Help with Trojan 40 mags and well

[Fuzz]

I would appreciate some help with a new gun for Single Stack USPSA . Like I said it is a STI Trojan 40 S&W.

Looking at the ICE Magwell but I had one on my Ruger SR1911 45 and the standard mags were very deep inside the Magwell and difficult to seat. It could be done but I would not get it seated when pushing for speed some times. I had to use the standard basepad due to height and fitting in the box. ( Largely due to the rear sight being taller. ) Anyway This STI has their rear sight so it is flatter.

I am concerned about the mags and magwell combo having the same issues.

Dawson has 4 Tripp mags available in 40 cal 1 is 9 round with flex follower, 1 is 10 round with flex follower both at 34.95

1 is 9 round with hybrid follower and it also is for 40 S&W/10mm

1 is 10 round with hybrid follower and is 40 S&W /10mm both priced at 39.95

I want to run the no gap Ice magwell with Dawsons basepads for them but not sure which mag was the best option and also I want stay inside the box.

Reliability is also a concern for me.

Can someone educate me on this. I called Dawson and well someone was having a bad day and I was interfering with their day.

Thanks for any assistance.

[robertg5322]

With no gap magwell, you need Dawson pads. They're designed for that magwell and they work well.

I'd go with their mags if you're going to use their base pads. They make good stuff and are a good company to deal with.

That said, Tripp mags work well too. But you'll need to add the Dawson pads to work with the no-gap magwell (or grind the Tripp pads to fit, and you'll still have the mag seating issue).

[Fuzz]

With no gap magwell, you need Dawson pads. They're designed for that magwell and they work well.

I'd go with their mags if you're going to use their base pads. They make good stuff and are a good company to deal with.

That said, Tripp mags work well too. But you'll need to add the Dawson pads to work with the no-gap magwell (or grind the Tripp pads to fit, and you'll still have the mag seating issue).

They don't show any mag but Tripp in 40 cal? Which ones are their mags?

[robertg5322]

You're right, I stand corrected. I was thinking 9mm 1911 mags.

In my .40, I have a mix of Mec Gar, Metalform, Wilson Combat, Checkmate and Tripp.

Of those, the Tripp are the best, by far. The others all work (now), but required work. For the Wilson Combat, it was actually a 10mm (listed as .40 S&W, but no spacer). It would hold 9 rounds and work intermittently until I put a spacer in it and then gave it a Tripp spring and follower. Now it works 100%, but only holds 8 rounds.

The Checkmates work fine, but only hold 8 rounds. The Metalforms worked for about a year, then the followers started jumping over the slide stop. Subsitute a Tripp follower and they now work perfectly. Still hold 8 rounds.

The Mec Gar mags have worked perfectly from day 1. Only issue I have with them is that they're so hard I had to buy a tungsten drill bit so I could tap them for a base pad. That's a bit weird, a TiN coated bit would only mar the bluing. Wouldn't even scratch the metal. Not sure why they didn't drill and tap holes at the factory. Go figure...

All of that said, I prefer mags with removable base pads to make cleaning easier. The Mec Gar and Metalform .40 S&W mags do not have this feature. The Tripp, Wilson Combat and Check Mate mags do.

The Tripp mags work, hold 9 rounds and did I required me to do nothing to them. If you choose to go with the no-gap magwell, you'll be needing to spend some more money on Dawson pads, but these pads will enable you to seat the mags in the gun with ease, and fit in the box.

Moral of the story; Buy Tripp mags for .40 S&W. They make good stuff that works, and I've heard they have excellent customer service (I didn't need it, so to me that's also a plus).

If you load long, go with the 10mm mags If not, the .40 S&W.

Edited May 3, 2016 by robertg5322

[Fuzz]

After a night of thought I changed my thinking. I ordered the Dawson IPCA magwell all aluminum (Not the Ice magwell) which is still pretty big and will easily seat the standard basepads. I did order the Tripp 9 round hybid pushers for reliability and this should be a good package.

Thanks for the help.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: The Dawson IPSC magwell is just as fast as the Dawson Ice gap and no gap. I have all three. I also use Metalform Elite 45acp mags for my 40 single stacks. They have removable base pads and Dawson make base pads for them as well. They have a round top steel follower. I found some new ones E-Bay for less than $20 each. Thanks, Eric

[Foxj66]

If you use a no gap order direct from tripp and ask for Corey mags cut for the no gap magwell, they cut down the stock base pad to work with the no gap insert

[txolds442]

Not to jack the thread, but I ordered the ice magwell with the gap and tripp 9 round hybrid follower mags from dawson. Other than aesthetics, is there much of functional difference between the gap and no gap? Thank you!