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Which 9mm mags for ss?


twister

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I have a PM9 too. I use Dawson 10rd. mags. It came with Checkmates that are supposed to be 9rd. mags, but I can get 10 in them, tightly. I sold some Wilson ETMs. But others love them. Trips are always highly regarded. I like the Dawson's cause they come with the right basepad to use with a magwell, out of the bag. All the others you will need to change the pad, unless you go with an S&A style maxwell. But most of those are steel, & you will have weight issues.

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Wilson ETMs are working great in my Pointman. I thought I was having a a problem with the slide not locking back, turned out to be a problem with my left hand thumb.. No issues with the EMTs since I fixed the thumb.

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PM9 owner also -

I have Tripps, Dawsons, and some old CMC 38 super mags. The gun functions well with all of them.

What seems to differentiate the mags is how well they drop free of the gun after only firing 1-5 rounds (with 5-9 rounds left in the mag). The CMC 38 super and Tripps will sometimes have the top round move forward and catch not allowing the mag to drop free without stripping it out. The Dawsons don't seem to do this in my experience. This doesn't happen a lot and I don't generally shoot only a few rounds before dropping a mag. But it is a consideration. On the occasion where I plan to only shoot a few rounds before a mag change I will sometimes download the mag, or use a Dawson.

Personally, I like the Tripps a lot (nice tubes and great easy off base pads and they seem to load easier), but also like the Dawsons.

So, I would say get a couple of each and see which you like before buying a bunch.

Edit to add: I had the "thumb activated lock back" happen a couple of times, also. Deepening the almost non-existent detent on the slide stop solved that.

Edited by Bamboo
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I primarily use Tripp mags in .40 and 9mm and have had good results from them. Aaron at Tripp just refurbished 7 of my mags after diagnosing a problem that I've been having with them due to spreading feedlips, free of charge. That kind of CS deserves brand loyalty.

But finding the right mag also depends on what magwell you plan to use. For example, Dawson ICE magwell (no-gap) requires a certain basepad (that Dawson conveniently sells). Some of the deeper magwells (Techwell XT, Dawson ICE-gap) require taller basepads in the .500-.625" range. Typical mags with .325" basepads work fine with the smaller magwells such as the S&A or Techwell SP.

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I just got my pm9 last week. it runs perfectly with the dawson mags I've been using in my sti, and also runs perfectly with the tripp mags that came with it.

good thing about dawson mags is they come with the right basebad for a deep magwell like the ICE. May not be an issue with other magwells. Also they feel a little beefier to me.

bad thing about the dawsons is you can't easily unload the mags without a tool.

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Saw some CMC 9mm single stack mags at SHOT Show that have a ridge at the front of the magazine instead of a spacer at the back. Seems like a good idea because it allows for more contact with lips. But I've been using Dawson mags and they've been 100% reliable so far.

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In my PM9, new Wilson ETM's for empty chamber reloads and Dawson Precision with Competition Basepads for loaded chamber reloads. Other than for competition, the Tripps, McCormick and original ETM's work fine. When you get the mags, load them up and let them compress the springs for several days.

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Wilson etm work great I cut on coil so they unload easier, never had a reliability problem for 3 years with them.

Dawson mags work well also no problems at all

Just bought some of the new CHIP (CMC) 10 rounders they seem to run without issue also.

jcc7x7

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I thought these threads usually favored Tripp by a lot. I run (5) Tripp mags and love them. I've borrowed Wilsons at a match and had some troubles feeding, but that could have something to do with the situation and not being used to them I guess. The stock mags with my gun were Checkmate. They seem to run fine, too, but are only 9rd capacity so they're saved for certain occasions.

Tripp mags do let the top round slide forward a little. I read that 9mm 1911s can have nose dive feeding troubles, and with Tripp having a reputation of rounds 'jumping' I thought that might give an edge toward reliability. The top round definitely launches up and forward, rather than sliding out low with the nose down. My gun runs flawlessly with Tripp mags. There are 2 new ones that are a little tighter and I have to load them into the gun a little harder, but that's adjustable and can break in as well.

I've shot ~3000rds, 99% under match conditions, and don't have any recollection of loose rounds getting in the way during a mag change (when dropping partially loaded mags).

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i have tried ETM, Tripp, Metalform, DP

ETM - terrible load into the gun when is full loaded

Tripp - terrible unload from gun when is not total empty

Metalform and DP - both same (same tubes, same springs and followers), work flawlessly, no problems with loading or unloading gun (STI-RM)

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Hello: The plastic Tripp base pads can be made to work as well as the Metalform plastic base pads. They will sit almost flush with the magwell. The aluminum Tripp base pads can be made to fit also but it is easier to get the Dawson ones. For me the gap loads just as fast as the no gap. Going to try the Dawson IPSC aluminum magwell next. It has no plastic insert and is a little lighter than the ICE aluminum. Thanks, Eric

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