Range Report: SF Commander - Good & Bad

[321Harley]

O.K., I thought I just posted this but for some reason it seemed to drop off...

I just returned from my first range outing with my 4" SF. I love this pistol. It is finished much nicer than my other 1911's in this price range.

The Good: This pistol can shoot. A series of ragged holes in a number of bullseye targets at 15 yards. Sights seem to be regulated to 6 O'Clock and all rounds impact about 3" high at this distance. Not bad! Sights were centered on the slide and the windage was perfect! Trigger had a small amount of take-up and then broke cleanly at about four pounds. Again, not too bad! As best as I can tell, there were no weapon-related malfunctions. (now see The Bad below)

The Bad: For some strange reason, my SF had continual problems with my virtually new Wilson 47 D's. I ran twelve of these mags loaded with 8 rounds of good quality hardball through the gun and EVERY MAG had problems feeding the second round. The first round chambered without issue whether I used the "slingshot" method or the slide lock. The problem was with the second round in every one of these mags. The second round appeared to have shifted a little forward and was on a horizontal angle, preventing the slide from closing. I am not sure if the second round shifted after firing the first round in each mag or the slide actually repositioned the round in this awkward angle....

I also ran twelve WOLFF 8 round mags through my SF with absolutely NO PROBLEMS. Different follower and perhaps stronger spring? Moderator: if you choose to move this discussion to a more appropriate section, I understand) By the way, the EB supplied mag worked fine.

Please share your thoughts and suggestions on these problems. I love this pistol and I really do not want to dump these new Wilson mags. By the way, these same Wilsons worked fine in my LB Concept VII using the same hardball ammo.

Thanks!

321 Harley

[Bud White]

Try the mags with 7 rounds and see if it still jams.. I got a feeling it wont.

[321Harley]

HiBud:

The only seven round mag which did not jam was the stock EB which came with the gun. All other Wilsons, even one ETM jammed on the second round, not matter how many rounds were in them initially. It seemed to my untrained eye that maybe the second round may have "walked" forwarded just enough to jam.

Thanks!
Harley

[Bud White]

I have noticed some new 47ds do this and its weaksprings and follower tilt.. but i only noticed it on fully loaded 8 rounders with 7 rounds mine were fine

[d90king]

What Bud said.......

[AZ Husker]

There are more problems misdiagnosed because of weak Wilson springs on the 47D's. Folks think they're the end all of magazines and look for other problems. They make a great tube, but the guts stink. Add a Tripp conversion kit and your problems will go away. BUT...as long as I'm carrying a seven round mag, I prefer a flush fit. The best combo I've found ever is McCormick Power Mags with the Tripp kit.

[321Harley]

Thanks guys, your input is very important to me! I would like to keep the 8 round capability if possible with these 47D's, would you suggest I try extra power WOLFF springs in them with the standard follower first, before changing out to a TRIPP kit or another set up?

Thanks again from a grateful newbie!

[Willis68]

Harley,

8 Round Chip Mccormick power mags, run perfect in my Ed Browns, i have had problems with Wilson's as well, get the CMC powermags and all will be right.... :)

[321Harley]

Thanks very much for the advice....I am going to experiment with the CMC Powermags, and Tripp's mags as well. My SIG (1911) seems to like the Wilsons but all other pistols did not! It seems the springs in the Wilsons may be a little weak....

[Lucho]

Chip Mccormick power mags....

[Ditto_95]

My SF is exactly the same! Hates 47D mags but it loves Chip Mccormick power mags.
I took the SF to an IDPA match without checking the Wilson mags out and had jam after jam. Because I had heard nothing but good about the Wilson mags I took it for granted that they would work.

The power mags work excellent.
My Kobra uses the Wilsons with no problem Go figure!
My KC won't work with anything but stock EB mags.

[Willis68]

CMC 8 Round powermags, $17.24, this is an awesome price!http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&ammoGroup=0&brand=&prodID=CF14131 I have already stocked up :)

[321Harley]

Thanks Ditto and EB Fan!

My Sig (1911) loves the Wilson mags. With my LB Concept VII and my EB/SF I continually had problems with the second round. Really appeared to be a weak spring problem. Switching to the Wolff Mags (ACT tubes w/Wolff springs and stabilized metal followers), I encountered no problems with any of my 1911's! I ordered six additional Wolff 8 round nickel mags and they are sending me some extra power mag springs to try in my Wilson mags to see if this corrects the problem. If not, I am dumping these three week old Wilsons in favor of the Wolff mags. I heard alot of good things about Tripp mags and ordered one each for my SF and LB Stinger. Pretty expensive though!

I heard many favorable reports with the CMC mags but some issues with the follower damaging aluminum feed ramps after last round is stripped from the mag. Has this problem been corrected and would it present an issue with my steel framed 1911's? I like the price on these mags as EB Fan mentioned and would love to try these in my steel frame 1911's.

Thanks again for your replies and I look forward to any additional input you guys have.

Harley

[AZ Husker]

CMC 8 Round powermags, $17.24, this is an awesome price!http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&ammoGroup=0&brand=&prodID=CF14131 I have already stocked up :)

According to the title above the ad, those $17.24 units are Shooting Star mags, big difference between them and the PowerMags.

[sjd78]

According to the title above the ad, those $17.24 units are Shooting Star mags, big difference between them and the PowerMags.


