(This is a post that I originally shared on FB in 2016.  It has been updated with more findings.)

Header Image: Sig P226 magazine with metal base, Sig 1911 magazine with polymer base and extended front “lip, Wilson Combat 1911 magazine with metal stop

The purpose of this post is to discuss the failure of magazines accompanying the Sig 1911 Scorpion pistol. The main discussion will cover the topics: magazine fundamentals and failures noted during reloading of the Sig 1911 pistol.

To illustrate the importance of the magazine, it is responsible for carrying, protecting, and reliably feeding additional rounds to the firearm thereby decreasing excess packaging in the field, damaged cases, or extended reloading times. One would call this a “force multiplier”, loosely defined as, “… a factor that dramatically increases the effectiveness of an item or group.” They come in an incredible number of configurations based on projectile caliber (.22 rimfire to .50BMG and beyond), legality (some municipalities restrict magazine capacity to ten rounds while others allow 30-60-100-etc rounds), and purpose (long-range shooters may opt for shorter, lower capacity rifle magazines to keep themselves closer to the ground). Magazines are useful for all the aforementioned reasons… and a weak link when they fail during critical moments. For this reason, the magazine is one of the most critical elements in the operation of a semi-automatic pistol or rifle.

The magazine, for all of it’s importance, is constructed of simple materials:

• steel, or polymer, tube to organize and guide the rounds to the chamber
• steel spring which, under compression, will push rounds toward chamber
• steel, or polymer, follower to evenly distribute force of spring onto the round
• steel, or polymer, base pad to contain spring and allow maintenance*

Even with such basic elements, reliability can vary widely between manufacturers or user maintenance. The importance of the magazine is so universal and unavoidable that a significant market exists for reliable, durable after-market magazines. Wilson Combat is one company that claims their .45ACP magazine “Increases Reliability in ALL 1911 pistols” and has 15 5-star ratings from customers that seem to agree. Another manufacturer, Magpul, discusses new manufacturing methods to deliver “enhanced strength, durability, and reliability…” Based on my own use of equipment from both Magpul and Wilson Combat, I tend to agree. Their products have produced fewer Fail-To-Feeds than the magazines I received even with newly purchased firearms.

The distinction of “newly” purchased firearm is important because it is very challenging to know what type of abuse a second-hand magazine may have suffered before you came to own it. The overall number of rounds, maintenance schedules, tactical reloads (allowing magazine to drop to ground and possibly be kicked or stepped on), or being stored fully loaded for long periods of time can diminish the reliability of the magazine.

One example of a newly purchased firearm, is a full-frame Sig Sauer 1911 Scorpion that I purchased from Cabela’s.  It came with two 8-rd magazines and I bought two additional Sig-branded 8-rd magazines on the same day. A short while later, I purchased two 10-rd magazines from Wilson Combat. The first thing I noticed about the Sig 1911 magazines is that the base is a polymer, rather than the steel bases on the magazines for my older Sig Classic series pistols. The Wilson Combat magazine has a metal arrestor that prevents over-insertion of the magazine, which is the reason for the asterisk near the description of the base-pad’s duties.

A few weeks after purchase, I took the firearm to the range for the first time and enjoyed many aspects of the gun. The night sights are a cool addition and the G10 Magwell Grips made it seem like it was velcroed to my hand.

• Things were going well through the first 52 rounds (10/10/8/8/8/8), then the next 52 rounds.
• On the third set, I had a Fail-To-Chamber which I disregarded. (The last time I had been to the range was nearly two years prior so the Fail To Chamber was likely poor grip during shooting.)
• The fourth set was when I got flummoxed. I shot all the rounds of a magazine, which caused the slide to lock back with the chamber open. I removed the spent magazine and inserted a Sig 1911 magazine and pressed the slide release. Nothing happened.  I pressed the magazine release to clear the firearm. Nothing happened.

 

 

I checked the chamber to see if a round had come loose and created a jam but no rounds had been released from the magazine. While keeping the firearm pointed in a safe direction, I rotated the pistol to inspect the grip area and I found that the plastic base pad had parted slightly from the magazine and was pinching the forward section of the hand grip. Basically, the base pad allowed the magazine to extend too far into the well which blocked the slide from traveling forward and pinched the grip in a manner so the magazine would not clear the grip unless I pried it out.

Any firearm failure concerns me but this one is particularly concerning. Most schools of thought surrounding proper loading of a firearm tend to say that a firm insertion of the magazine is necessary to ensure that it is properly caught in the magwell and does not fall out. I do not feel that I exerted excessive force on this magazine and maintenance should not have been an issue. The firearm was new and all of the magazines were new. Each individual magazine was loaded a total of, perhaps, six times while in my possession. Some quality testing may have been performed at the factory but none of the magazines appeared to have any wear or the odor of fired rounds.

I understand that the Sig 1911 Scorpion has a “funneled” mag well entrance to improve the insertion of the magazine but I have never before had this type of magazine failure in a pistol or rifle. Based on previous pistol loading experience, the two types of magazines in use that day (Sig, Wilson Combat), and the photos, I would have to conclude that there are two solutions: re-engineer the grip so that the mag well goes around the front of the magazine base, similar to how it flares out on the side of the magazine, or replace the base pads with a re-designed metal. The latter option should be much more cost effective.

Following this post, I went on to buy several Wilson Combat 10-rd magazines with extended-length polymer base pads.  I bought these for aesthetics because I liked how they look versus the magazine with just the metal stop.  They worked very well through several range sessions but, during a tactical shoot-night, I experienced another over-insertion and fail-to-chamber where the base pad bit the grip so hard that I needed a multi-tool to pry it out.

I have since replaced any 1911 magazine that has an extended “lip” on the front of the magazine with metal base pads or with the Vickers Elite magazines that arrive with metal base pads.

Please accept this as a friendly reminder to test your gear thoroughly rather than slinging mud at any manufacturer(s).  Anything can fail given the right (wrong) circumstances.

Patton, Christine. Force Multipliers. http://www.resilience.org/stories/2011-03-25/force-multipliers. January 14, 2016.

Wilson Combat. http://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-Magazine-45-ACP-Full-Size-10-Round-Ultra-Thin-Base-Pad/productinfo/47T/. January 14, 2016.

Magpul. https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-30-ar-m4-gen-m3. January 14, 2016.

Sig Sauer. http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/1911-scorpion.aspx. January 14, 2016.