Wilson Combat mags not seating correctly, help!

[kirbinster]

This past Saturday I was using my STI Trojan 9mm and I placed one in the chamber with a barney mag and then slapped my fully loaded 10 round Wilson Combat Elite Tactical Mags #500-9 with ETM base pads into the magwell. At the buzzer I drew and went bang and then click with the mag hanging out about an inch. At first I thought stupid me, but when it happened on every reload I realized even I am not that stupid. This morning I went to the range and loaded them all up with 10 rounds and when I slap them in the don't click and I can grab the base pad and very easily pull them out of the gun. If I load them with 9 rounds they click and lock into place and cannot be pulled out.

Does anyone else have problems with these mags, especially in an STI Trojan? I am thinking perhaps it is because they are fairly new. I am going to try to fully loading them with ten rounds and let them sit for a week. Any other ideas?

[triplesinglestack]

My buddy is having the exact same trouble you describe, same mags different gun, gun is a Wilson CQB 9mm, thinking they need to settle for a while before they are reliable to re-load 10

[kirbinster]

Getting very frustrated. I called Wilson Combat and they said they have heard of problems with their mags in STI guns, that they hit the extractor and I might have to take some metal off the bottom of the extractor. I took the slide off and the mags click right into place perfectly and do not touch the extractor. They insert and click into place perfectly with the slide locked back too. BUT if the slide is forward they will not click into place. I've had them loaded up for almost 24 hours and that is still the case. Suggestions welcomed, but please don't just tell me to buy another type of mag

[FLHX]

I had the same problem with a few of the Wilson mags. I have one of the Wilson's left and I have gotten the Dawson's to work fine. I use the wilson's for my barney mag. I would get rid of them and buy Tripps or Dawson's.

I didn't want to take a chance on working on the pistol for the mag to work

Edited February 5, 2014 by FLHX

[Steve RA]

+1 on Tripp mags !!!

[Mike21STI]

I had the same problem with a few of the Wilson mags. I have one of the Wilson's left and I have gotten the Dawson's to work fine. I use the wilson's for my barney mag. I would get rid of them and buy Tripps or Dawson's.

I didn't want to take a chance on working on the pistol for the mag to work

This!

I had one Wilson etm mag that I now use as a barney because it didn't work with my STI sentry... Also make sure you aren't cupping the mag when reloading.

[DRichardson]

Cut the springs some. My back up 1911 is a rockisland 9mm that I use wilson etm mags with, I had to cut a coil off of the springs to get them where the would seat with a reasonable effort. It didn't seam to affect their function in any way.

[kirbinster]

Any issues with the last round not feeding when you cut the spring? How much did you cut off?

[Steve RA]

"I had to cut a coil off "

[MrVvrroomm]

I sold all my Wilson mags. I replaced them with STI brand in my Trojan 45.

[45 Raven]

What we are discussing is not particularly unusual, in my opinion. I own numerous 1911 pistols made by Ed Brown, Wilson Combat, STI, Colt, S&W, Springfield, and Dan Wesson. Some are in caliber .45 ACP and some are in caliber 9mm.

I can't even count or remember how many different manufacturers have produced the magazines I use in these pistols. But I DO know this for certain . . . . different pistol and magazine manufacturers have tolerances, and sometimes a magazine on one end of the tolerance range might get introduced to a pistol on the opposite end of the tolerance range. When that happens, issues like those being described occur.

In most (but not all cases) these issues can be corrected by a competent 1911 gunsmith. But the best thing to do is to obtain as many different types of magazines as one can purchase, borrow, rent, or steal and see which ones work reliably in a specific pistol.

Example: My Ed Brown 1911 in .45 doesn't like Wilson Combat 47D magazines. But those same magazines work perfectly in my Colt and Wilson pistols. My Dan Wesson prefers the CMC Power Mags, as does my Ed Brown. That doesn't necessarily mean any of those magazines or pistols are poor quality. The best advice I could give is to not buy a bunch of magazines from one manufacturer until you are CERTAIN they will meet your needs in YOUR pistol.

[kirbinster]

Well I replaced the base pads with Dawson extended pads for Wilson Combat mags and that made them work if I slammed them really really hard as it gave the spring slightly more room to compress. I cut one coil off of one of the mags and it now works perfectly. I don't have to slam it that hard and it works perfectly even when there is only one round in the magazine. Problem solved!!!

[Bob DuBois]

Been shooting a Trojan 9mm using Wilson Magazines for five years or so. I like the feel of the Wilson magazines better than other's I have tried. Mine were some of the first out.

Had to remove two coils from the bottom of the magazine spring. To much pressure was slowing the slide using light recoil springs. My friend shooting a Wilson had to do the same with his Magazines.

Remove the slide from the pistol. Insert a magazine pushing up on the magazine check for clearance between the magazine and the ejector. Mine was hitting and most will. If not corrected it will break the ejector, mine did. STI replaced the ejector with a 38/40 ejector and a slight amount needed to be removed from the bottom of the new ejector. You can use a small strip of paper as a gauge or hold the frame up to a light. This needs to be done with any brand Magazine and all of your magazines, good idea to number them.

I've installed an Ed Brown magazine release and it needs to be fitted. Take your time and a small file works better than a Dremel.

Polish the ramp where the magazine locks in place. Makes inserting and dropping the magazine easier. I also went with an Ed Brown Magazine well. I like that it's open in the front so I can check that it's seated while making ready.

[MGMorden]

I've been having a similar problem with an STI Spartan .45 and Wilson ETM's. Even with an empty mag, if I slide it up the mag catch just doesn't want to engage consistently with the slide closed. I ordered a Wilson extended mag release to see if that might help (and because with my small hands I needed it anyways), but if it doesn't I might look into the extractor issue.

I wonder if its the STI extractor itself that's that's the problem (in which case a replacement might help), or if the channel is just set a bit lower on these guns (in which case I'd guess that you'd need to file down a bit off the extractor regardless of what brand it was).

EDIT: Well, I checked mine when I got home and for the .45 at least I don't think the extractor could be an issue - its far from touching. The hesitance to seat persists even with the slide removed though, so I'm thinking again that its possibly the magazine release. Hopefully will know more once that arrives.

Edited March 20, 2014 by MGMorden

[jman93]

I had this same issue with Wilson's and the ETMs. The problem was caused by the front of the basepad being to tall. I sanded it down slightly and they work flawlessly now.