1911 or Sig .45 Single stack mags

[sigrug17]

Ok y'all. I need a bit of your expert advice.

Do you load your mags to the limit? ie. 8rd. mags with 8 rounds. 10 with 10 etc???? OR ---

Do you Load -1 in the mag and put one in the pipe?

#2 YOUR favored Defensive .45 loads

It seems really really hard to load that last round in. Does it cause any damage to the mag, spring, or ammo???

 

[mikec]

Certain mags are tight when new. I just load a mag with ammo and let it sit for a week or two, then I use that mag at the range.

BTW, at least with a 1911 you shouldn't just drop a round into the chamber and then close the slide. It can cause extractor issues. Proper way is to load the mag with slide open, release slide to chamber round, then safety the gun and replace the round in the mag.

With my 8 round 1911 mags I actually am 8+1.

 

[sigrug17]

thanks, good to know.

Certain mags are tight when new. I just load a mag with ammo and let it sit for a week or two, then I use that mag at the range.

BTW, at least with a 1911 you shouldn't just drop a round into the chamber and then close the slide. It can cause extractor issues. Proper way is to load the mag with slide open, release slide to chamber round, then safety the gun and replace the round in the mag.

With my 8 round 1911 mags I actually am 8+1.

 

[jonnyl]

I've heard that before, it forces the extractor to ride up over the rim.

I noticed while watching Mythbusters the other night they had a 1911 in a rest and were loading the round that way. I guess they wanted to load 1 at a time because they were walking downrange after every shot and didn't want to fill up a mag....

 

[Biggfoot44]

I load the mag to capacity. Chamber round from mag, and leave it that way. Partly for better theoretical reliability of feeding top round, but mainly because of hassle of keeping track of extra round.
For that matter, in my formative years had and saw enough malfunctions with 8rd , that I stick to 7rd .

 

[JeepDriver]

Neither one of my 220's have given me a problem with 8 rds in the mags.

Buy a 1911 if you want to tinker, buy a 220 if you want to shoot.

 

[clandestine]

Laoding mags to capacity wont hurt the springs if they are properly made. I keep all of mine loaded.

Compression/decompression wears out springs and causes them to take a "set", not keeping a load on them, as long as the springs are made right.

 

[Boondock Saint]

Anyone else have something to say on manually chambering a round? I do this sometimes, but I neither shoot nor do it often enough to have affected me yet.

 

[clandestine]

Anyone else have something to say on manually chambering a round? I do this sometimes, but I neither shoot nor do it often enough to have affected me yet.

It causes problems fast for some guns (1911 with original style extractor), on guns with an external extractor its less of a problem but the practice still breaks them occasionally, even Glocks.

 

[alucard0822]

Like others, I always chamber from a mag, less hammering of the extractor that way. When I get a new mag, I load it to full capacity, and let it sit for a few days to "set it", it should reduce the spring pressure slightly, but should hold stable pressure weither kept loaded or unloaded for a long time afterwards.

As far as favorite defensive rounds, I like the Federal HST when available, it offers the best mix of expasion and hard/soft cover penetration IMO, outside of that, Golden sabres and Win PDX1s are my next favorite, XTPs are a good round, but the shape doesn't feed well in some guns, and Gold dots usually have problems expanding if the velocity is reduced due to some shorter barrels. I have tested my 230+p HST loads quite a bit, they clock a respectable 900FPS from my 3.75" GLOCK 30, and just under 1,000FPS from a 5" 1911, they are very accurate, penetrate well, and blow the crap out of water jugs, expand reliably after going through heavy clothing, drywall and plywood and don't seem to be too picky about barrel length. Recoil isn't noticeably more than standard velocity provided you are using the proper spring rate, and flash/noise is pretty low. There isn't much on 2 legs, and few things on 4 that could take more tha a couple of them.

 

[smores]

For that matter, in my formative years had and saw enough malfunctions with 8rd , that I stick to 7rd .

Quality mags should work fine. I have 4 Chip McCormick Power Mags and a 2 Wilson "47" mags. All work fine when "combat loaded" (1 in the chamber, 8 in the mag).

