1911 Government length mags in compact frame

[Steve in Allentown,]

I wanted to run standard CMI Government length eight round magazines in Officer's size frames so I bought a couple of their SBP Extended Bumper Pads (http://www.checkmatemagazines.com/index.php?option=com_hikashop&ctrl=category&task=listing&cid=36&name=bumper-pads&Itemid=298) which are used on their 10 round magazines to experiment with.

https://i.imgur.com/5zvBGHV.jpg

The next thing I did was disassemble a standard eight round mag, cover the bottom third of it with Dykem, lock it into an Officer's Model frame, and carefully use the bottom of the frame as a guide to mark its outline onto the magazine. Then I reassembled the mag and measured from the bottom of the mag pad up to the lines scribed into the Dykem and transferred those measurements to the new bumper pad.

After that it was a simple matter of cutting, filing, and sanding the polymer base pad until it allowed the eight round mag to seat into the Officer's frame. Now the eight round mags cannot be over-inserted, they run perfectly, and will be used as CCW spares on my belt.

Below are some pics of a Colt CCO that I tweaked a few years ago and one of my favorites for CCW (new sights, trigger, grip safety, slide stop, grips, trigger job, anodized frame, DLC slide). This first pic shows it with a standard, flush fit six round mag in place.

https://i.imgur.com/eVEXmhp.jpg


Here it is with a standard eight round mag fully seated. You can see the problem I was attempting to solve with my experiment. Over-insertion is definitely a concern here.

https://i.imgur.com/9ciusEc.jpg


Finally, here it is with the same eight round mag seated but with my homemade bumper installed. A perfect fit, if I do say so myself. Problem solved.

https://i.imgur.com/PjnQ00r.jpg


Below are three magazines so you can see the differences. Standard flush fit six round, standard eight round extended tube with standard bumper pad, and standard eight round extended tube with homemade bumper pad.

https://i.imgur.com/jJktIOu.jpg


Below is what the SBP Extended Bumper Pad looked like before and after my surgery on it.

https://i.imgur.com/C6mFf4c.jpg

[Steve in Allentown,]

I left out one picture. Here's a pic of the Dykem applied to the first mag. If you look closely, you can see a thin white line where I scribed the outline of the frame onto the mag. That's an Ed Brown branded Check-Mate magazine.

https://i.imgur.com/zHAkeQS.jpg

[RickB]

Very nicely done.
McCormick used to(?) make a basepad to "convert" Gov't mags for use in compacts; it was just a half-inch extension running up the front strap to bear against frame, preventing over-insertion.
I use them on compact mags to adapt them for use in my Detonics, which is as much shorter than a standard compact as a compact is shorter than a Gov't frame.

[Steve in Allentown,]

I use them on compact mags to adapt them for use in my Detonics . . . I lusted after a Detonics in my younger days when I had no money. The cool factor is off the charts with those.

I have several Tripp 8 round mags with their compact frame adapter base pads. While they do work I much prefer the Check-Mates because of their feeding characteristics.

[Steve in Allentown,]

What I failed to point out in my original post was that the 8 round mags are back ups carried on my belt that will be put to use if the first seven rounds out of the pistol aren't sufficient to solve the problem at hand.

I find that I can manipulate these 8 round mags faster during reloads than the shorter, flush fit mags made for compact frames.

[KyJim]

I use X-Grips extenders on standard 7-round Govt. mags to fit in my CCO-sized pistols. Actually, I carry them as reloads and stay with the flush fit six-round mags for concealed carry. The OP refers to a "standard eight round mag fully seated" but the mag in the photo looks like it extends more than government standard length mags (originally 7-rounds). A lot of 8 round govt. mags now are slightly extended for better reliability. Is this one of the slightly extended mags?

[Steve in Allentown,]

The OP refers to a "standard eight round mag fully seated" but the mag in the photo looks like it extends more than government standard length mags (originally 7-rounds). A lot of 8 round govt. mags now are slightly extended for better reliability. Is this one of the slightly extended mags?You're right. This is a Check-Mate 8 round, extended tube mag (CM45-8-S-RB-EXT (http://www.checkmatemagazines.com/index.php?option=com_hikashop&ctrl=product&task=show&cid=43&name=8rd-extended-stainless-steel-hybrid-magazine&Itemid=298)). I prefer these mags above all other eight round mags for their feeding characteristics.

[Steve in Allentown,]

I recently modified ten more base pads so I could have more 8 round mags that would correctly fit compact frames like Officers and CCO pistols.

Rather than measuring this time, I simply used one of the previously modified base pads to trace a line onto my next victim.

https://i.imgur.com/CRlbFc7.jpg


Cutting was faster using a sawzall blade by hand after first scribing along the line using a Dremel cut off wheel. The Dremel melted the plastic if held in place too long so I lightly cut a groove that would keep the sawzall blade lined up.
https://i.imgur.com/gxuk4CB.jpg


Here's a base pad with one side removed down to the scribe line. You can see the opposite side has been cut through also. All it needs now is a vertical cut to intersect the horizontal cut so that section can be removed. You can also see a cut at the front where the new front tab will be located.
https://i.imgur.com/wSLvcGC.jpg


Here are 10 base pads that have been "roughed in". At this point they've all been fit so that there is minimal clearance between all three contact areas on each of them them and the pistol frame. This is much stronger than just the single contact point at the cut out at the front of the frame common to all magazine manufacturers. You could pound a magazine into the frame with a ball peen hammer and these base pads would probably withstand the punishment much longer than any other method of preventing over-insertion.

It took lots of filing and sanding to get to this point. The finishing touch of polishing the cut surfaces comes next.
https://i.imgur.com/NyFwjIl.jpg


Here are two pistol cases loaded up with standard 6 round mags and 8 round mags with their new base pads. One case is for a CCO while the other is for an Officer's Model.
https://i.imgur.com/8b96hD2.jpg

[rodfac]

Thoughtful...very nice work. Rod

[RickB]

This what I've done to adapt mags for use in a Detonics Combat Master.
The CM frame is as much shorter than a modern compact, as a compact is shorter than a Gov't frame.
Mag on left is Gov't length, with plastic collar that came off a Shooting Star 10-rounder, cut down and contoured for use with a S&A magwell. I see these on ebay, usually Colt-marked.
On the right is a compact 6rd with a Chip McCormick low-profile pad; this also works great with the magwell, or without. This part appears to no longer be available from CMC.

[Steve in Allentown,]

This what I've done to adapt mags for use in a Detonics Combat Master.Nice. Great minds think alike but I think you had a lot more work to do than I did.

[RickB]

A lot of the work was contouring so it would fit inside the magwell, otherwise it was just cutting to the correct height, like yours.