Magwell question
 

I have one 1911 with a magwell. The last two times out to the range I've had a little trouble getting the mags to seat properly. Have to force the mag into place with my thumb to make sure it's seated. Using 8 rounders, a few with bumper pads and most without. Am I doing something wrong or is there a mechanical solution? Any suggestions as to which way to go to alleviate this problem?

BTW.. most of the issues came when I used the flat bottom mags, but had a little trouble with the bumpered mags also..

maybe i'm reading this wrong but by "seating properly" do you mean the mags aren't locking into place unless you really push them hard with your thumb?

is the slide open or closed when this happens?

my super has a similar problem where if the magazine is full and the slide is closed I have a hard time locking a mag into place, if I take a few rounds out the issue goes away.

Yes. Pistol empty. Mags full. Loaded mag, rack slide, no round feeds. I noticed this last time out and figured it had to be me not properly inserting the mags. Verified that today. Only happens on the pistol with the magwell so it's obviously me.

The pads are giving you more push power. And your skin cannot get caught if you slam home on a weird angle. All of my mags have pads, except one, which is a primary for less of a bump during concealment. But if I have to reload during an encounter there will be a slam pad on the mag.

So the solution is more pads I presume??? Are there any particular styles to stay away from because they might be too big and catch on the well?

My Kimber has a mag funnel (magwell) and my Wilson 47D's with pads seat fine. However I have one mag with the round base that won't...don't remember the brand. Some mags are hard seating with 8 rounds and the slide closed, because the mag body was designed for 7 rounds originally. Wilson made the ETM mag for just that reason

Nah....I got mine from Springfield Armory...but they are kinda bland. You might find nicer shaped ones by surfing around. Even if the pad was to overhang the metal on the mag a little, just a small file would even it out.

The other thing I would do is mic the notch on the mags that give you trouble seating in the pistol from the top of the mag lip. I have ran into mags that needed a little filing.....very little..... I saw a 1911, not mine, where the mag catch was whacked like somebody dremeled it.

Thanks guys.. Next stop CDNN for mag pads...

That'll do it.

Valuable information guys. Thanks for the posts. Slam pads are a good idea, magwell or not for secondary carry mags where proper seating may be a life or death matter. IMHO dennis