As for loads, I buy Winchester Ranger +P 230gr when I can find it.

 

[mikec]

..

 

[Southern Cross]

I have loads of 7 and 8 rounders and load them 6 ad 7 respectively. I've never had a problem or anything like that...I just hate tearing the crap out of my finger trying to get in those last rounds...but I only shoot paper...even though I still load my defensive guns one round short...if I had to prepare for some type of real world defensive situation I would load to capacity. Nearly all of my mags are Wilson mags so in theory I should be good to go.

I use only Hornady XTP...they're my favorites. I do have a box of Black Talons buried in the safe somewhere too. A year or two ago inexplicably started buying boxes of rare ammo...no clue what I was thinking...

 

[Biggfoot44]

I know, quality 8rd mags "now" should be reliable . Same thing said 20yrs ago also. Could very well be true now though. BUT I'm comfortable with 7rds, and not in a hurry to burn sufficent round count to satisfy my self.
As to ammo, in .45acp there are basically no bad JHP choices, and for civialians not concerned with hard barrier penetration, the better loads perform very closely.
Back in the day, I prefered CorBons 185s and 200s , and Silvertips for reduced penetration. But in modern times most of the 230jhps work very well also, and have similar POA/POI as ball for inexpensive(er) practice. HydraShok has longest real world track record, and for many years was the load everything else compared to. But nowdays most loads are within a few insignifigant percentage points. Searching for the "best" amongst a dozen "really darn good" is a side track. Find load(s) reliable in your gun, tiebreak on accuraccy, POI, availability, and cost. Then put efforts into shot placement.

 

[BenL]

The only 1911 mags I initially had issues with were my 10 round Wilsons; I was getting FTF's on the first round (super tight.)

I fixed the problem by loading them all up with 10 rounds and letting them sit in the safe for a few weeks. Now they're fine.

 

[trbon8r]

Neither one of my 220's have given me a problem with 8 rds in the mags.

Buy a 1911 if you want to tinker, buy a 220 if you want to shoot.

I wouldn't trade one of my 1911s for a truck load of Sigs. I hate Sigs, and I've shot quite a few rounds out of both 1911s and the Sig 228/229 family. If I didn't have to use a Sig for work I'd gladly throw the thing in the river and replace it with a 1911. I'd rather use my Beretta 92, Smith 5906 or just about anything. Other than the Sig's most stupidly located controls, bad grip angle, and crunchy trigger, I guess they are just swell.

Then there is the overblown reputation for reliablilty eclipsed only by Glocks and AKs. The last Sig I shot had to go off to the armorer for some miscellaneous pin that was drifting out of the slide. I think it was the pin that holds in either the extractor or ejector. Guess what, Sigs break too.

For 1911 mags I like Chip McCormick. I use their 10 round power mags, and never have any reliability issues, even if keeping them loaded. Chip recently changed the design of their follower. The mags had a tendency to chew up the lower portion of the feed ramp on aluminum framed guns. All my guns are steel, but even so I was getting some peening from the CMC mags. I'm going to pick up some of their new CMC plus mags and probably convert my old mags to the new design if the new mags prove to be as reliable as the last generation.

 

[JeepDriver]

I wouldn't trade one of my 1911s for a truck load of Sigs. I hate Sigs, and I've shot quite a few rounds out of both 1911s and the Sig 228/229 family. If I didn't have to use a Sig for work I'd gladly throw the thing in the river and replace it with a 1911. I'd rather use my Beretta 92, Smith 5906 or just about anything. Other than the Sig's most stupidly located controls, bad grip angle, and crunchy trigger, I guess they are just swell.

Then there is the overblown reputation for reliablilty eclipsed only by Glocks and AKs. The last Sig I shot had to go off to the armorer for some miscellaneous pin that was drifting out of the slide. I think it was the pin that holds in either the extractor or ejector. Guess what, Sigs break too.

So how do you really feel ? Don't hold back on me

 

[trbon8r]

I did hold back. That was the G rated version.

It has been far too long since we got together for some brews. We can hash things out then, even though I could never get far enough under the influence to like Sigs.

I have a well deserved 10 days off coming up and I will be thirsty.