Installing the M&P 45 Extended Base Pad

Installing our M&P 45 Extended Base Pad is a simple proposition with just a few simple tools. 

Starting with an empty magazine, here's how you do it.

1. Disassemble the magazine.  Use a pin punch to depress the retainer plate at the center of the factory base pad, and slide the pad forward.  Be careful not to let the spring and retainer plate fly free when the pad is moved.
2. Clamp the magazine tube in padded rubber or leather vise jaws, front to back, with the top of the tube facing down. The tube is more rigid front to back; don't clamp side to side it'll crush easily.
3. Use a wooden block/dowel or one of the Delrin drift punches available on our webstore, and a mallet to tap the rubber grip extension sleeve.  Work your way slowly around the entire circumference of the rubber sleeve so that it moves evenly down the tube.
4. As the sleeve moves along the tube, you should be able to get to a point where you can remove it by hand or just with the mallet while holding the tube in your hand. Be careful of the feed lips when doing this, so that you do not crush them against your work surface as you hammer freehand.
5. Reinstall the spring, retainer plate, and the 10-8 extended pad, and you are ready to rock!

Marvel .22 Build

My latest build, "I" or "India," is a host for a Marvel .22 conversion kit.  The frame is a vintage Chip McCormick Corporation (CMC) forged frame from 2001-2, and had been languishing in my safe for some years.  It was in a partially completed state, having been part of a project I abandoned about 5-6 years ago.  It was interesting to unearth the box of parts, as it reflected parts and techniques that I stopped using some years ago.

Here is the build list:
CMC forged frame, vintage 2001-2, checkered 20lpi
CMC grip safety, mag catch, disconnector, hammer strut, thumb safety
10-8 mag well, attached to frame via CNC machining of frame for Pistol Dynamics/Briley interface (not available for sale, reserved for my builds only)
STI mainspring housing, modified for 10-8 mag well
Modified C&S hammer and C&S sear
10-8 flat trigger, bar stock plunger tube, grip screw bushings
10-8 black/gray Ghost G10 grips, 18lpi checkered, mag catch scoop with 10-8 GI pattern grip screws
Marvel Precision Unit 2 Government Round Top .22 conversion kit with Marvel fiber optic front sight

 

The CMC beavertail had been blended to the frame in its "out" position, so that all the lines match when the gun is out of your hand.  It looks great sitting on the table or on the shelf in the safe, but after a meaningful quantity of rounds gets sent downrange with this type of setup, I found that the protruding edge of the grip safety, though minor, was enough to raise a hot spot on the side of my thumb.  Since I spend way more time shooting my guns than staring at them, I did not do too many builds this way, and this particular one may have been the last one.  Since the blending was already complete and the .22 does not shift that much in the hand, I figured that I would try my luck and leave the beavertail as it was.

The bottom of the frame was recently prepped for a new 10-8 mag well, which requires CNC removal of the bottom of the frame and machining of the proprietary Pistol Dynamics/Briley interface by which is attaches.  The setup is completed with a modified mainspring housing from an STI 2011, which completes the funnel at the rear of the mag well.

The lower receiver was finished in a matte black manganese phosphate finish (Parkerizing).  The Marvel unit is black anodized aluminum, and while it does not match the Parkerizing 100%, they look acceptable together.

The Marvel Unit 2 conversion fixes the barrel to the slide stop, and the slide is basically a decorative cover that operates by simple blowback.  The slide does not really lock up to the barrel, so the gun's accuracy is somewhat limited by the ability of the slide to return to the same place.  Because of this, Marvel categorizes the Unit 2 as a plinker/trainer and only guarantees 1.5-2.5" at 25 yds.  Still, this is good accuracy and more than adequate for my needs.  The downside is that the slide does not seem to point where the barrel does, and the gun shoots about 8" high and right at 25 yards.  The rear sight is adjustable, and is bottomed out and all the way to the left.  The gun is fed with the Marvel polymer mags, which fit nicely into my 1911 mag pouches.  The design does not lock open on the last shot.  My two gripes with the unit are the sharp edges and the sights.  The muzzle and underside of the slide feature rather sharp edges, which would cause problems with tightly fitted leather holsters.  It did not cause issues with my Kydex holsters, and thanks to the 9lb recoil spring, the edges did not aggravate gun handling as there was almost no resistance from the spring.  The stock front sight is a plain .125" wide ramp with a somewhat wavy surface that was a byproduct of the machining.  This surface was very reflective and made the sight all but invisible bright sunlight.  The rear sight has a very narrow and shallow notch, so the overall sight picture is very tight and super slow. I ordered a fiber optic front sight, and hope that it will help improve the sight picture somewhat.

