What S&W 1911 Holster and Magazine to buy

[JayW]

I thought it would be simple enough to buy a new magazine for my S&W 1911. I find that once again I know less than I should. Trying to education myself here.

I go to Midway USA to find a simple 8 Rd Mag thinking it will be fairly inexpensive. They seem to be but the initial options confuse me. Under 1911 Magazines they list:

1. Goverment
2. Commander
3. Officer

My initial thought is none of the above because I do not know the difference. What category does a S&W 1911 fit under?

Also, can anyone recommend a fairly inexpensive holster? I'd like to start taking part in IDPA type matches. I could simply buy something but my hope is someone has some wisdom to share on the subject.

 

[45collector]

Government and commander models should have the same grip length, thus same mags. Officer models have shorter grips, so shorter mags. If your S&W is the full-size model, it'll take Government/ Commander mags.

As far as holsters go, there's tons to choose from. Are you looking for something for concealability, or quick-draw type matches?

 

[JayW]

Government and commander models should have the same grip length, thus same mags. Officer models have shorter grips, so shorter mags. If your S&W is the full-size model, it'll take Government/ Commander mags.

As far as holsters go, there's tons to choose from. Are you looking for something for concealability, or quick-draw type matches?

quick-draw type.

 

[Len-2A Training]

1911s come in various barrel and grip lengths.

Government Model is the USGI standard 5" bbl and uses 7 (original) or 8-rd (most popular) mags these days.

Commander usually will have a 4.25" bbl but use the same mags as the Gov't Model.

Officers Model has a shorter grip and thus uses shorter mags.

Best quality mags to use (not in any particular order):

- Tripp Research http://www.trippresearch.com/store/store_1911.html
- Wilson Combat
- McCormick (sp?)

As for holsters:

- Inexpensive and good quality are mutually exclusive!
- An excellent (readily available) 1911 holster is the Milt Sparks Summer Special 2 stocked by Brownells.
- Brommeland, Milt Sparks, Mitch Rosen, etc. all make excellent custom holsters for ccw'g the 1911 (expensive but well worth it).
- IDPA has a unique set of rules on holsters, so if that is what you are buying for, you will need to buy a special holster just for that purpose (most I've seen are NOT suitable for everyday wear). Check IDPA rules before spending any money here and talk with experienced IDPA shooters for tips on what works best.

 

[JayW]

1911s come in various barrel and grip lengths.

Government Model is the USGI standard 5" bbl and uses 7 (original) or 8-rd (most popular) mags these days.

Commander usually will have a 4.25" bbl but use the same mags as the Gov't Model.

Officers Model has a shorter grip and thus uses shorter mags.

Best quality mags to use (not in any particular order):

- Tripp Research http://www.trippresearch.com/store/store_1911.html
- Wilson Combat
- McCormick (sp?)

As for holsters:

- Inexpensive and good quality are mutually exclusive!
- An excellent (readily available) 1911 holster is the Milt Sparks Summer Special 2 stocked by Brownells.
- Brommeland, Milt Sparks, Mitch Rosen, etc. all make excellent custom holsters for ccw'g the 1911 (expensive but well worth it).
- IDPA has a unique set of rules on holsters, so if that is what you are buying for, you will need to buy a special holster just for that purpose (most I've seen are NOT suitable for everyday wear). Check IDPA rules before spending any money here and talk with experienced IDPA shooters for tips on what works best.

Thanks. Mine is a 5" FS type 1911. Yesterday I stopped by the Hopkinton club where they were doing some IDPA practicing. Just wanted to check it out. I asked about holsters and saw what they were wearing. All were outside the belt on the side of the hip. All different sorts of makes. Looking online at pictures most look similiar to what I saw yesterday. I cannot tell the different between a $20 Uncle Mike's brand and a $80 Comp-Tac brand though. Guess there will need to be some trial and error on my part til I find what I need.

 

[Twigg]

Drift alert...