In the "Product Title" below it says "Power Mag". Dunno if that makes a difference or not?

[AZ Husker]

Makes a huge difference. If they are indeed Power Mags, that's the best price I've ever seen.

[Willis68]

Makes a huge difference. If they are indeed Power Mags, that's the best price I've ever seen.

They are in Fact Powermags, I ordered and received 4 of them, after shipping around $80.00, not bad at all, Midway USA at times has them this low, I buy them whenever they are on sale.

Harley,

The follower in Power Mags, may not be good on an aluminum frame but it does not hurt a steel frame 1911. My Kobra Carry has been running CMC powermags for 4 years, with absolutely no problems at all.

Very Best Regards,

[321Harley]

EB Fan: Thanks, an order will go out for some of those Power Mags in the AM if that is not too late. Thanks to you and everyone who has helped me along with this issue....Harley

[Willis68]

you are most welcome...... :)

[fastarget]

What was said about the mags plus, no matter what you hear the gun needs to break in ....500-1000 rnds.............

[321Harley]

Thanks, I will keep shooting and enjoying this piece for a long time!

[Diesel Cowboy]

The best combo I've found ever is McCormick Power Mags with the Tripp kit.What makes the McCormick shell better, and why not just go with a complete Tripp mag? I'm looking to get some mags for my new KC, so I'm open to options. The Tripp Mags have worked very well for me in my other 1911's, so I'm curious as to what the differences are in the McCormick shell versus the Tripp shell.

[321Harley]

ALL: A follow-up to my first range report with my new SF Commander...Using the same ammo as before (Blazer Brass 230 gr FMJ), I tried to run through a series of mags.... I had CONSTANT FTF on the second round of my eight round Wilson 47D'S and a new 8 rd Tripp mag as well. (By the way, a great looking mag). The ONLY mags which worked flawlessly were my Wolff (ACT) 8 round mags! Wow, these mags made me feel so much better. I think I may have an ammo issue with this Blazer Brass stuff! My friend shooting next to me with his Les Baer Concept VII had similar problems with my Wilson mags AND the Blazer Brass ammo. 200 SWC reloads worked great in BOTH our guns with the Wilson mags. I also know there is no reason the great looking Tripp mag would also have a similar FTF issue on the second round just as the Wilsons....In all cases, the second round seemed to just be "Stuck" in the mag and had not progressed upwards on the feed ramp! What are your thoughts? By the way my SF now has 250 rounds through it...

[fastarget]

It will continue to improve as it breaks in, another 250 or so....
as far as Blazer, it is good inexpensive ammo, I have had some issues with it not being crimped well and the OAL(length) gets kind of short on a few here and there as they hit the ramp coming out of the magazine, it happens occasionally . Try it with some good stuff and see.... les Baer has a list somewhere of good and bad ammo .....maybe someone can guide you to it.

[321Harley]

Thanks fastarget, I really want this pistol to be reliable with more than just the Wolff mag. I will try other ammo and will also insert some XP mag springs which Wolff sent me to try in the Wilsons!

[Ditto_95]

ALL: A follow-up to my first range report with my new SF Commander...Using the same ammo as before (Blazer Brass 230 gr FMJ), I tried to run through a series of mags.... I had CONSTANT FTF on the second round of my eight round Wilson 47D'S and a new 8 rd Tripp mag as well. (By the way, a great looking mag). The ONLY mags which worked flawlessly were my Wolff (ACT) 8 round mags! Wow, these mags made me feel so much better. I think I may have an ammo issue with this Blazer Brass stuff! My friend shooting next to me with his Les Baer Concept VII had similar problems with my Wilson mags AND the Blazer Brass ammo. 200 SWC reloads worked great in BOTH our guns with the Wilson mags. I also know there is no reason the great looking Tripp mag would also have a similar FTF issue on the second round just as the Wilsons....In all cases, the second round seemed to just be "Stuck" in the mag and had not progressed upwards on the feed ramp! What are your thoughts? By the way my SF now has 250 rounds through it...

The ONLY mags that work in my KC are the brown mags. Tried Colt, CM, Wilson and old milspec.
Everything else causes the second round to nose dive into the ramp.
I have several EB mags and the gun is ultra reliable with them.

[sjd78]

The ONLY mags that work in my KC are the brown mags. Tried Colt, CM, Wilson and old milspec.
Everything else causes the second round to nose dive into the ramp.
I have several EB mags and the gun is ultra reliable with them.

How funny, my KC is reliable so far with about any mag except the Brown supplied mag. Go figure lol!

[pfg1]

I have put 800 rds of Winchester White Box ($30 per box of 100 at WalMart) through my KC using six EB mags. No problems. Per EB owner's manual and website, I field strip and heavily oil the KC after each range visit. I also strip the EB mags and lightly oil them every other trip to the range. My KC needs to be cleaned after 100 rds due to buildup of gunk around the mag feed and face of firing pin plate. Hope this info helps..... DAVID

[321Harley]

All:

The ONLY 8 round mag (my preference) which has worked without fail with any type ammo in my SF Commander is the Wolff mag. The feed lips must position the top round at a better angle than most other mags? Maybe this makes these mags more "forgiving" with different types of ammo? I am pretty confident I was dealing with an ammo-related issue when using the Blazer Brass ammo since...My Wilson mags worked fine with Remington FMJ....