As a plinker, the gun is a ton of fun to shoot.  The manual recommends Remington Thunderbolt and CCI Mini-Mags, which both cycle the slide crisply.  Reliability is still somewhat of a work in progress, though I traditionally have never considered .22 rimfires as a 100% reliable platform thanks to the low quality of the typically available ammunition.  As a training tool, one must be careful to tailor drills to the gun's lack of recoil.  It is an excellent tool for working draws, target to target transitions, and accuracy.  Without recoil and blast, it is as powerful a tool as dry firing for training a quality trigger press.  Since my gun is set up almost identically to my primary pistol, Echo, I can practice reloading (with the slide forward, as the steel slide stop should interact only minimally with the aluminum slide to reduce wear) and trigger reset.  I prefer using the Marvel and a real 1911 receiver over a purpose built complete .22, as the safety, trigger break and reset, mag catch, etc. all feel and work just like my primary pistol.  Initially, the feel WAS my primary pistol, and it was very productive time on the trigger.  I would highly recommend such a conversion kit for improving your training.  Look for future updates on .22 specific training drills.

Shooting On The Move

Just a few thoughts this week about shooting on the move.  Shooting on the move is a hotly debated topic in tactical training circles, and ultimately it comes down to the shooter to determine if his skill level or the situation dictates the need to shoot while moving rather than stopping and taking the shot.

When you tell someone to shoot on the move, the first thing that tends to happen is that the rate of movement slows to a crawl, in an attempt to make the sights bounce less.  Unfortunately, this defeats the purpose of the exercise, and you would do better just to stand still at this point. 

In application, I see a difference between how the movement is implemented in competition and how it needs to be used for tactical application.  In competition, it is common to see shooters slow down or even pause for a shot, then resume movement in between targets.  In a match you are moving alone, and if you slow or pause for a shot, no partner or teammates will plow into you and wreck the shot.  In a tactical setting, the situation will dictate your rate of movement, and you will only be able to shoot as much as the sights dictate.  Pausing for the shot may not be an option, so you need to develop your skills on the move to be a well rounded shooter.

To learn how to shoot on the move, the most efficient training method is to use a laser.  You can go as low budget as taping a pen laser from the office supply store to your weapon and practicing the movement while you watch the movement of the dot.  Shorten your stride, bend your knees, narrow the placement of your footfalls, and roll your feet heel to toe.  Watch the laser, and you will learn faster than burning untold rounds at the range.

Front Sight Choices

Front Sights for the Tactical Shooter

If you are setting up your pistol for duty/tactical team use, competition, CCW, or recreational shooting, each usage profile has a different set of needs which should be examined.  Rather than beat down all the different possible uses, I will instead offer my thoughts on the different front sight types.

Before we discuss each of the different sight types, a few words on sight design.  All 10-8 Performance sights are machined from pre-hardened Rc28-32 4140 carbon steel bar stock, which makes them more durable and better able to withstand the rigors of duty use and exposed carry.  You will find that all sights are not created equal, and not everyone's sights are as hard as ours.

All 10-8 front sights feature a serrated blade surface to break up glare and provide a consistent sighting surface.  The forward angled semi-ramp profile reduces snagging considerably over post and undercut blades designed for target and competition shooting. 

In terms of blade width, most of our front sights are .125" wide, with the exception of the new 1911 fiber optic fronts (see above article).

Now let's take a look at the different blade types and their attributes.

Plain Black:
This is the old standby, and is fantastic for target and competition shooting.  Shooters with young eyes (that used to be me) can do very well with an all black sight set.  The main downside to this is a lack of additional contrast with backgrounds of mixed lighting or coloration, as well as no low light capability.  This is a daytime only sight option, and a pistol with all black sights will need to be used in conjunction with a white light for any type of low light shooting, regardless of target identification requirements. 

