Need a SS magwell

[steel1212]

Questions? I'm about to receive my STI Spartan in 9mm. I have already decided on and ordered Tripp Research 10 round mags. I know by testimony from others that the Dawson Ice "no gap" model will not work with those mags and others, unless I change out the base pads to the Dawson ones.

Any cons to using the "gapped" Dawson? Are there any other "Large" magwell that will work with the Tripp mags as is? Otherwise, any recommendations as to what "Small" magwell to go with using my gun/mag combo.

I'm trying hard to restrain myself and make the transition to ESP/single stack as economical as possible, though still have decent quality gear. I have a set budget and want to stay within it or under if possible.

You could get a SP Techwell which is smaller than the XT. Tripp makes basepads that will work with his 10 round mags and the XT magwell as well. Its what I ran at PROAM to finish 3rd GM.

[dohboy]

SA's are great and "match the profile" of the 1911. If you want "old school", how about having the existing magwell flared out! Now that's old school and it looks nice too if done right.

[2alpha]

SA's are great and "match the profile" of the 1911. If you want "old school", how about having the existing magwell flared out! Now that's old school and it looks nice too if done right.

This. Don't know if there is any blacksmiths\pistolsmiths left to do the flared out job.

[Boxerglocker]

SA's are great and "match the profile" of the 1911. If you want "old school", how about having the existing magwell flared out! Now that's old school and it looks nice too if done right.

That's the direction I'm leaning toward right now going with the S&A. I really like the Dawson no gap set-up but as I mentioned before I would like to stay on a budget. This is my first venture into ESP and later down the line if I decided to continue and shoot USPSA single stack... I would not want to have to fork out another $10 a piece extra for the 3-5 additional Tripp mags I would need.

You guys have any pics of you different set-ups?

[Larry Alexander]

SA's are great and "match the profile" of the 1911. If you want "old school", how about having the existing magwell flared out! Now that's old school and it looks nice too if done right.

That's the direction I'm leaning toward right now going with the S&A. I really like the Dawson no gap set-up but as I mentioned before I would like to stay on a budget. This is my first venture into ESP and later down the line if I decided to continue and shoot USPSA single stack... I would not want to have to fork out another $10 a piece extra for the 3-5 additional Tripp mags I would need.

You guys have any pics of you different set-ups?

This is my first post here, great site.

I just got a Trojan in 9mm to fill in while my .45 is off being refinished. I fell in love with shooting it and since I am old school I went with the S&A magwell.

Larry

[Paul Burtchell]

SA's are great and "match the profile" of the 1911. If you want "old school", how about having the existing magwell flared out! Now that's old school and it looks nice too if done right.

That's the direction I'm leaning toward right now going with the S&A. I really like the Dawson no gap set-up but as I mentioned before I would like to stay on a budget. This is my first venture into ESP and later down the line if I decided to continue and shoot USPSA single stack... I would not want to have to fork out another $10 a piece extra for the 3-5 additional Tripp mags I would need.

You guys have any pics of you different set-ups?

Here is a Spartan 9 I just sold, but my Trojan in 40S&W is set up the same way. Dawson Ice No Gap magwell with Dawson Base pads. I used the Dawson Precision mags on the 9mm and I'm using 10mm Tripp Cobramags on the 40.

Edited September 17, 2010 by Paul Burtchell

[Boxerglocker]

Here is a Spartan 9 I just sold, but my Trojan in 40S&W is set up the same way. Dawson Ice No Gap magwell with Dawson Base pads. I used the Dawson Precision mags on the 9mm and I'm using 10mm Tripp Cobramags on the 40.

Hey thanks for posting the pic of your old Spartan. Well after thinking about it, the decision I guess has been made for me. A package arrived today from Chris's winning shooting accessories. Think my GF got me the Dawson gapped version for my birthday next week. I closed the mailbox and left it for her to retrieve later in the evening. No sweat, if it is the gap version... If I feel I need them, I'll just order some of those .500X Tripp basepads as suggested earlier when I order a couple of more mags.

[BoldasLions]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Techwell GTO!

Here's my two cents(though I'm just a beginner): I ran a Dawson Ice for about 6,000 rounds, but switched to the GTO. I figured since the "Great One" designed the GTO, it must be legit, so I gave it a try! I ended up preferring Leatham's design because the front of the well is cut out. Don't get me wrong the Ice is fast and very high quality! Though on the ICE my index finger was getting slammed into that small gap(front well) when loading magazines. When using the GTO it is much more seamless in the transition from reload to freestyle grip. This is probably the same reason that Rob Leatham cut the front of the magwell off! IF the GTO had a plastic insert like the ICE, IMO it would be pretty close to perfect,sadly that would probably hike up the price and production costs...

[carlosa]

Thanks for the quick replies. The magwell I liked the looks of,is from Dawson. I had a Ed Brown on my last gun,and wanted to try something a little bigger.

I put one of this in my gun.

Made my trigger pull about 3 times havier.

Be ready to do some work on the housing to avoid this.

I ended up ditching it

[bobobooie]

http://www.jimjoycecustom.com/default.html

[robot]

Here's mine. I run this (TechWell SP) for both IDPA (CDP) and USPSA (Single Stack). Looks good too.

[mpeltier]

I have and like the S&A. It does the job, and looks like it belongs there, not added on. For some reason the slapped on look of many of the others bothers me on a nice 1911, call me old fasioned if you will, but i think JMB would have approved of the S&A, the others I'm not so sure of....

[Rob Tompkins]

I have and like the S&A. It does the job, and looks like it belongs there, not added on. For some reason the slapped on look of many of the others bothers me on a nice 1911, call me old fasioned if you will, but i think JMB would have approved of the S&A, the others I'm not so sure of....

I put a Smith & Alexander mag well on, and it looked pretty ugly. My 1911 came with a bevel to the opening for the mag, there was a very big gap. So I grabbed my rotary tool w/ a conical grinding stone and did a blending job. Once blended, I used a sanding disc to smooth it followed by a polishing wheel. It looks AWSOME if I say so myself. It looks like it was cast with the frame unless you look really hard and really close, then you can see a very fine joint line. Then I replaced the beveled grip panels with flat based panels for a true integrated look.

BTW, it functions GREAT! The blending job smoothes the entry and it works with every base pad I've ever tried. The opening is plenty big enough for me but it is not as big as others mentioned here.

[mpeltier]

I have and like the S&A. It does the job, and looks like it belongs there, not added on. For some reason the slapped on look of many of the others bothers me on a nice 1911, call me old fasioned if you will, but i think JMB would have approved of the S&A, the others I'm not so sure of....

I put a Smith & Alexander mag well on, and it looked pretty ugly. My 1911 came with a bevel to the opening for the mag, there was a very big gap. So I grabbed my rotary tool w/ a conical grinding stone and did a blending job. Once blended, I used a sanding disc to smooth it followed by a polishing wheel. It looks AWSOME if I say so myself. It looks like it was cast with the frame unless you look really hard and really close, then you can see a very fine joint line. Then I replaced the beveled grip panels with flat based panels for a true integrated look.

BTW, it functions GREAT! The blending job smoothes the entry and it works with every base pad I've ever tried. The opening is plenty big enough for me but it is not as big as others mentioned here.

Yep, blending the magwell to frame is a pretty common step to perform when adding a magwell. Sounds like you did it right. I was not refering to that in my post however, i was refering to the overall look of the pistol when a magwell of anykind is properly installed and blended.

[Rob Tompkins]

...

i was refering to the overall look of the pistol when a magwell of anykind is properly installed and blended.

Agree!

[Biloxi23]

This is an old S&A from the mid 80's.