Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To save you time, here are some of the most frequently asked questions that we get from shooters like you.

 

What are the differences between the different Chip McCormick Custom magazines?

The Power Mag Series is our top-of-the-line 1911 magazine. Power Mags are combat-proven, as they have long been in use by American military special ops units. They have proven their value on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. After extensive testing by federal law enforcement, their elite units have purchased and used Power Mags. In addition, the SWAT teams of many state and local police agencies buy and use Power Mags.

All Power Mag series magazines include design upgrades enhancing feeding, reliability, and function with a wide selection of ammunition. They are designed for increased survivability under the most extreme types of usages. Pound for pound and size for size, Power Mags yield the longest possible service life of any 1911 magazine. As the name implies, Power Mags are the strongest and most powerful of all Chip McCormick Custom 1911 magazines. Our 8-round Power Mags have increased reliability and a longer service life. One reason is that we use “Rocket Wire” in the spring. That spring has three more coils than our flush fitting, fixed base magazines, like Chip McCormick Custom's Match Grade and Classic magazines.

When compared to other extra capacity brands of 1911 magazines, Power Mags, with their ergonomic base pads, are leaner and sleeker than the chunky designs of the competition. The Power Mag base pad is removable to facilitate cleaning of the magazines. There are several optional sizes of retro-fit base pads for Power Mags, allowing you to customize the magazine for your use whether you carry them for duty, concealment, or use them in action shooting competition.

Chip McCormick Custom’s Match Grade magazines are built on the same tooling as the Power Mags. They use the same high-quality 410 stainless steel and are made to the same exacting tolerances. They have all of the same design upgrades for enhanced feeding, increased durability, and function with a wide selection of ammunition. They use “Rocket Wire” springs for increased reliability over anyone else’s flush-fitting magazines. The stainless steel base plate is welded flush and it is pre-drilled to accept our optional screw-on base pads. The optional base pads are designed for competition shooters who have extended magazine wells on their 1911-style pistols. This gives them extra material on the bottom of the magazine for assisting with positive insertion and seating of the magazine into the pistol.

The Shooting Star Classic series extra capacity magazines are built to the original military specifications (Mil-Spec) for 1911 mags. They are the same length as stock 7-round magazines from other manufacturers, but they have extra capacity and improved performance. Chip McCormick Custom pioneered laser welding of magazine tubes for a smooth seam on the back of the magazine. For over three decades, this series of .45 ACP magazines has never suffered from the problem of cracked feed lips common in other 1911 mil-spec magazines. Like the Chip McCormick Custom Match Grade magazines, their welded steel base plate is pre-drilled to accept the optional screw-on base pad. They are available in stainless steel and blued carbon steel.

How do I tell which magazines or grips will fit my 1911-style pistol?

Please see the new Chip McCormick Custom Magazine Fit Guide for details on how to correctly size and fit our magazines to your model 1911. Please call us if you still have issues determining the fit of our magazines in your 1911-style pistol. Our Customer Service phone number is (830) 798-2863 and is available Monday-Friday from 10 AM – 3 PM (CST). We are closed on weekends and major holidays.

Full Size Magazines / Grips:

  • The traditional USGI 1911 frame size. Most 1911 pistols use full-size magazines, such as Government length 5.0 inch and Commander length 4.25 inch 1911 pistols.
  • Full-size grips have a measurement of 3.0625" of center-to-center between the grip screws.
  • These pistols will use full-size magazines and full-size grips.

Compact Magazines / Grips:

  • A smaller frame, such as most Officer's length 4.0 inch 1911 pistols.
  • Compact grips have a measurement of 2.6875" from center to center between the grip screws.
  • These pistols will use compact magazines and compact grips.

Please note that many non-standard 1911's exist that take neither full-size nor compact magazines, but instead must use proprietary magazines from their manufacturer. Some examples include the Springfield Armory EMP series pistols and the Kimber Micro series pistols.

If in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact us.

What are the advantages of Chip McCormick Custom's follower designs used in the Power Mag, Match Grade, and Shooting Star Classic 1911 Magazines?

