45 magazines capacity's and interchangeable with?

[clay5769]

Hi all I have dumb question sorry..

I just bought my 1911A1 .45 cal I want to get a larger capacity magazine mines is 1 in the pipe 6 in the mag


My question is I have a Rock Island Armory .45 so do I use only there brand mag or can I use lets say a colt mag

And if someone out there has a Rock Island Armory .45 and is using a different mag please let me know..

And even if I do not go bigger I would like to have a extra mag or 2

Thanks all
Clayton

[NDS]

Single stack 1911 magazines are interchangeable given their length. You can use a 'Government Model' (same as Commander) magazine in the shorter 'Officer' length grip, but the Officer length magazine isn't long enough to reach the top of the magazine well on the longer grip of the original. I hope that isn't confusing.

Many people, me included, use the longer magazines in the shorter Officer frame pistols for range practice and let the excess mag length stick out the bottom. I have heard of people slamming the longer magazines home too hard and not being able to close the slide - effectively disarming themselves until the problem is cleared.

To further confuse matters: The full length mags come in 7 or 8 rounds and the Officer length comes in 6 or 7. There are also magazines which hold 10 or more (even a few drums) but I've never had good results with them and don't know anyone who has. I avoid them.

In fact, the best advice I can give for 1911 mags is to buy quality magazines. There are a lot of brands, I'll not pick a favorite as I've had good luck with several of those name brands. But by all means, avoid the bargain magazines that are everywhere for 1911s -- 'mil-spec' means nothing in this case.

Read a bunch of catalog descriptions and before you buy one you think you'd lke do a web search; you'll find the same names will come up over and over as good mags.

BTW: I have Colt, Kimber, Chip McCormick, Wilson, MecGar, and one Armscor mag that all work perfectly. Magazines that have problems -- no matter who makes them -- get tossed.

[NMHunter]

What NDS said. By the way, MecGar is the OEM for many manufacturers so it may be the same as your factory mags.

[theicemanmpls]

single stack 1911 magazines are interchangeable given their length. You can use a 'government model' (same as commander) magazine in the shorter 'officer' length grip, but the officer length magazine isn't long enough to reach the top of the magazine well on the longer grip of the original. I hope that isn't confusing.

Many people, me included, use the longer magazines in the shorter officer frame pistols for range practice and let the excess mag length stick out the bottom. I have heard of people slamming the longer magazines home too hard and not being able to close the slide - effectively disarming themselves until the problem is cleared.

To further confuse matters: The full length mags come in 7 or 8 rounds and the officer length comes in 6 or 7. There are also magazines which hold 10 or more (even a few drums) but i've never had good results with them and don't know anyone who has. I avoid them.

In fact, the best advice i can give for 1911 mags is to buy quality magazines. There are a lot of brands, i'll not pick a favorite as i've had good luck with several of those name brands. But by all means, avoid the bargain magazines that are everywhere for 1911s -- 'mil-spec' means nothing in this case.

Read a bunch of catalog descriptions and before you buy one you think you'd lke do a web search; you'll find the same names will come up over and over as good mags.

Btw: I have colt, kimber, chip mccormick, wilson, mecgar, and one armscor mag that all work perfectly. Magazines that have problems -- no matter who makes them -- get tossed.

d i t t o

[THE DUKE OF ESSEX]

I have found this place to be cheaper than most on mags and other gear:http://www.cdnninvestments.com/
Hope you find what you need!

[gogriz91]

If you've got mags you don't think are working or are old, you may be able to simply replace the spring in them, I think Wolff springs and Chip McCormick sell spring replacement kits.

[Red Hat]

What NDS said. By the way, MecGar is the OEM for many manufacturers so it may be the same as your factory mags.

ditto on everything said!

I've never had any problems with Mec-Gar, great quality. Save yourself some headaches and stay away from ProMag. They may be cheaper but the quality is a lot cheaper than the price!

[Ropadope]

You can use the 8 round Wilsons and Chip McCormick Power 8 magazines.

Personally I've had problems in the RIA guns with Wilson Combat 47D's. The Chip McCormick Power 8 with the slam pads have run smoothly, 100% of the time.

My RIA guns came with the ACT mags, 8 rounders and they too have run smoothly. There's nothing wrong with them. I believe if you look at the factory mags that Night Hawk Custom sends with their guns, they are in fact ACT mags with a Night Hawk logo stamped on them.

YMMV.

[SCfromNY]

You need to keep in mind that there are many magazines, including real well made ones that do not function with certain magwells. Smith and Alexander magwells are great but gave me problems with McCormicks and Wolf.

[clay5769]

Thanks all.......................