weapon at the range before I head out.. then I shoot a mag or two before I call it quits for the day.. Now I still punch the barrel more out of habit than anything else but I do not dissasemble that firearm if I am going to carry it as a Defensive Arm. (I punch the barrel between range sessions as well. In booth cases I go a bit OC with a small flashlight to make sure I did not leave a piece of the patch behind..

Next time I go to the range.. I shoot the first magazine in my Defensive Arm exactly as it is being carried no fiddling whatsoever. Yes it uses a few rounds but it keeps my inventory moving ..

I have challendged others to do so and more than once..the result has been Point, Press ,, No bang.. Even with the 1911. Then follows the puzzled expression.. (A whole nother can of worms there) not exactly the correct response to a failure to fire.

Anyway...

Flames greatly appreciated If I am engaging in wrong and or stupid thinking.. please "Learn Me" now as I am no fan of "Learning the hard way" .

"Cult of the Dummy Cord"

I like it, I really like it.

dennishoddy · Nov 21, 2023

Bob Lee said:
I like it, I really like it.

Makes sense to me.

lateaugust2 · Nov 22, 2023

I have 8 original Colt military magazines, 4 plain bottom and 4 with the lanyard loop. All were manufactured before 1920 and in keeping with the axiom "they don't make 'em like they used to" I've never had a problem with feed or function in my service 1911. My military manual prescribes the proper procedure for restoring damaged feed lips. though I've never needed to use it. I've owned and used many aftermarket and Viet Nam issue "disposables" that are built for one use then tossed.
I don't knock any of the better quality mags available but so far the originals are still working perfectly after over 100 years and this pistol has remained dependable for the last 50.
But I'm not a sport shooter, this beast is purely defensive in nature and with proper care and maintenance it should last the rest of my days & then some. "Love once and forever" (But I'd still like an original LW Commander in .38 super! lol)

Buck Buck · Nov 23, 2023

Angel Feliciano said:
I use Wilson Combat 47D for my Carry Mags so when its time for a tune up I just order a rebuild kit that has a NEW Spring and follower but if that does NOT fix the Problem I would be inclined to toss them

I have two Colt magazines that came with my S.S. Colt Commander, purchased in Jan 2016. Colt was going to stop trying to get CA approvals for every model, due to their finances. Gun shops didn't want to get stuck with inventory, so the put them on sale. The 5" S.S. Colts were sold out, so I bought the 4.25" Commander and have never regretted it!
I did have a few feed jam problems with one name brand ammo and also with the fluted polymer ARX. I have not bought them since. The Colt magazines are strictly for range use, if I want to go thru ammo $$.
Otherwise, I use strictly Wilson Combat 47's also, and have had zero problems.
Interestingly, I bought one of Ed Browns new mags when they came out a few years back. I had nothing but problems with it. It could be the Colt, but I returned it and got a refund.
I have two of the Wilson upgrade kits with lifetime spring
If that didn't fix the problem, I think I would save the new spring and follower and base parts - and flatten the tube as others have said...
YMMV, But I would never try to run out of gas, just for one extra mile !!
Happy Giving Thanks Day to all ! I Pray the Lord God will lift up his face at your thanks and give you a smile, and His Peace !
(& strengthen your faith to keep on going)

& ,