Dating back to 1986, the design of the Chip McCormick Custom follower was born with a specific set of objectives. It was our mission to offer serious shooters the highest level of reliability in every area of function, and the longest possible service life. Using this original follower design, Chip McCormick Custom became the number #1 seller of high-end aftermarket 1911 magazines.

The dynamics (fore and aft movement) of the original Chip McCormick Custom follower is the reason it is well known for enhancing the function of 1911 magazines. Among the numerous advantages this original follower design yields is a reliable locking of the slide open upon the last shot fired. Over the years, our many federal law enforcement and military special ops customers have told us how important this feature is to them. Not only are they concerned with a magazine reliably feeding the cartridges, but they need to have the pistol go to slide lock when it is empty. In the heat of combat, the engagement of the slide lock telegraphs to the user that his pistol is empty and he needs to reload.

The importance of this function, slide lock open upon last shot fired, is equally important for law enforcement, self-defense, and competition shooters. All of Chip McCormick Custom’s unique follower designs are such that the follower itself is also a spring, providing additional strength to that of the internal coil spring. Another benefit of the Chip McCormick Custom follower design is that it allows for the use of the magazine spring itself to be wider and longer, increasing the strength of the spring compared to any other brand of extra capacity 1911 magazine.

Other makes of extra capacity 1911 magazines incorporate follower designs that are either skirted around the bottom or have front and back downward extending appendages, both of which necessitate the use of smaller spring coils. This means that they need to use more spring coils and have a longer tube to make them function.

The combination of Chip McCormick Custom’s follower and coil spring designs yields more strength in any given length of magazine tube as compared to any other extra capacity 1911 magazines of similar size. This means Chip McCormick Custom’s extra-capacity magazines don’t extend as far below the grip of the pistol. They are as elegant as they are functional.

Chip McCormick Custom’s unique all-steel follower designs are vastly superior in strength, never wear out, and are impervious to heat, unlike plastic followers. Chip McCormick Custom steel followers require only a minimum of bearing surface along the inner walls of the magazine tube, as opposed to skirted followers or those with front and back downward extending appendages. Less bearing surface gives you less friction and greater margins of reliability when used in dusty and/or grimy environments. This is important when cleaning and is not practical in the field.

How do I check the position of the follower when bench testing for slide lock?

First, make sure there is no ammunition in the pistol or the magazine.

For consistent manual initiation of slide lock when bench testing, or any non-live firing with a magazine in a pistol, first press down on the top forward section of the follower before inserting the magazine into the pistol. This replicates the position the follower would be in after feeding the final round. With your finger out of the trigger guard, rack the slide with your support hand briskly rearward. This allows the follower to engage the slide lock and push it up, locking the slide open.

What is the benefit of the PowerMag Plus versus the PowerMag?

All of the Power Mag series components are the same, like our 410 stainless steel tubes and Rocket Wire springs. This is why over the years the Power Mag series has built its reputation of excelling in every area of function. The main difference between the Power Mag and the Power Mag Plus is in the follower design and the way each follower functions. The designs of the two followers accomplish the task of locking open the 1911-style pistol after the last round is fired in different ways.

The Power Mag follower, like all of the Chip McCormick Custom designs, is designed for maximum engagement of the slide stop. Because the Chip McCormick Custom follower is a spring it gives you the most positive engagement of the slide stop of any 1911 magazine follower on the market. When it jumps up to activate the slide stop after the last round is fired, if the slide is released forward over the follower in an empty magazine, the follower may be pushed forward and come in contact with the pistol’s receiver. This is not an issue in 1911-style pistols with steel frames. This is not an issue with any 1911-style frame if the empty magazine is removed after the last round is fired, and then the slide is released forward on an empty chamber. However, if you have a 1911-style pistol with an aluminum alloy frame and you release the slide over an empty Power Mag, the follower may come in contact with the receiver.

Chip McCormick Custom designed the Power Mag+ follower to eliminate any possibility of the follower coming in contact with the receiver. The Power Mag+ follower is designed so that it remains within the confines of the magazine tube even when the last round is fired. It is stabilized in the magazine tube so that it cannot come in contact with the frame of the 1911-style pistol. This means if the empty magazine is still in the pistol and the slide is released forward over the follower it cannot come in contact with the receiver. Thus, if you have a 1911-style pistol with an aluminum alloy frame, we recommend that Power Mag Plus magazines be used in your firearm.