Tritium:
What started as a weird novelty back in the 80's has now become nearly standard on factory pistols.  Tritium offers the ability to align the sights in low/no light, and the insert provides some visual contrast to help quickly align the sights in daylight.  Our tritium sights do not feature the white painted outline, as it is not possible to inlay the ring of paint on a serrated blade.  Tritium has a maximum service life of about 10 years, so you will need to replace the sights after they start to dim.  While the tritium does allow you to align the sights in total darkness, LE and CCW users are still required to identify their threat with white light.  As such, the tritium inserts are typically washed out by the white light and sights generally appear more or less black.  We do not offer tritium in the rear sight, and with just a little practice, the single tritium insert aligns just as intuitively in the dark as it does in the daytime. 

Brass Bead:
Our take on the popular McGivern gold bead sight, but more cost effective.  The brass bead catches light nicely in the daylight, and as long as there is some ambient light, it still provides enough contrast to pick out the front sight.  In low light, it still needs to be used in conjunction with a white light.  This has proven to be an extremely popular option, and is equally at home on a modern duty pistol as it is on a classically styled 1911.

Fiber Optic:
No sight is as visible in the daylight, and older eyes will benefit from the super high visibility.  The brighter the sun is, the better this sight works.  It will not wash out in extremely bright conditions, and excels at this end of the lighting spectrum.  Fiber optics are my personal favorite in the sighting systems, with the intuitive alignment of the U notch rear, it almost makes it like shooting a red dot optic on a carbine.  The red dot really jumps out at you, no matter how busy the target area may be.  In low light, this sight becomes black sooner than the brass bead sight.  It of course needs to be used in conjunction with white light, but otherwise provides no other unique issues in low light over the other designs.


Hopefully this helps give you a better idea what front sight to choose for your pistol. 

1911 Magazines...again

This week's featured product is the Chip McCormick Black Power Mag 8 Round Magazine.  I have been testing these since they were introduced at SHOT show this year, and they work very well.  The tubes are formed from carbon steel, with a black oxide finish.  The advantage of carbon steel is its resilience, and the tubes should hold their shape better over the long term than stainless. Note how long lasting battle rifle mags (like the FAL, AK, HK G3/91/93) are, they are all formed from carbon steel. It will take a few years of fielding of the black CMC tubes to get some solid comparative data, but as things stand right now they are an excellent mag. My initial testing since SHOT has  been very positive, and they are wearing as well as the stainless tubes.  I like the mags so much that the logical thing to do was to add them to our product line. The mags come with our base pad installed, for an absolutely unbeatable duty mag setup. 

My 1911 Magazines article on the website has been a popular resource.  This week it has been updated with some new information, including some thoughts about 10 round magazines.

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The magazine is exceedingly critical to the function of a 1911, and all too many shooters induce problems in otherwise functional guns by using faulty magazines.

My number one recommendation for a 1911 magazine is the original Chip McCormick Power Mag 8 round magazine with the standard (.350") bumper.  The Power Mag design has a durable tube that holds its shape well, a strong spring that resists a set when left loaded for extended periods, and very good overall function. The Power Mag features a flush length tube, which makes it a good choice for concealment applications.  It is able to compete in function with extended tube magazines thanks to the additional spring pressure provided by the folded follower. I have had hundreds of Power Mags pass through my hands - they work well and you simply will not find a better value for your dollar. 

I am frequently asked whether I recommend the original Power Mag follower or the newer Power Mag Plus.  I prefer the original Power Mag follower for most of my applications.  You will need to decide for yourself which of the two followers has design characteristics that better suit your needs.  The original Power Mag follower provides greater lift to the slide stop at lockback, and jumps forward slightly upon feeding the last round.  If you have a gun that has a heavy slide stop plunger spring or one with a hard detent cut into it, you will probably do better with the original Power Mag.  The Power Mag Plus follower produces somewhat less lift on the slide stop lobe, but its primary design features are that it does not jump forward in the tube and also rides very tightly up the inside front of the tube for more consistent follower engagement.  The Power Mag Plus is the preferred magazine for alloy frame 1911s.  The new black Power Mag shows great promise, with a tube formed from black oxided carbon steel, which should prove to be even more resilient than the stainless tubes.

