The best mags I've used are the standard military type 7rd'ers with a dimpled follower. Ones with "hybrid" (tapered lips with a flare - as opposed to just tapered or straight with a flare) feed lips seem to be the way to go, such as those sold by Colt (made by Metalform). A good friend of mine that has been working with 1911s for about 40 years did some R&D for some 8 rd mags made by Check Mate Industries and has given them his seal of approval - and he never liked ANY 8 rd mags before...they also make the standard 7 rd'ers with the hybrid feed lips too.
That dimple was put there for a reason and all of the mag designs that don't use it "could" cause other problems such as the extractor loosing tension (or breaking) due to having to ride over the rim on the last rd out of the mag when the mag spring gets a little too weak and that last rd gets loose during recoil and ain't in the right spot to ride up the breech face behind the extractor during feeding.
I've used a couple of the 7 rd Wilsons without problem but I only used them for carry mags and after a function check with my duty ammo they only rarely got "shot" so the spring didn't have a lot of compressing and decompressing (what wears the springs out) due to only being used a couple of times a year and I also kept them down loaded by one rd. I've modified some Chip McCormick Power mags by putting a standard dimpled follower in them to alleviate that potential problem...they have a strong spring and seem to be well made, although before replacing the followers on a couple of them, they would not lock the slide open after the last rd, other "stock" ones did but these didn't??? Some use them (and other brands too) without issue it seems but for the most reliable no worries type of magazine, I'd stick with the 7 rd hybrid lip design.
The CMC Powermags have the straight lips that flare and the Wilson Combats have the tapered lips and then flare - neither use a dimpled follower (WC's use to though, I've got an old one with a ball bearing molded into the follower!)....some pistols run well with one kind and not the other and some pistols just don't seem to care.
If possible, borrow different types from friends before buying, if not possible, I'd stick to a type closer to what John Moses Browning designed the 1911 to work with, well, those just had tapered lips and no flare, but, I have some of those that I use for range mags and they'll feed anything I put in them...the tapered lips with a flare suppose to enhance feeding of the shorter cartridges such as the semi wad cutters...if you only use standard 230 grain fmj ammo, then the fully tapered lips should be all you need...but some hollowpoint ammo is kinda short and the hybrid lips don't hurt to have....
You can email or call MetalForm or Check Mate Industries to get what you need...if ordered from Metalform, tell'em you want the extra power springs, ... I "think" that those are standard with Check Mate but ask to be sure. You'll likely not pay as much as the "designer" mags cost and you can pretty much rest assured that if you have a feed or extraction problem that it's due to something else. It's amazing what a good mag will do for a pistol!
As always,YMMV! Luck to ya....
That dimple was put there for a reason and all of the mag designs that don't use it "could" cause other problems such as the extractor loosing tension (or breaking) due to having to ride over the rim on the last rd out of the mag when the mag spring gets a little too weak and that last rd gets loose during recoil and ain't in the right spot to ride up the breech face behind the extractor during feeding.
I've used a couple of the 7 rd Wilsons without problem but I only used them for carry mags and after a function check with my duty ammo they only rarely got "shot" so the spring didn't have a lot of compressing and decompressing (what wears the springs out) due to only being used a couple of times a year and I also kept them down loaded by one rd. I've modified some Chip McCormick Power mags by putting a standard dimpled follower in them to alleviate that potential problem...they have a strong spring and seem to be well made, although before replacing the followers on a couple of them, they would not lock the slide open after the last rd, other "stock" ones did but these didn't??? Some use them (and other brands too) without issue it seems but for the most reliable no worries type of magazine, I'd stick with the 7 rd hybrid lip design.
The CMC Powermags have the straight lips that flare and the Wilson Combats have the tapered lips and then flare - neither use a dimpled follower (WC's use to though, I've got an old one with a ball bearing molded into the follower!)....some pistols run well with one kind and not the other and some pistols just don't seem to care.
If possible, borrow different types from friends before buying, if not possible, I'd stick to a type closer to what John Moses Browning designed the 1911 to work with, well, those just had tapered lips and no flare, but, I have some of those that I use for range mags and they'll feed anything I put in them...the tapered lips with a flare suppose to enhance feeding of the shorter cartridges such as the semi wad cutters...if you only use standard 230 grain fmj ammo, then the fully tapered lips should be all you need...but some hollowpoint ammo is kinda short and the hybrid lips don't hurt to have....
You can email or call MetalForm or Check Mate Industries to get what you need...if ordered from Metalform, tell'em you want the extra power springs, ... I "think" that those are standard with Check Mate but ask to be sure. You'll likely not pay as much as the "designer" mags cost and you can pretty much rest assured that if you have a feed or extraction problem that it's due to something else. It's amazing what a good mag will do for a pistol!
As always,YMMV! Luck to ya....