What types of ammunition give the best function with Chip McCormick Custom's magazines?

The Model 1911 pistol was designed to function best with .45 ACP cartridges that use a bullet with a smooth contoured nose, seated to an overall length of 1.260 inches. Model 1911 pistols chambered for the .38 Super cartridge also function best with bullets having a smooth contoured nose and an overall length of 1.260 inches. In pistols chambered for the 9mm cartridge, the best bullet shape is one with a smooth, rounded side and nose profile. Those projectiles should be seated so that the overall length of the cartridge is at least 1.150 inches.

If you are still having issues with Ammo, please contact our Tech Support Team.

Where can I find out how to maximize the service life of my Chip McCormick Custom magazine?

Chip McCormick Custom magazines are made from the best materials. The metal is heat treated for optimum hardness to make it resistant to fatigue and damage under normal usage. The Power Series Mags are made of 410 Stainless Steel. Here is what you need to know to get the Maximum Service Life from your magazines.

  1. Practice Smart: Don’t Kill Your Mags. The key to reliable feeding of your 1911 pistol is your magazine feed lips. Slamming fully loaded magazines into a pistol at Slide Lock greatly increases the pressure on the feed lips. Repeated impacts are the most common cause of spreading open the feed lips. Do it enough times and you can fatigue the metal. Keep reloads at Slide Lock to a minimum to increase the service life of your magazines. Reloads made with the slide forward (in battery) place little or no stress on the feed lips.
  2. Use Dummy Rounds When Practicing Reloads. Our favorite dummy rounds are the plastic ones because they are lightweight. They do not stress the feed lips the way heavy metal ones do. If you are going to practice with metal dummy rounds, load only two (2) rounds in the magazine to reduce the weight of impact on the feed lips.
  3. Protect Your Mags from Hard Surfaces. The repeated dropping of magazines on hard ground, especially with rounds in the magazine, is another cause of metal and feed lip fatigue. To reduce this kind of abuse and increase service life, many shooters practice reloads with a pad on the ground to cushion the impact of the magazines being dropped.

How do I service my Chip McCormick Custom Power Mags?

ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when assembling or disassembling magazines and make sure no one else is dangerously near you. Be careful to keep the magazine pointed away from your face. Remember, the parts are under heavy spring loads and the springs and other parts can fly loose at high velocities, potentially causing injury to you or others.

For Disassembly: Make sure you pay close attention to the location and position of each component, and how each component is oriented to all the other components. This will be critical for reassembly!

The base pad on the bottom has a hole in it that accesses the retainer plunger. Using a pin punch or similar tool that fits within the hole, push the retainer plunger inward about 1/8th inch, and at the same time slide the base pad forward and remove it from the magazine tube.

Next, you will see the retainer plate: slide it out of position and be prepared for the spring to extend out of the bottom. However, sometimes the spring stays compressed within the mag tube. Either way, begin to carefully remove the spring from the bottom. Remember that the springs are under tension and can fly out of the tube. Once the spring is removed, remove the follower from the top end of the magazine tube.

For Reassembly: It is almost the reverse of disassembly, except you'll need to place the follower in its uppermost position against the feed lips of the magazine tube, and make sure it remains in that position until the spring is installed with enough spring pressure to keep the follower in place against the feed lips. Next, slide the retainer plate under the spring, then slide the base pad into place. Make sure the front of the base pad is fully seated against the front of the magazine tube, and visually inspect it to be certain the retainer plunger is fully seated within the hole in the bottom of the base pad.

Sometimes it is necessary to tap the front bottom of the base pad on a hard surface in order for the base pad to fully slide into place on the magazine tube, and for the retainer plunger to be fully seated within the hole in the bottom of the base pad.

What if I am having feeding issues?

Ammunition feeding issues are usually an issue relating to the type of ammunition being used in the magazine. Here are seven (7) things you can easily check to correct feeding issues.

