[Teach me about double stack 1911 magazines.]

On 3/26/2023 at 10:17 PM, Norther said:

Pretty sure those were the same as Bul. 

I know Bul made the frames for the Kimber BP10-2 double stacks that they sold for awhile. I acquired a Bul M5 Government, which is pretty much the same thing with Bul markings instead.

[Teach me about double stack 1911 magazines.]

On 3/1/2023 at 2:31 PM, AngelDeVille said:

I have glanced longingly at double stack 1911's at competitions, and I'm considering a 110mm magazine 9mm for an edc pistol, and would look at a larger frame/slide and maybe a different caliber for competition in the future.

 

First off what are double stack magazines usually called?  I have seen the "STI" term being used.

 

I get the different lengths, 110mm, 120mm, 170mm, etc fit different frames.

 

are there any brands/types that are not compatible with each other?

 

I also get there are 9mm, 40, and 45 acp magazines.

 

any insight this group has will be greatly appreciated, and used mostly for good, and maybe a little evil as long as it's funny.

 

 

 

 

A few observations from my learned experience:

STI = Strayer Tripp International, a company that originated in Georgetown, TX and pioneered what is now called the 2011 pistol platform. They manufacture/manufactured a variety of traditional 1911 and 2011 style pistols geared towards the defensive use, duty carry and competition markets.  They recently (past couple of years) changed their name to Staccato, and are continuing in that line of business.

 

Strayer parted ways with STI at some point and formed another company doing the same work with a man named Vought and formed SVI, Strayer-Vought International, solely focusing on building competition (IPSIC/IDPA style) 2011 style handguns, initially based in west Texas, and eschewing duty/carry oriented handguns altogether.

To the best of my knowledge, 2011 magazines all adhere to the same external and internal dimensions, locations for cut outs for magazine release, feed lip and follower geometry, etcetera, so an specific caliber magazine tube that is in spec should function normally in a 2011 handgun of the same caliber. So a Staccato branded magazine will work in Springfield Prodigy or an SVI handgun of the same caliber, and vice versa.  The entry of Springfield Armory Prodigy into the 2011 market is good news in that regard, since Springfield's intent is to bring the 2011 to the masses in a more affordable format, which means more magazines in circulation, which means an easing of the stinging sensation in the wallet whenever you purchase magazines for your Staccato or Pit Viper or multi-kilobuck Atlas 2011.


In my experience, the magazines themselves are incredibly robust, and should be rebuildable (swapping springs, followers and baseplates as they wear out) for many tens of thousands of rounds of usage. The thickness of the sheet metal that forms the body of the 2011 tubes is significantly thicker than your typical SIG, CZ, or Beretta magazine. 

[Springfield prodigy-a short-term review]

On 3/13/2023 at 2:58 PM, ZimaConnoisseur said:

Ah thanks for the insight. I didn’t realize how much the rock island differed from the rest of the 2011s.

 

Also having the prodigy cut for an optic is a really nice addition.

I can attest and confirm this bit about 2011 vs. RIA double stack guns. I owned a STI Tactical, and currently have a RIA Tac Ultra FS HC (they REALLY need to work on their naming conventions.) which is the double stack 9MM/.22TCM combo with a full length railed dustcover.

The RIA uses the Para Ordnance .38 Super magazines, specifically the Mec-Gar MGP183817 or equivalent, and a variant of that same magazine with a small step cut into the feed lips for feeding .22TCM reliably.

As noted, the RIA is a one piece frame, so barring some very expensive gunsmithing,  you're stuck with whatever profile the gun came with from Armscor, vs. having the ability to swap polymer/aluminum grip modules on the 2011 style handguns.

As for  reliability, RIA/Armscor are a pretty solid value for the money. They generally have solid fit and finish, though not as refined as a Stacatto/SVI/Titan or other boutique 2011 brand.  That's one of the trade offs for the (much) lower price point.
 

Comparing one head to head with a Prodigy or perhaps a used 2011 of some variety, that really, IMO,  depends on your end goals.

 

If I planned to compete frequently, I'd grit my teeth and spend the extra $$$ on a 2011 style gun, since there's a very large pre-existing aftermarket ecosystem geared towards the 2011 platform. 

 

Double stack 1911s are notably less well supported; most (but not all) generally use Para Ordnance magazines, and most (but not all) 1911 parts will interchange, so you can get a good trigger, or a wide safety switch, etc, but there's nowhere near the amount of options and vendors offering them as the 2011.

[Shotgun optic?]

I'm using SIG ROMEO-5s on my Benelli M4 and Panzer Arms M4. Guntubers and user generated feedback say they hold up to 12ga recoil well.

[CZ 97b magazine and SAR K2-45 magazine.]

On 1/10/2021 at 3:16 PM, .45 ACP nut said:

Nope. At one time I had both in my safe and the SAR K2-45 mags don't fit the 97B.  BTW: I still have the 97B.......

Any particular reason you got rid of the K2? I have one, and a ton of other CZ handguns except the 97B, and find the K2 to be a well made pistol, with a surprisingly capacious magazine for the caliber and size of the grip.

 

 

[Genesis Arms Shotguns]

7 hours ago, gose said:

 

Absolutely. If it was only for a defensive tool, Id have no issues with it, as it ran 100% out of the box.

Remind me, was yours the full 18.5" barrel or one of the shorter models?
My personal interest is putting together a reliable defensive shotgun/"firearm" that I can leverage the AR manual of arms with. I have a JTS-12 since that ticks most of the right boxes, but I'm learning that those may be problematic, especially in feeding and extracting.

 

As I understand from reading about what the people at Genesis Arms have shared about the design process, they started by designing a box magazine that would feed rimmed cartridges reliably, which solves the majority of feeding and extracting issues with box magazine shotgun caliber weapons. This is the kind of sound engineering that gives my own inner engineer warm fuzzies, and sounds rather like what Coonan did to resolve feeding issues on their .357Mag "1911"s, i.e. re-engineer the magazines to feed rimmed cartridges.

[VR82 20 ga.]

Did the Genesis 12 prove to be unpleasant to shoot? One good thing about 20ga, it's still somewhat readily available in this long term panic market. I just popped into Academy to pick up a pair of Romeo 5s for my Benelli and Panzer M4s, and the ammo shelves were stripped bare as per usual, save for some boxes of 20 and 28 gauge.

[Genesis Arms Shotguns]

On 2/5/2021 at 10:25 PM, gose said:

 

It might work with a junk brake on it, but if you put something like a GK on it, it will stop working until you shoot much hotter ammo, which will basically put you back to where you started without a brake.

The softest you can get it to shoot is with the weakest birdshot it will cycle.

 

I gave up on it and decided to sell mine. Its a fun novelty gun, but I bought it to compete with and for that, it's not the best choice.

 

 

Would it be accurate to say that your primary reason for purchasing a G-12 was in consideration of it being a competition/gaming gun rather than a defensive tool?