Anyone have any personal experience with the Tripp research 1911 mags ?

I've been using the Wilson's in my Colts with good results and as I need more, I was thinking of going with the Tripps. I'm hesitant to fork over $40.00 + for a mag or three without any feed back from folks who use them.


As far as holsters go, its been my experience that Kydex seems to wear the finish a bit more than leather, and when using an IWB leather be sure the top of the holster can remain open with your sidearm out for one handed re-holstering.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Anyone have any personal experience with the Tripp research 1911 mags ?

I've been using the Wilson's in my Colts with good results and as I need more, I was thinking of going with the Tripps. I'm hesitant to fork over $40.00 + for a mag or three without any feed back from folks who use them.


As far as holsters go, its been my experience that Kydex seems to wear the finish a bit more than leather, and when using an IWB leather be sure the top of the holster can remain open with your sidearm out for one handed re-holstering.

Based on Jim Conway (and a number of Ravens) swearing that the Tripp Cobra mags were better than sliced bread, I jumped on a group buy (total was probably close to 1000 mags) at a super price. I later jumped on another very small group buy here on NES for more of them.

They work great, never a bit of problem and I ran thousands of rounds thru them taking various courses with Jim Conway and the NEShooters traveling trainers, as well as thousands of rounds practicing with the 1911.

You might see if you can jump on a group buy on another forum (1911 focused) for them. Virgil Tripp actually gave us the group price, we paid him directly and he shipped each order individually so there were no distribution hassles at all for anyone to deal with.

 

[jar]

Guess there will need to be some trial and error on my part til I find what I need.

Or you could buy the Comp-Tac and be done with it.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Or you could buy the Comp-Tac and be done with it.

I bought that holster and hated it! Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Hanwei]

Or you could buy the Comp-Tac and be done with it.

This.

I use the Comptac belt holster for IDPA. It kicks ass.

http://www.comp-tac.com/product_info.php?products_id=66

 

[Hanwei]

I bought that holster and hated it! Different strokes for different folks.

You hated it for IDPA? Why? It's certainly not ideal for concealed carry... but for IDPA it's hard to beat.

 

[Len-2A Training]

You hated it for IDPA? Why? It's certainly not ideal for concealed carry... but for IDPA it's hard to beat.

I bought it (C-Tac) for CCW, and hated them (2 purchased and never used).

I guess we need to all be more careful about tossing out "brands". Comp-Tac makes a number of models and for different purposes. So, I just realized that we are talking oranges and pears here, thus I modified this post to reflect the model and responded to the purpose for better clarity.

 

[Hanwei]

Gotcha. Yeah, Jar and I are talking about the Comptac Belt Holster

 

[TheRoland]

Gotcha. Yeah, Jar and I are talking about the Comptac Belt Holster

What? You don't make your own custom IDPA holster with raw kydex?

I wouldn't be able to stop making all different kinds of holsters for pretty much everything I owned!

 

[DavidC77]

I like CMC Power Mags http://www.cmcmags.com/.

I like Mernickle Leather http://www.mernickleholsters.com/

and Galco Holsters http://www.usgalco.com/default.asp


Mernickle is really good, they stand behind all ther stuff, he is even adding something that I talked with him about to his line. I wanted a mag pouch made and he liked my idea and said he is going to add it to his line.

 

[Gammon]

I have been using Metal Form mags for years with great results. They make the mag tubes for Colt and Chip McCormick. These mags tend to be cheaper than the competition but this is one case where reduced cost does not mean reduced quality. In over 20 years of using these mags I have had only one real problem; the springs wore out in my Super mags which caused some real problems at a match. The problem was my fault because I had modified the mags and springs and not replaced the springs in a timely fashion. They simply wore out and I was too dumb to replace them.

These comments refer to the standard mags. Metal Form is now offering a high end mag with a top shelf price. I have no idea how this new mag performs and wouldn't spend the extra $ to find out. The run of the mill mags work too well to replace.