  1. Substandard ammunition. Use ammunition that is clean, dry, original, high-quality factory-made ammunition that is in good condition, and of the proper type and caliber for your pistol. Improperly loaded ammunition can not only cause feeding problems but it can prove to be extremely dangerous.
  2. Cartridge overall length is too short. Check the overall length of your cartridges to make sure they meet factory specifications for the caliber and type of bullet.
  3. Bullet nose is too blunt. Remember, for optimum function bullet types for autoloading pistols need to have a smooth, contoured nose.
  4. The bullet is compressed into the cartridge case. When there is not enough crimp on the mouth of the cartridge case the bullet can be pushed back into the case, reducing the overall length of the cartridge. Not only does this cause feeding problems but it can be dangerous, causing the pressure in the case to exceed safety standards for the cartridge.
  5. The barrel feed ramp angle is incorrect for the type of ammunition that you are using. Remember, Military Specification Model 1911 pistols were designed to feed cartridges using bullets with full metal jackets and round nose. If you are trying to use ammunition with different bullet designs such as hollow points, jacketed soft points, semi-wadcutters, etc. the feed ramp was not designed for them. You should consult a qualified armorer or pistolsmith to see if the feed ramp of your 1911-style pistol needs to be modified to a different angle or shape to accommodate other projectile types than cartridges with round-nose bullets.
  6. The feed ramp of your barrel is rough. All pistols will feed better if the barrel is throated and polished specifically for the bullet-magazine combination desired. Box stock Model 1911 pistols are intended to be used with military FMJ or “ball” ammunition. Many inexpensive 1911-style pistols are cheap because no extra care is made in fitting and finishing the pistol by the manufacturer. The old maxim that “you get what you pay for” is true here. Polishing of the feed ramp should only be done by a qualified armorer or a pistolsmith. It is very easy to over polish the feed ramp on a Model 1911 pistol and damage it beyond repair.
  7. The slide is “short stroking.” The Model 1911 pistol’s recoil spring is too strong for the ammunition being used. This is most evident in using ammunition that is reduced in power for shooting certain types of pistol competition where reduced loads provide an advantage to the competitive shooter.

Additionally, if you have already corrected the ammunition being used and are still having feeding issues, please contact our Support Team. They can assist in determining if there is an issue with your Chip McCormick Custom magazine that is causing the problem.

If the issue is determined to be a flaw in the handgun, our staff may, or may not, offer a suggestion to resolve the issue. Our Technical Staff are NOT Gunsmiths, and can only offer advice to a point. At that point, they may refer you to a qualified armorer, gunsmith or pistolsmith to correct the problem. Chip McCormick Custom is not responsible for a failing relating to the pistol itself. We will not provide any parts or refunds for issues relating to your handgun. We ONLY provide parts for Chip McCormick Custom Magazines, and only if needed. Redundant or "Spare" parts are available, at cost, by contacting us.

What if the magazine won't fit in my 1911-style pistol?

If you are having issues inserting your new Chip McCormick Custom magazine into your handgun, please double check the fitment of the 1911-style pistol and magazine on our Fit Guide.

If you continue to have issues getting the Chip McCormick Custom magazine to fit in your 1911-style pistol, and you have reviewed the fitment guide, please contact our Support Team. They will assist you in determining the issue and getting it corrected, or possibly issue a replacement or RMA for credit.

Remember: Do NOT try and fire your 1911-style pistol unless the Chip McCormick Custom magazine fits in the pistol securely. Once locked into the pistol you should not be able to remove it from the pistol until the magazine lock button is pressed and the magazine released. Firing a pistol, or attempting to fire a pistol, without a secure magazine, can result in possible injury to yourself or others. Please observe all safety precautions when using any firearm, in any setting... Safety FIRST!

What if an empty magazine will not eject from my pistol?

Always check all new magazines when they are empty or unloaded before trying to use them in your pistol. Because there are so many manufacturers of 1911-style pistols and the tolerances of those pistols can vary widely, make sure that your Chip McCormick Custom magazines will fit into your pistol before loading any ammunition into them. Make sure there is NO magazine in the pistol. Check to make sure that your 1911-style pistol is unloaded and pointed in a safe direction. This means that you need to visually and physically check to make sure the chamber of the pistol’s barrel is empty. Before loading a Chip McCormick Custom magazine with any ammunition, check to make sure that when empty, the magazine will lock into place when inserted into the magazine well of your 1911-style pistol and eject properly when the magazine release button is pressed.

