Earlier this week, I bought some of the new black Wilson ETM 10rd 9mm magazines. The main reason I wanted the black mags was for concealed carry. The black color is slightly less likely to draw attention if my concealment garment shifts, but mostly it just helps me tell my carry mags apart from my practice mags at a glance.
I took the mags to the range and put 20 rounds of carry ammo (the outstanding Federal 124gr +p HST) through each of the six magazines followed by another 30 rounds of practice ammo. Three hundred rounds of testing showed the mags working as expected so I loaded three of them up, put one in the gun (after topping it off) and went about my business.
The next evening I needed to do a little work on the pistol so I removed the magazine as the first step in clearing the gun. This is what I found:
There was no tension on the rounds in the magazine. They were all just loose inside. The top round was probably a half inch below the feed lips. Turning the magazine upside down, all I had to do was shake and the rounds came tumbling out. As you can see in the video, the problem was the follower. It got stuck at the bottom of the tube and even after all the agitation from shaking the ammo out it was still trapped down there.
Communications back and forth with Wilson Combat led to the discovery that this is a known problem with some of their black magazines due to a new treatment they’re using. Apparently, some kind of sticky film is left over from the blackening process and it creates substantially more friction inside the magazine tube. Yeah, you think? The fix was as simple as thoroughly cleaning the inside of the mag tubes with gun cleaner (Wilson advises mineral oil is even better).
Another day at the range and another 50rd through each magazine worked fine. Now I’m leaving them loaded and testing one at a time in my backup gun, leaving it fully loaded in the gun, round in the chamber, for 24 hours to see if the follower gets stuck again. So far so good.
Nonetheless, I spent a day and a half walking around with a gun that may not have fired more than one round because of that gunk. It was by my bed as I slept and on my hip while I hiked, ran errands, and spent an evening out on the town with my wife. Even when I press-checked the gun everything seemed fine. But I’ve got no way of knowing whether I could have counted on the gun to function properly in that condition.
I use Wilson magazines because I can count on them. This experience was totally unsatisfactory. I do expect Wilson will be addressing the problem and future customers won’t have to worry about it. Still… not at all what one expects from Wilson Combat.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
This is not good.
Guess its time to go back to the P30.
Hmm, makes me appreciate my P30 mags even more.
Todd,
The issue was a change in assembly lube that effects some of the black magazines. The black magazines are treated with Melonite QPQ and a small batch was assembled with the incorrect lube. If a mag is sticky, cleaning the magazine tube with gun solvent and re-installing the follower with Break free will solve the issue. It is a lube issue-not a mag or follower issue.
If anyone has any further questions or service issues they can contact info@wilsoncombat.com
As alarming as that seems, you didn’t count on that gun to fire more than one round out of a single magazine, we carry multiple magazines, and we practice remediation drills for a reason.
I can make my Sig mags do this by dropping them in the dirt a few times then loading and unloading them by hand. Never been able to make it happen in a loaded gun. I gotta say, I’m thinking that it’s not really the mag’s fault. I’d be more inclined to blame the guy that doesn’t clean his stuff often enough. 🙂
Back to Todd’s “Trust No One article.” Nobody with any sense wants to CCW a single shot pistol.
Really make me appreciate my older proven Glocks and my HK P30, HK45, and HK P2000SK.
Very interesting.
Although Wilson Combats reputation will show that they will fix the problem immediately and at no cost to anyone affected by this poorly finished batch of black magazines. I clean out my mags for my USP45s every 500 rounds. They could go much longer without cleaning but I always do out of good habit.
It is scary to think about how you were carrying something that was most likely going to malfunction if you needed it.
With all the variations of 1911’s even though they are almost identical, some of them are choosy with what mags they feed better with. Wilson Combat mags are top dogs I’ve always heard, but its little issues like this that make me stay away from 1911’s for carry.
@Wilsoncombatrep, don’t you think that’s recall worthy?
At the very least issuing some form of email to warn customers to verify they don’t have the issue? I would expect you’d know what serial number ranges would have the issue. By waiting you tarnish your reputation, and shake customer confidence in your product.
@Todd: If I remember the test right, is this not the SECOND time you’d be left with a disabled 1911 had the flag flew?
With all due respect accorded, I think its time to re-evaluate carrying this piece. Third time may NOT be the charm.
RM — There haven’t been any reported actual failures. If every company did a complete recall every time a single person reported a single *potential* issue, our cars would be in the shop every day.
ST — I don’t recall having a disabled 1911 in the past. Nor did this one ever fail to function (even with the suspect mags). So I’m not sure how it’s a mark against the gun.
Stuff happens, you caught the problem and fixed it. Better at home than out in goblin world.
@ ToddG
From Report #7 on the Springfield 1911:
“The result was pretty horrifying. First round out of the gun resulted in a feed stoppage. Tap, rack, fire… and a second feed stoppage. Finished the magazine and then on the fourth round of the next magazine it happened again. Three stoppages in less than 15 rounds… the first 15 rounds I would have fired if I’d needed the gun for something more than practice. Call me a sissy, but that raised a concern.”
ST — You’re absolutely correct! I’d forgotten about that. Oddly enough, it was that exact instance that got me to switch to dedicated carry mags full time, which in turn motivated me to get the black ETMs for carry.
There’s no question, mags are the weak link in most 1911s, especially when the guns (and mags) are run hard. The ETMs have done far, far better than the alternatives I’ve tried, these incidents notwithstanding.
I’ve had breakages and failures in just about every gun I’ve tested (or used extensively before I started this site). Nothing is 100%.
I carry an issued Springfield Professional/Operator each day. I have had excellent luck with the CMC Powermags, though I’m looking to source the new Wilson ETM HD/+P for T&E soon.
