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1911 Magazine Feed Lip Spread


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Duane Thomas has published an article in the July 2018 issue of Dillon’s Blue Press magazine, describing the cause of the 1911 magazine ‘lips spread’ and the jam that it creates, and proposing a functional limit of the width between the parallel feed lips of the wadcutter design. 

 

If you’ve had jams because of ‘lips spread’ you will want to read this article. Check it out!

 

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Yup, I've encountered the dreaded "double feed" w/ two live rounds, malfunction.

 

It started occurring with 7-rnd Checkmate magazines with the hybrid feed lips.  These magazines were reliable for a year or two, then the double feeds started.  Traced it back to the feed lips spreading. 

 

IMHO, the hybrid feed lip design is more susceptible to spreading then the parallel design.

 

Switched over to Tripp Cobra magazines and have not had a double feed since the change.

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The Checkmate GI feed lips didn't last very long either.  The wadcutter feed lips should last longest being parallel.  I noticed that the last batch of Ruger magazines that I acquired had wadcutter feed lips.  The Tripps are also wadcutter design with parallel feed lips. 

 

The new 'railed' feed lip design by CMC, if it lives up to the hype, may be the answer to longevity.

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I have an article in an old pistolsmithing book at home somewhere. It is all about how to modify the magazines, reshaping the lips and gives dimensions on building a die to hammer the lips back into shape over. This was published early 70's IIRC, so before too much aftermarket stuff was available, mostly GI mags.
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I read the article in the Bluepress a few days prior to the 2018 Nevada state WB match. So I promptly grabbed my magazines, calibers and a beer and set out to measure the dimensions across my mag lips. Every single one was over the specifications by quite a bit! During the Nevada state match I had the double feed described in the article complicated by an empty stuck on the extractor :) cost me 20-25 seconds to get it all cleared and running again.

 

Guess it's time for some new match magazines! 

 

Tully

 

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Had the jam two matches in a row; next to the last round gets stuck pointing up while feeding. Requires releasing the mag and forcibly pulling it out. Found the culprit the 2nd time, a Colt with Tripp innards. Into the trash. Replaced with a complete Tripp.

 

Had it happen again at the next match with two different magazines. Ordered four more Tripp's from Brownells. Life is too short to use crappy equipment.

 

Church Key

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