When “bench testing” the fit of your Chip McCormick Custom magazine, before inserting it into the pistol, first press down on the top forward section of the follower before inserting it into the pistol. This will place the follower in the same position it would be after the last round was fired out of the magazine. Again, with an empty pistol, keeping your finger off and out of the trigger guard, insert the magazine into the pistol. If you slowly insert the magazine it should easily go into the magazine well until the top of the magazine makes contact with the mag catch, at which point just briefly increase the upward force on the magazine to cam the mag catch open. Then the magazine should continue upward until you hear and/or feel a click from the mag catch when the magazine is fully seated and locked in the pistol. If the follower is seated properly, when you press the magazine release button, the magazine should eject out of the pistol’s magazine well. If the magazine release button is pressed and the empty magazine only extends out of the bottom of the pistol a little ways, you should be able to strip it out of the pistol. Simply slide the index finger of your support hand down the front strap of the pistol, making contact with the forward section of the base pad. Reseating the follower as described above should cure the problem of the magazine ejecting fully from the pistol.

If the problem persists, please contact our Support Team. The Chip McCormick Custom Mags Tech Support Team can further assist you in getting the magazine to properly eject, or they will issue an RMA for the Magazine if they determine there is a defect.

What if my pistol fails to lock open when the last round has fired?

Many times customers indicate the failures occur "after the last shot" when they really mean the slide lock failures are occurring during manual cycling of the slide with an empty magazine. When “bench testing” for slide lock, before inserting the magazine into the pistol, first press down on the top forward section of the follower before inserting the magazine into the pistol. This will place the follower in the same position it would be after the last round was fired out of the magazine. If the follower was seated properly when the slide is manually cycled to the rear it will engage the slide stop, locking open the slide.

If your slide lock failures occur during “live fire” then there are several areas to inspect. First, check the slide stop lobe length. It should be a minimum of .195 inches. Some slide stops with dimples on their face where the plunger contacts it will not lock open. In that case, the slide stop face needs to be polished or replaced by a qualified armor or pistolsmith.

Second, inspect the area around the slide stop. If dirt, debris, or a metal burr is evident around the relevant components including the slide stop, plunger, and plunger tube housing, they may be restricting the upward and downward movement of the slide stop. While the motion of the slide stop is minimal, it should still be smooth without any drag. It should not feel gritty or sticky when lifting it. The solution is to remove the slide stop, following the instructions in your 1911-style pistol’s owner’s manual. Clean the area on the receiver and the slide stop and replace it in the pistol.

If the slide stop moves freely but still does not lock open the slide, then check the magazine to make sure that the coil spring in it has enough force to lift the follower up to engage the slide stop. The rule of thumb is that if the spring is strong enough to reliably feed the last two rounds from the magazine, then the spring should have enough upward force to engage the slide lock after the last round is fired.

If your magazine coil spring has become fatigued due to age or use, replacement springs can be purchased from Chip McCormick Custom by contacting us.

If, under live fire testing, the slide fails to lock open after the last round is fired and the magazine will not feely eject from the pistol when the mag catch is depressed, then you need to inspect the magazine. With the pistol pointed in a safe direction, manually remove the magazine from the pistol. Both visually and physically inspect the chamber of the pistol to make sure it is unloaded. Secure your unloaded pistol in a safe place. Now, inspect the geometry of the magazine’s feed lips. If they have become corrupt from use and/or age then the magazine needs to be replaced. The service life of all Chip McCormick Custom mags varies with use, abuse, and age. To get the most life out of them, please refer to the answer to the question on how to maximize the service life of your Chip McCormick Custom Mags.

I lost my original insert card that came with my Chip McCormick Custom mag. Where can I get another one?

All of the information on it is located on our website, including in the answers to these FAQs above. If you have lost your original Chip McCormick Custom Mag insert card and you really want one, please contact our Support Team and we will be glad to mail you one. You will need to have the part number of your magazine, in order for us to send you the correct one.

Why is my follower popping out of my magazine?