1) If Wilson knew about this bad batch, posting the “fix” on their website is the least they can do.
2) My drill, every single time the gun leaves my sight (nightstand, safe, in a lockbox, at jail/court lock up, is to drop the mag, inspect it for capacity and first round positioning, press-check the chamber, then replace the magazine. I went to a course that instilled the phrase “professionals press check” and when I demo drills or get ready for the day, this cursory check puts my mind at ease. Just sharing this to the 1911 guys who know that magazines are disposable items…
CVPD167 — “My drill, every single time the gun leaves my sight…”
I know it. I preach it. But I didn’t always do it.
That’s past tense for a reason.
Excellent reminder for all of us and shame on me for getting lax.
The last 1911 I bought was completely torn down, inspected and lubed by me before I put a single round through it.
Maybe we should do the same with mags? Especially ones we plan to carry with.
I have never had a problem with any of the 9 Wilson mags I use and carry, 7 of them Black ETM’s. Other than dirt and muck picked up during training use that required cleaning.
I did have an issue with some brand new Tripp mags that had sloppy followers that would tip in the mag and release all the spring tension that locks up the slide and helps kick out the empty mag. This was discovered when I was inspecting and cleaning them prior to first use…
Why does it seem these strange anomalies with magazines, or ammo, or ____ occur most often wtih 1911’s?
You mean you couldn’t hold it upside down and shoot it with your pinky! How untactical of you!
Matt – If Glocks were made by 50 different manufacturers (all with a different spec) and you tried to use a variety of third party parts, the results would be the same.
My before work or otherwise gunning up to leave the house drill is pretty much the same as CVPD’s, and for some of the same reasons as you have noted here Todd.
“Why does it seem these strange anomalies with magazines, or ammo, or ____ occur most often wtih 1911?s?”
My M&P9s, when CCWed for extended periods, will sometimes gave the noses of the JHPs in the mag foul on the mag release cutouts, I’ve taken to rapping the rear of the mag against my boot heel every few days to prevent this.
Of course, since people rarely fire a mag of Ranger SXT that’s been carried in the gun for a few weeks, this isn’t a problem most will notice…
“…sometimes Have the noses…” even.
Todd, you’re going to hell because.. Wilson screwed up, but, bluntly, so did you-for every matal magazine that I have, my protocol before any use, be it range, live fire, self defense, etc is this: I disassemble the magazine and remove any factory lube/cutting oil, shipping/storage preservative, and then treat the inside of the tube, follower, inner baseplate and spring with Dri-Slide, a molybdenum disulfide dry film lubricant and anticorrosive (which comes in a liquid carrier solution-the liquid serves to transport the lubricant to the surfaces desired, and then it evaporates, leaving a dry film of lubricant {which then lubricates without serving as an attractant petri dish for subsequent GSR, dirt, etc}). The magazine is reassembled and function-checked (after the Dri-Slide has had a chance to dry).
Look, if a 1911 is arguably inherently skirting the ragged edge of performability with anything but ball ammunition in it’s originally intended .45 ACP incarnation, your’re by definition courting disaster by not taking the time to do some preventave maintenance prior to and during use-and the magazines, as you know,are simply a crucial part of the 1911 equation-even more so with the manufacturing and design changes to the platform’s architecture in the change from .45 ACP to 9mm. And it goes to say that its even more crucial with a tool upon whom your life, and the lives of your loved ones may depend upon-you simply cannot treat a 1911 like a lawnmower…
Yeah, you’ve sinned…go sit in the corner and say 50 Hail John Moses Brownings, and abjure from thy insidiousness…
Best, Jon Stein
Jon — Other than a few short forays with Glocks, every gun I’ve ever carried or shot seriously has used metal mags. This includes the 1911, in fact. And until now I’ve never had to disassemble and clean the mags prior to use. In fact, I almost felt silly just testing the mags but my 1911 paranoia isn’t completely gone yet.
Mag shouldn’t required labor and $50 worth of ammo (each) for function checks.
They shouldn’t-but you yourself have illustrated that they do. Or, at least, it’s a prudent idea to do so. (Or, mabye in your case, you’ll conceed that mabye its a good idea to at least think about doing…)
And about the shouldn’t part, I’ll argue that. When you get a new car, for example, while there are some break-in things the new owner needs to do (usually for the first 1K miles), even before the car hits the line for sale, there are a multitude of preparation steps a dealership must take to transform the car from its shipping mode to “ready to drive” mode-even before its sale.
While I perform my pre-use protocol on all of my metal magazines, with 1911s IMHO it’s more of a requisite step as opposed to a nice-to-do anal compulsive thing.
Pretty much the only magazines that I’ll use out-of-the-box are Glock magazines-but I do subject my Glocks themselves to a pre-use clean-and-lube protocol.
Best, Jon Stein
I’ve seen this sort of thing happen with metal mags several times, AR mags, S&W 3rd gen 9mm mags, GI 1911 mags. Paul Howe wrote about his G31 mags doing this when they get any grit in them.
It happens, just not typically to brand new mags.
Same thing happened to me on my G35 mag with less than 500 rds through it. On duty. No one is immune. I cleaned the mag and it never happened again. S@*t happens, always check your gun, tire pressure, and paychecks.
I had the same exact thing with some black 47s.
I traded them all for non-coated 47s. Problem solved.
You were lucky (or unlucky I guess) that you could even load them. I had 2 of the 47dt black mags for the 45ACP that would not even let me load more than 3-5 in them.
They’ve just sat waiting for me to return them…. so I tried the fix posted by wcrep, and the black mags let me load up the 10 but they still do not feed the rounds reliably.
I will try a few more scrubbings with some more solvent to see if it gets better.