A question on Colt Magazines

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tipoc

New member
Below is a pic of some Checkmate made (small "C" on base plate) Colt marked 45acp mags. Note the small dimple on the edge of the lower lip of the plate. These may have been on these for awhile but it's the first time I noticed them. The Colt marked mags from Metalform ("M" marked on base plate) do not have these dimples.

What is the role of those? I don't see them on older GI mags.








tipoc
 
M

Mosin44az

New member
Is that where the mag follower contacts the slide lock? I am guessing the dimple is intended to make the engagement more positive....
 
K

KyJim

New member
The dimple is part of Browning's original design. Member 1911Tuner has explained it this way in another forum:
The dimple's function is two-fold. It adds a small amount of height to the follower in order to give it a "Leg Up"...and it stops the forward movement of the round. More accurately, it keeps the pistol from moving out from under the round in recoil. In this function, it's basically a back-up for the spring as it fatigues, and provides a better opportunity for the round to stay in position to be stripped from the magazine by the slide instead of being pushed ahead of it...or... in the extreme cases, escaping from the magazine completely.
Click to expand...
A more complete explanation is at http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?11580-Magazine-Function-The-Dimple.

You should listen to this man. Checkmate Industries has.
 
T

tipoc

New member
Wrong dimple KyJim. I'm not looking at the top of the follower but the one on the side of the lower lip. I don't think this is from Browning.

tipoc
 
G

g.willikers

New member
None of my mags have that dimple on the lower part of the follower.
Maybe it's to assist the slide lock, to assure the slide stays back with an empty mag.
 
T

tipoc

New member
Is that where the mag follower contacts the slide lock? I am guessing the dimple is intended to make the engagement more positive....
Click to expand...

Maybe it's to assist the slide lock, to assure the slide stays back with an empty mag.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking along these lines as well. But I wondered if anyone had specific knowledge of them. They only seems to be on newer mags made for Colt by Checkmate. I'm not sure if Colt asked for that feature or if Checkmate adopted it. I don't know if they are on all Checkmate mags.

So if anyone has more knowledge, or can take a look at their Checkmate mags, maybe you can add some information.

tipoc
 
R

RickB

New member
The turned-up follower edge, which matches the downward-angled engagement surface on the slide stop, was an original feature from 1911.
I don't know if the dimple ever replaced the turned-up edge in the military specs, or if it was just a matter of "it does the same thing".
Magazine manufacturers appear to prefer to save a nickel on one less stamping operation, than provide the original, superior follower design.
I am not aware of a single "NEW AND IMPROVED!" magazine that has that feature? Even some modern "G.I." followers don't have it, but all of my 60-90yo G.I. mags have it.
The only chronic problem I've ever had with "1911" mags is failure to lock-back consistently, and you wonder if that problem would go away if modern mags didn't ignore an important original design feature?
I was reading an advertisement for a new magazine, and it claimed sixteen machine/stamping operations on the follower!
 
T

tipoc

New member
Rick,

Do you have a pic of the original mags with the "turned-up" edge?

Some one else have one?

tipoc
 
S

Sharkbite

New member
I looked at ALL of my Glock mags. None of them have this strange deformation:p

Whats a 1911 anyway. Is that like a brontosaurs or some other extinct beast??:eek:

I think i may have a blurry picture of one... Or maybe thats bigfoot. ;)
 
R

RickB

New member
Rick,

Do you have a pic of the original mags with the "turned-up" edge?

Some one else have one?

tipoc
Click to expand...

I can probably find a pic of someone else's mag, more easily than I could get a pic of one of mine. Let's google!

Especially in the middle mag, you can see the shadow created by the upturned edge of the follower.

followers_zps78b95227.png
 
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Q

Quentin2

New member
Last month I bought four Colt 45 ACP logoed magazines made by Checkmate and all have the follower lip dimpled to engage the slide hold open lever.

I also have two Colt magazines from the 1970s that have the upturned lip that RickB described. One came with my 1976 Series '70 Government Model and the other I picked up somewhere along the way.

I have quite a few other GI mags, etc. but don't feel like unloading anymore to find out what they have! :D

All of my mags do hold back the slide on the last shot, even one that's a counterfeit GI mag. I did have a Triple K that wouldn't but got rid of it long ago.
 
T

tipoc

New member
I prowled further through my older mags and found on the GI mags the upturned edge. This is what the dimple is replicating.

These below have the upturned edge.





tipoc
 
R

RickB

New member
Do you mean it has historically been used for that purpose, or that it could be used for that purpose?
 
T

tipoc

New member
Rick,

I think you hit it in post #8.

The upturned edge is an original feature. Some manufacturers have replaced it with the dimple.

In looking at the Metalform mags it appears to be missing. The older 8 round Devel mags omit it. So does McCormick with the Shooting Star. It could be the source, or part of it, of problems in some guns.

tipoc
 
R

RickB

New member
I'm working on Check-Mate, well known for retaining the upper, center dimple, to add the other dimple to their patented follower. They double-dimple their G.I. followers, so must think it's a good idea.
I replaced the patented followers in three of my Check-Mates with G.I. followers, and they run great, and always lock back, so I think Browning/Colt were on to something when the original follower and slide stop were designed.
I was reading an ad for a new mag in Shotgun News, and they (manufacturer unknown) claim to perform sixteen machine operations on their follower, so what's one more?
 
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