First, make sure that the follower is in the correct position on top of the magazine. When “bench testing” the fit of your Chip McCormick Custom magazine, before inserting it into the pistol, first press down on the top forward section of the follower before inserting it into the pistol. This will place the follower in the same position it would be after the last round was fired out of the magazine.

If this has been checked, and you are still having follower issues, it is possible that the feed lips of the magazine are out of shape. This can occur when a loaded magazine is repeatedly slammed into the pistol with a slapping motion. This motion causes the rounds to back away from the follower briefly until the mag has seated into the receiver, at which point the rounds and spring weight are sent slamming back against the magazine's feed lips. Doing this repeatedly over a long period of time can cause excessive feed lip spreading that can allow the follower to clear the feed lips with very little effort. We recommend magazine insertion with even, firm pressure, and no "slapping" of the magazine into the receiver for optimal performance.

Chip McCormick Custom magazines are made from the best materials. The metal is heat treated for optimum hardness to make it resistant to fatigue and damage under normal usage. The Power Series Mags are made of 410 Stainless Steel. To keep the feed lips from spreading and to get the maximum service life out of your Chip McCormick Custom magazine, follow these guidelines.

  1. Practice Smart: Don’t Kill Your Mags. The key to reliable feeding of your 1911 pistol is your magazine feed lips. Slamming fully loaded magazines into a pistol at Slide Lock greatly increases the pressure on the feed lips. Repeated impacts are the most common cause of spreading open the feed lips. Do it enough times and you can fatigue the metal. Keep reloads at Slide Lock to a minimum to increase the service life of your magazines. Reloads made with the slide forward (in battery) place little or no stress on the feed lips.
  2. Use Dummy Rounds When Practicing Reloads. Our favorite dummy rounds are the plastic ones because they are lightweight. They do not stress the feed lips the way heavy metal ones do. If you are going to practice with metal dummy rounds, load only two (2) rounds in the magazine to reduce the weight of impact on the feed lips.
  3. Protect Your Mags from Hard Surfaces. The repeated dropping of magazines on hard ground, especially with rounds in the magazine, is another cause of metal and feed lip fatigue. To reduce this kind of abuse and increase service life, many shooters practice reloads with a pad on the ground to cushion the impact of the magazines being dropped.

Why won't my last round feed into my pistol?

If you have checked the seven (7) common feeding issues:

  1. Substandard ammunition. Use ammunition that is clean, dry, original, high-quality quality factory-made ammunition that is in good condition and of the proper type and caliber for your pistol. Improperly loaded ammunition can not only cause feeding problems but it can prove to be extremely dangerous.
  2. Cartridge overall length is too short. Check the overall length of your cartridges to make sure they meet factory specifications for the caliber and type of bullet.
  3. Bullet nose is too blunt. Remember, for optimum function bullet types for autoloading pistols need to have a smooth, contoured nose.
  4. The bullet is compressed into the cartridge case. When there is not enough crimp on the mouth of the cartridge case the bullet can be pushed back into the case, reducing the overall length of the cartridge. Not only does this cause feeding problems but it can be dangerous, causing the pressure in the case to exceed safety standards for the cartridge.
  5. The barrel feed ramp angle is incorrect for the type of ammunition that you are using. Remember, Military Specification Model 1911 pistols were designed to feed cartridges using bullets with full metal jackets and round nose. If you are trying to use ammunition with different bullet designs such as hollow points, jacketed soft points, semi-wadcutters, etc. the feed ramp was not designed for them. You should consult a qualified armorer or pistolsmith to see if the feed ramp of your 1911-style pistol needs to be modified to a different angle or shape to accommodate other projectile types than cartridges with round-nose bullets.
  6. The feed ramp of your barrel is rough. All pistols will feed better if the barrel is throated and polished specifically for the bullet-magazine combination desired. Box stock Model 1911 pistols are intended to be used with military FMJ or “ball” ammunition. Many inexpensive 1911-style pistols are cheap because no extra care is made in fitting and finishing the pistol by the manufacturer. The old maxim that “you get what you pay for” is true here. Polishing of the feed ramp should only be done by a qualified armorer or a pistolsmith. It is very easy to over polish the feed ramp on a Model 1911 pistol and damage it beyond repair.
  7. The slide is “short stroking.” The Model 1911 pistol’s recoil spring is too strong for the ammunition being used. This is most evident in using ammunition that is reduced in power for shooting certain types of pistol competition where reduced loads provide an advantage to the competitive shooter.

