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More then you ever wanted to know about mag catches


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I did a little experiment with a couple of 1911 Mag catches.

I was looking for a raised mag catch to help alleviate some nose dive issues in my STI Trojan.

My test procedure was to install the mag catch and then measure the clearance between frame and magazine at the front of magwell.

EGW Raised mag catch clearance .019

Dawson Posi-loc mag catch clearance .040

WIlson Combat mag Catch 405S .036

SVI Infinity raised mag catch .001 (took tremendous force to lock up)

Little notes:

The EGW did require a much more forceful push to achieve lockup of the magazine. That little bit of raising the mag is noticeable. It does feed MUCH smoother though.

I ended up using the Wilson combat mag catch because it was drilled and tapped for a oversize button which I love. I plan on getting the EGW drilled / tapped and then switching back to that. Even with the extra force required to seat mags, it was worth it for the better feeding reliability in my opinion.

I contacted SVI about getting exchanging for one of their standard mag catches. I'm really hoping it comes in around .025 to .030 which I think is the perfect compromise in my 1911 for feeding / ease of seating the magazine.

Hope this helps someone.

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If you find one you really like that raises the mags too high, you can cut the top of the window in the mags to lower them the amount you want. Warning - check and do each and every mag separately.

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The ejector clearance is good. Looks like I can trim the windows, file the frame or use different mag catches then the SVI. Thanks for the tips. I'll relook at them.

I really like the SVI but I don't want the mags too high because they don't stick below the magwell at all. That makes them harder to seat for me.

Brandon hooked me up. He is sending me some standard height ones to try.

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I had to go to an EGW when I switched over to Tripp mags. I was having a devil of a time with feeding in my Delta Elite rebarreled to a P/C ramped barrel. The old colt mags don't work anymore, but they were so soft in the floor plate anyway. Runs beautifully now.

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Yeah I'm going to drill and tap when I get access to a lathe. I wish there was something .005 lower then the egw. To me that would be perfect for mag seating and feeding.

Any reason you couldn't lower the shelf slightly on the EGW mag catch? It would be a lot less work than modifying all your mags...

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I seem to remember during my search for a raised mag catch that there were several varying heights of raised mag catches. I just picked the EGW. Dawson has some and maybe Wilson has some and they are of varied height. When all else fails check Brownell's.

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Yeah I'm going to drill and tap when I get access to a lathe. I wish there was something .005 lower then the egw. To me that would be perfect for mag seating and feeding.

Any reason you couldn't lower the shelf slightly on the EGW mag catch? It would be a lot less work than modifying all your mags...

Not a big deal trimming the front of the floor plate, I had mostly steel toes on the welded floor plates (Mec Gar, and Metalform mags). a Dremel and about 10 minutes of work made them work fine. Tripp, Dawson and the others have either aluminum or plastic, the two Tripps, one Check Mate and one Wilson I have have plastic base plates, and a utility knife and about 15 seconds of work made them fit. Aluminum would take a little longer but not an issue. After trimming, all work 100%.

EGW stuff is super hard, drilling them took a carbide bit. I broke the bit as it went through, but fortunately I had finished the hole. Broke a tap as well. Like I said, they're super hard. I couldn't imagine trying to file that little shelf. And if you file too far, you're back where you started.

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