A friend of mine won a Springfield Armory 1911A1 at a NRA banquet over the weekend. Neither of us know much about 1911A1's so I came here for some advice...

It came with only one magazine, so my buddy is looking to pick up some more. Damn, he hasn't even shot it yet but I think he's already hooked...

Which is the best/most reliable 8-round magazine available these days?

Here are some thoughts from a very well respected 1911 user.

http://www.10-8performance.com/id17.html

FWIW, some springfields tend to not like Wilson mags.  Some do, some don't.  They won't lock back on the last round.  Tripp mags tend to work really well.

Wilson

47D

Wilson 47D's are good, Wilson ETM's are better, Tripp CobraMags are better still.  CMC Powermags or CheckMate mags are another good choice probably on par with the Tripp mags.  I believe the CheckMate mags keep the controlled feed principle, unlike the Wilson or Tripp mags.  Not sure about the PowerMags.

The 47D's are cheaper, but I don't use them for anything other than range mags.  They are 8-rd mags without an extended tube and the follower isn't nearly as good as the Tripp follower.  The ETM's are better since they use an extended tube, but still use an inferior follower.

I'd take the Wilson 47D's over Novak mags, but the Novak's aren't bad mags.  I haven't had a failure with them, but they definitely don't appear as well made as my Tripps.

I have Wilson 47D's, Wilson ETM's, Novak mags, Springfield mags, and Tripp mags.  I only purchase Tripp mags now.

[ETA] If you search the forums, you'll find lots of discussion about all these things.

My Les Baer loves the new CMC Power Mag Plus 8 rounders.  

I've yet to figure out what the plus version gives you over the std Power mags, but with my C&R discount, I figured what the heck!  

I used to be a 47D guy, but the Power Mags are built much tougher than the Wilsons and function great in my 1911's.  YMMV.

IIRC on the 10-8 forum Hilton Yam commented that the new tripp mags are better than the Wilson ETMs. I'm looking for the post/thread. I know one user said the ETMs feedlips and follower start to get funky at 5,000 rounds, not the case with the tripps.

Yeah, the Wilsons aren't as highly regarded as they once were.

Tripp Research Cobras

I used to love my Wilson 47Ds...until I bought some Tripp Cobras. Now all of the guts on my Wilsons have been rebuilt with Tripp kits (except for a few that I keep "worn" as dedicated training mags) and I will buy Tripps exclusively from here on out.

The Tripp Cobras put the 47Ds in the dust. Period.

If the pistol was supplied with a Springfield coupon, there are several mag configurations offered on the coupon at good prices, including their $9 specials.  I've accumulated a lot of Springfield magazines and have never had a malfunction attributable to the Springfield magazines.  I'm not saying that they're equivalent to the premium magazines available and mentioned above, but for general purpose use I think they're hard to beat in value, even without the coupon price break.

Big +1

Just bought 9  8R-45-RG's today.  Best 8rd 1911 mag made.

I might order some more soon. Everybody wants a reliable 1911, but dun nobody wanna buy no expensive ass mags!

My vote is for the Chip McCormick power mags. They seem to work in most any 1911 and they're reasonably priced. That's what I use in my Springfield.

Never had any trouble at all with CMC Powermags

I have had no trouble with Novak (PSI/ACT mags)  Though others have higher round counts than me and have experienced cracks near the feed lips and  broken base plates.  

I have not had any trouble with Kimber KimPro Tac-Mags, or Wilson 47Ds either.

Hate to say it but you won't know 'til you try some out in your gun.

I've had hundreds thousands of trouble free rounds through my Kimber and Ed Brown using Wilson 47 and 47Ds, and the Wilson 10 rounders, as well as Chip McCormick 10 round Power mags and the mags both guns came with. YMMV.

IMHO If you have a friend with some 1911 mags in good shape, ask to borrow some of them for a range trip. (if this sounds like my advice when people ask "EOTech or Aimpoint?" there's a reason for that )

this

Kimber Kim-Pro Tac-Mags Stainless are rock solid, 1-piece (no seams!) and have worked flawlessly in all my 1911s, including turning an AMT Hardballer Longslide into a very dependable, never FTF sidearm.  

Amazing what a good quality magazine can do to the performance of a 1911.  I'll stick with the Kimber Kim-Pro Tac-Mags.

This thread reminds of of AR mag discussions.  USGI 30 round mags with green followers used to be fine.  Then you needed an upgraded anti-tilt follower.  Then you needed PMags.  The USGI mags with green followers still work, though.

If you've already got mags that run well, I see no reason to replace them with something else that is supposed to be better.  If they're 100% already, how can something else be truly better?

Disclaimer: I do not own any Tripp mags.  I may give them a shot next time I need a few more mags, but with 8 47D's and 2 Les Baer mags on hand I feel pretty well stocked for my 1 45 ACP 1911.  My 47D's have been flawless thus far, and I don't intend to replace them unless they wear out or break.  I have had some no-name gun show mags that weren't especially great.  Maybe I need to try out some of the Tripp 10mm mags...I am a little short on 10mm mags...

I've had very good luck with both Colt factory mags and Wilson ETM's.

That's a very absolute statement.  What experience lead you to that conclusion?

There I was, about to buy six of their newest mags...

...and page 2 is mine.

Well for one thing, the Tripps hold the rounds higher with interferring with take up.  Reason number two and my personal reason why I made the switch is, no plastic followers.  They lock back each and everytime and do not wear like the Wilsons I had.

Novak

To clarify, the followers themselves are plastic but are supported by metal inserts that interact with the slide stop.  These won't wear down like the pure plastic followers that Wilson uses.

Longevity of the magazine was the driving motivation for me to swtich. It wasn't a move I made lightly, as I am a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Having the latest and greatest whiz bang equipment holds no allure for me.

That said, I shoot alot. It didn't take long for my $30 47Ds to stop locking the slide back on my 1911. The springs, for some reason, wear out rather quickly on the Wilson 47D.

The Tripp also has a, IMHO, better follower. While I've never had a real issue with the Wilson follower, an improvement is an improvement.

The baseplate on the Tripp is much larger than on the 47D without giving up any concealability. Plenty more real estate on the Tripp to strip out a mag during a malf and more to palm when performing a tac reload.

I prefer the round count slots on the Tripp to the 47D version. Personal preference on that one, though.

While I can't put my finger on it, the Tripp feels more robust. Maybe someone who was more "queer for gear" (not meant as a negative, BTW) could spell it out for you and I, but I only know that they feel much heartier in the hand than the 47D.

They seem to load easier, as well. Likely to do with the Tripp follower.

I'm sure there are some little details I'm missing but you get the idea.

Again, my main beef with the 47D was the short spring life. This is what caused me to switch. All of the other perks were discovered after I'd played with the Tripps for awhile.

I ordered an initial batch of ten, plus enough guts to rebuild all of my Wilson and Springfield mags. I'll be placing another order or ten or more very soon.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am sold on the Tripp Research Cobra.

At the risk of being queer (?), I think the reason the Tripp's "feel" more robust is that they have a far superior tube compared to the 47D.  The first generation ones weren't as good, but all current Tripp mags have a much higher quality tube than the 47D.  I know compared to my 47D's the tubes are definitely stronger on my tripp mags.  They are certainly stiffer without feeling brittle.

For flush fit I use Shooting Star mags in my Champion.

For range I use Wilson 47Ds and CMC Power 10 mags, and 7rd Metalform magazines.

For carry I have on Shooting Star in my gun and a Power 10 in my pocket.