To Magwell or not to Magwell ?

[YVK]

I forgot who told the story, I think Gary Roberts, about S&A magwell bending a leg after being dropped and preventing removal and insertion of a mag. I generally don't like them on my carry 1911s but if I had one, it'd something of a weld-on type.

[duece71]

I might send my newly acquired WC CQB back to Wilson for a mag well (my CQB has a standard frame MW). I’ll probably get the FO front sight swapped out as well for a tritium version.

[Pappabear]

I might send my newly acquired WC CQB back to Wilson for a mag well (my CQB has a standard frame MW). I’ll probably get the FO front sight swapped out as well for a tritium version.

I got a quote for that from NHC and it was prohibitively expensive to do the Magwell. My local smith said he would do my Colt for $100 ish. NHC said they would have to refinish the gun for an extra $250 I think it was. After the cost of the Maxwell.

My old eyes are not a fan of FO sights either. TFO's are pretty nice, but I just changed my Lipsey 9mm FO to tritium with good white dot around it.
My only grip with SA, is their sights, they suck for my eyes. I changed my pro to a white dot with tritium. SA has tritium but no bold white circle. I bought a $50 sight from Brownells and love it.

[opngrnd]

This is why I have only ever done parkerized guns. Assuming I actually use them they might be sent back and forth a few times for maintenance and upgrades. I would hate to have to apply an expensive finish every time. Not that I wouldn't love some of the finishes out there. :/

[Pappabear]

Got my CRG back today with magwell. Looks great and feels greater. For me, if it didn’t improve my reloads, I just like that little extra Frame. But I’m sure it helps with mag changes. My hands are not huge, but they hang off just enough that I appreciate the magwell Realestate.

[17K]

This is why I have only ever done parkerized guns. Assuming I actually use them they might be sent back and forth a few times for maintenance and upgrades. I would hate to have to apply an expensive finish every time. Not that I wouldn't love some of the finishes out there. :/

Parkerizing is great. I would have had my Wilson Parked but I wanted the whole thing black so they Armor Tuffed it.

[Alaskapopo]

How do you plan to use it? Competition that allows magwells, sure. It'll definitely be beneficial when you're competing with others with them. Self defense and typical range use, nope.

But if you really like magwells, then go for it. My opinion shouldn't matter.

A carry style magwell is good on a self defense pistol because you might have to reload.

[the.batman]

It's my opinion if someone carries a gun they should be prepared, on some level, for the possibility of getting involved in a justified shooting. That's the whole point of carrying a gun! The single stack is a relatively low capacity pistol- there's a decent chance the shooter may become concerned how many rounds are left in that first mag. To me, the ability for a fast reload with the 1911 is paramount. Reloading is a big portion of training for the 1911 guys I know. In my case there is a difference in speed with which I can reload with/without a mag well- consistently. On occasion, I'll match the mag with the frame perfectly, but under stress or movement, getting a mag into a non-well gun takes more time. The best way to argue that point is with a timer on the range over a series of reloads. Frequently the non-well single stack is a square hole and the mag is a round peg!

BTW, if you've ever run out the door with a single stack and no spare mag... http://lawofficer.com/archive/office...lake-shootout/

There's plenty of vendors that sell great mag pouches!

My 2 cents-