There are two (2) other conditions that might cause this problem that you might want to check.

  1. Is the spring worn or compressed from use? If you have put a large number of rounds through the magazine and you always store it fully loaded, it is possible the spring in the mag has become compressed over time. Another possible cause of this is if you leave the magazine loaded all the time. Though our Power Mag series has a spring designed to tolerate being left loaded, eventually all mag springs will become compressed and require replacement. If the spring feels weak, replacement is recommended.
  2. Inspect the follower: If it is bent or misshapen, it can have an impact on the function of your magazine as well. Check to see if the follower is straight, and not bent too far open. The original factory gap is best for consistent operation. If the gap appears too narrow, replacement might be needed to raise the last round up high enough, to get to the barrel to feed properly.

If you are still having issues, please contact our Support Team.

Why isn't my brass ejecting properly after firing a round?

This is normally NOT an issue with the magazine. An Undamaged Magazine has no effect on the ejection of brass, as this is a function of the pistol’s slide and extractor. Extraction and ejection of spent casings are dealt with by those parts. The magazine is no longer moving or affecting the casing as it leaves the pistol.

Rare instances exist where slight, almost unnoticeable damage to the top portion of the magazine can cause the brass to "catch" or hang up on the feed lips. This is a sign of a damaged magazine or possibly a damaged pistol. Please contact our Support Team so that we can issue an RMA for the item and check its tolerances. We can then verify if the tolerances have in fact been exceeded through damage or wear. If they are not worn or damaged, we will return the mag to you at no cost. It would then be an issue with the pistol that would need to be addressed by a qualified armorer, gunsmith, or pistolsmith to correct the issue.

Our Support Team can only make recommendations on Chip McCormick Custom magazines. We cannot make any recommendations on repairing or modifying a customer’s pistol. We do not recommend armorers, gunsmiths, or pistolsmiths.

Can I swap the follower and springs in my magazine?

Yes. Most of our magazines have a follower and spring replacement, and some have conversion kits to change the follower in a Power Mag to a Power Mag+. Please contact our Support Team for more details.

Do the Chip McCormick Custom Magazines have a Warranty?

Chip McCormick Custom, LLC acknowledges its obligations under implied warranty legislation with respect to the sale of consumer goods that may be in force in jurisdictions where its products are sold. Due to differences in the extent and interpretation of such statutes, and also on the basis of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act of the United States of America, Chip McCormick Custom, LLC has elected to not offer any written or express warranty on its product line. You are advised to consult existing legislation in your state or locale with regard to any implied warranty rights you may have under such laws. Different remedies may be available to consumers in different jurisdictions.

However, Chip McCormick Custom, LLC is strongly committed to properly servicing its products, as it has over the years, for the service life of its magazines. And in place of an express or written warranty, it will provide all necessary service for its magazines during their service life, free of charge to the original purchaser only, where adjustments or repair is required due to some defect in materials or workmanship. The service life of Chip McCormick Custom magazines varies with how the magazines are used.

Technical Support for ALL Chip McCormick Custom products is available for the life of the product.

What is Chip McCormick Custom Mags return and refund policy?

We stand by our magazines with our Satisfaction Guarantee! Please contact our Support Team for more details.

How Do I contact Technical Support?

Simply fill out our Technical Support Form, and our expert staff will review your issue. They will then either send a reply email with suggested solutions or call you to discuss the issue. Whatever they feel is appropriate.

Please be as descriptive as possible, and if you are able, be prepared to send us photos of your magazine. Most issues are resolved within 24 hours!

Use of the Chip McCormick Custom Support Form has a "Guaranteed" useful response, usually within 48 hours during the work week. As always, simple fitting questions can be addressed by our Customer Service staff at (830) 798-2863.

I have been calling in on the weekend, but nobody picks up?

Our customer service department hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. CT. If you call during these hours and cannot get through to a customer service rep, we may be assisting other customers. Please call back or use our contact form. We are closed for all national holidays, industry trade shows, and major shooting events.

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