1911 magazines, mag pouches, holster, and pads advice

[Balliet]

i shot my first ss match yesterday with mostly borrowed gear. what are everyones recommendations on mags and extensions? the gun I'm running is a kimber tle, and i bought a used magwell that i believe is a dawson. thanks in advance.

[robertg5322]

I've had good luck with Mec Gar magazines. Inexpensive, they work and they seem to last. I've also had good luck with Shooting Star mags I bought for $7.00 each in 2001, but the Mec Gar units are easier to clean with their removable base pad.

Dawson magwell is great, I have the Ed Brown low profile ones on my guns, but this is personal preference. A .10" front sight is a great addition. I like Ready Tactical mag pouches (affordable and take up minimal real estate on your belt), Blade Tech holster, pick a belt, they're all good (DAA, Rescomp, Safariland, etc.).

Then go and shoot.

[CHARLES D]

Tripp mags. Shooters Connection belt. Double Alpha pouches. Safariland USPSA Kit for holster. I use a Safariland Holster that matches the USPSA Kit.

[Balliet]

I use a Black Dog Defense belt. Do the DA pouches swap from bullets out to bullets forward? Any luck with Chip McCormick mags? Do the Tripp mags have extensions on them, already?

[zzt]

I tried the Tripp Cobra 2 mags after reading a glowing review of them. They didn't work in my Sig 1911. They sat so low the slide would not strip the first round from slide lock. I sent them back. I've been using the Wilson ETM mags for years with no issues. 40,000+ rounds and counting. I occasionally lend them out at club matches to shooters who don't own enough to complete the COF. They seem to work in everything.

Edited April 25, 2016 by zzt

[Balliet]

seems that the etm is the way to go. I've heard a lot of praise for them.

[Balliet]

however, in the meantime, what is the longest pad i can place on an 8 rd. mag? i think i will order pads for what i have to get me thru a couple of matches.

[robertg5322]

If you have a Dawson magwell you're going to want to get their mags, or at least their basepads. Otherwise you may have issues seating mags.

Edited April 26, 2016 by robertg5322

[Foxj66]

If you order pads mag sure you get set up for the dawson ice magwell with no gap. I used Wilson ETM in my 45. I am now using Tripp Corey mags with stock basepad cut for the no gap by tripp.

[GunBugBit]

My gear is:

CR Speed Belt - perfectly adequate, no issues

Bladetech holster - just dandy, no issues

Safariland 771 mag pouches - good enough but take up a lot of space on the belt

Wilson ETM mags - THE single stack competition mag in my opinion

[LilBunniFuFu]

Any double belt works. Mags also any of the big ones work as long as you have the dawson pads for use in their magwell. CMC, Tripp, Wilson. Holster, any kydex one is fine. Pouches, I prefer CRspeed ones with the inserts since they are the easiest I've found for mags on table stuffing.

[terrydoc]

JR belt, DAA racer mag pouches, Comp tac holster with BOSS hanger,.Wilson ETM 10 rnd 9mm mags with Dawson base pads going into a Dawson IPSC magwell. Same set up for .45 but using CMC mags with plastic screw on bases.

[EDA]

I'm running a Para Pro Comp .40. DAA belt and racer mag holsters. Wilson Combat 47nx (10mm) mags with WC extended floorplates shaved down to fit in the box. Bladetech DOH holster. Techwell magwell.

[Fishin6061]

On 4/25/2016 at 8:23 PM, robertg5322 said:

If you have a Dawson magwell you're going to want to get their mags, or at least their basepads. Otherwise you may have issues seating mags.

This. I run their basepads on ETM mags with the Dawson magwell. The same basepads are nice also when using a S&A magwell too. Main thing is, find mags that work reliably in your gun, and go from there.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Fishin6061

[Foxj66]

One nice thing about the Tripp mags is all the guts come out the bottom for cleaning. Also when they cut the basepad for the no gap you don't have to buy basepads on top of mags.

[robertg5322]

1 hour ago, Foxj66 said:

One nice thing about the Tripp mags is all the guts come out the bottom for cleaning. Also when they cut the basepad for the no gap you don't have to buy basepads on top of mags.

The issue wit the Dawson Ice magwell is that Tripp and mags with similar basepads sit just below flush. Dawson basepads have a beveled shape that allows the rear of the pad to protrude whill still fitting in the USPSA box. They're really pretty slick. 

[Foxj66]

The tripp corry mags do not set below flush..

[dogtired]

I didn't run out and buy new.  I shopped the classifieds here and other places and bought in fairly cheap.