CW45 Magazine Modification

[mtnwinds]

Following the example set by Greg and others I decided to modify one of my 1911 magazines that has been in a drawer for many years. I have a lot of these and haven't used them since discovering the Wilson mags years ago.

An unmodified mag.
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/mtnwinds/DSC04597.jpg

A modified mag.
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/mtnwinds/DSC04596.jpg

Other side unmodified:
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/mtnwinds/DSC04599.jpg

Other side modified:
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/mtnwinds/DSC04600.jpg

I removed the follower & spring to do the modification. A cut-off wheel was mounted in my Dremel so I just used it. I filed the burrs off and did not bother to polish of clean up the cuts anymore. If it works o.k. I'll dress it up. At this point it does work the slide lock just fine when operated by hand. I'll take it to the range Mon or Tues and see how it does.

Here's a pic of the top of the feed lips. They have to be trimmed to allow proper extraction of the brass.
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/mtnwinds/DSC04605.jpg

[spirit]

Interesting.

[Garpo]

mtnwinds, did you try the mag without the modification? There is a vid on youtube that shows a guy inserting what looks to be an unmodified 1911 mag into his CW45 and firing it without experiencing any issues.

I'll try to find it and post the link.

[Garpo]

Here it is. You’ll see it at the 5:10 minute marker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLCtDtaWSnw

[mtnwinds]

mtnwinds, did you try the mag without the modification? There is a vid on youtube that shows a guy inserting what looks to be an unmodified 1911 mag into his CW45 and firing it without experiencing any issues.

I'll try to find it and post the link.


Yes, I did. The 1911 magazines I have wouldn't work because the feed lips are too high. The only stock magazines I found that would work are those made by ACT. Excellent magazines. I bought 2 of them from this site (https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/26_27_710/products_id/411553526/Accessories/Magazines/Other+Magazines/ACT-MAG+8+Round+1911+Magazine+45ACP). As cheap as they are, it just made sense to me to buy them and not bother modifying others.

[Garpo]

Out of the four different brands of 1911 magazines I own, the Chip McCormick Shooting Star Classics are the only ones that lock in and lock back after LR fired. However, I'll
have to do some grinding, as you indicated, because extraction of spent case is inconsistent. I'll consider the ACT magazine as suggested.

[AFDoc]

This Springfield Armory mag has worked 100% so far after modification. In addition to grinding down the top of the magazine lips I also slightly bent the end of the follower so it wouldn't hit the underside of the slide.

[Garpo]

I had a chance to use my 1st modified 1911 mag today and the result was mixed. Out of 50 rounds, I had three failures to feed and the slid would not always lock back on LRF. This happened about 70% of the time.

To be fair, I had no Kahr mag to compare it to. The previous owner's puppy chewed the base plate off of it - a new one is on order. Also, the previous owner claims he only shot 50 rounds out of it, so it probably needs to be broken in.

Being that it was my first range trip with it, I was very pleased on the way it shot. Recoil was manageable, felt good in my hand, accuracy was surprisingly good and I really like the trigger . So far I be happy. :biggrin1:

[dbracin]

The follower on some 1911 mags do not push the slide lock up high enough to engage.
I put Kahr followers in my mags.

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[Garpo]

The follower on some 1911 mags do not push the slide lock up high enough to engage.
I put Kahr followers in my mags.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


Now that makes sense. I just got done looking at the follower on the Chip McCormick Shooting Star I used and it has the stamped metal piece. I bent the bottom tab up a bit and it now locks back when racked on empty mag. However, I'm thinking it will start bending down after use.

I'll do some experimenting using mags with plastic followers.

[ConfederateGunRunner]

I looked into buying some Kahr followers to use in 1911 mags, but found that by the time. I did that I would have as much or more money invested in them as I would if I just bought another Kahr factory mag.


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