The Tripp Industries Cobra Mag, A8-MG, is another good candidate for an 8 round 1911 mag.  It uses a polymer follower with a steel insert at the slide stop lobe engagement shelf that provides good durability.  The tube is extended in length for a longer spring column. These magazines tend to sit very high in the gun, so you will want to check to see if the feed lips or top round contact your ejector.  The newer manufacture Cobra Mags with the polished tube are superior to the older versions with the matte finish tube.

The Wilson ETM is a relatively new entry into the market, and I have been testing them since they became available.  The design addresses the shortcomings of the popular 47D, which was an excellent competition and recreational use magazine, but fell somewhat short in regards to service use.  The 47D suffered from premature spring fatigue, rapid follower wear, and feed lip spread.  The ETM addresses these issues and produces a superior solution to the 47D.  The ETM tube is longer to lengthen the spring column, and has design changes to improve the dimensional stability of the feed lips.  The follower tracks more consistently up the left side of the tube for better lockback, and does not wear excessively from contact with the slide stop.  I have found that the ETM spring provides sufficient tension for about six months of staying constantly loaded, after which it may not consistently lock open some guns. 
Ten round magazines are a bit of a mixed bag with 1911s.  Due to the taller, heavier column of rounds, they create additional issues that you do not get with 8 round magazines.  The top round will tend to nose dive more during feeding, and if your feed ramp is not able to support this, then you will have constant feedway malfunctions, especially on the first round out of the magazine.  Feed lip wear/spread is dramatically accelerated during slide lock reloads, as the column of rounds striking the feed lips is heavier.  Springs can also fatigue much faster in these magazines.  These issues make the 10 round magazine a much bigger maintenance issue and require an extremely diligent user for them to be used successfully.  I have had success with the CMC Power Mag 10 round and Tripp Cobra Mag 10 round, but due to the above issues and shortened service cycles, I do not typically recommend 10 round magazines for most users.

**I no longer recommend the use of the Tripp Super 7 kits inside a CMC magazine tube as a home made "super mag." There is nothing wrong with this setup, but current developments with the above listed magazines have outstripped that suggestion (which dates back to 2005). It is my feeling that the day of the 7 round magazine in a full sized Government Model has passed, and that the added expense and trouble of rebuilding the magazines is unnecessary.

The Slide Stop:
Your 1911's slide stop will play a large role in the overall success of your magazines.  The slide stop lobe does a lot of work, and if it is not dimensioned correctly, you may have problems.  In a .45, the lobe needs to protrude .200", as measured from the back of the interior of the slide stop lever, and assuming installation into a gun with an in spec frame/mag well. 

The Devel style folded follower in the CMC Power Mag series has some isolated problems with certain guns where it will jump the slide stop. If you have this issue, it is indicative of your slide stop lobe being too short, and the 100% solution is to replace the slide stop with one that has a correct length lobe. 

In the Tripp and Wilson magazines, a short slide stop lobe can be bypassed by the follower. This can create some interesting malfunctions, including one where the slide stop gets pushed to the left (ie out of the gun) during firing, causing it to bind the gun up tightly. In the Wilson 47D magazines, routine wear to the polymer follower can create this malfunction or at least the bypassing of the slide stop lobe once the follower has worn enough.  On these magazines, it is critical to stay on top of follower replacement.

For duty use, the above are the ONLY 1911 magazines that I currently recommend.  There are certainly many brands of magazines which work well for various users and applications, but I haven't had the opportunity to wring out every design, nor has every magazine survived my evaluation. Omission from recommendation does not mean condemnation on my part, but it certainly does mean a lack of endorsement.  Keep in mind that my recommendations are based upon large (ie. statistically relevant) sample sizes that meet my stringent requirements of the magazines being kept constantly loaded for a duty cycle of at least 6 months, performing during high volume use with ball and JHP ammunition, and being able to withstand repeated drops onto hard surfaces during training.  Almost any magazine will work satisfactorily if you never leave them loaded, shoot only ball ammunition, and they are not dropped on concrete.  

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