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I know what you are thinking. Inexpensive and performance when describing a 1911 magazine is contradictory. We all have tried inexpensive 1911 magazines, and the result was a jammed up 1911. Stovepipes and failure to go into battery malfunctions can typically be traced back to an inferior magazine. Reliability in a 1911 magazine is mandatory, paying gobs of money for a good 1911 magazine is not. That’s why Lynn Thompson, former owner of Cold Steel, started Never Unarmed. These 1911 magazines are 100 percent reliable and only cost $17.95.

Details

Never Unarmed .45 ACP 1911 Magazines are constructed of stainless steel, have an eight-round capacity and polymer bumper pad. At the moment, only eight-round, .45 Auto magazines are being produced. A 10-round, .45 Auto magazine is in the works, as well as a 10-round 9mm magazine.

The Never Unarmed 1911 magazine is built with high quality parts. Robert Sadowski Photo

At first glance, the Never Unarmed 1911 magazine looks like a Wilson Combat magazine knock-off. The magazines main component, the body, is constructed from a 0.6mm-thick sheet of SUS301 chromium-nickel stainless steel. The steel is bent, laser welded together and then the weld marks are nicely polished. It then goes into stone wash tumbling, more shaping, then final assembly. There are eight witness holes that align with the loaded rounds, so you know how much is left in the tank. The spring is high tensile strength, and the bumper and follower are made of glass-reinforced nylon. The nylon follower slides easily inside the steel magazine body. The Never Unarmed 1911 magazine guides the bullet nose so it slides higher up on the feed ramp.

Performance

I ran a few hundred rounds through the Never Unarmed magazine in a variety of 1911s from Turkey, Philippines and U.S. manufacturers and had no issues at all with 230-grain FMJ Ball ammo and 185-grain jacketed hollow point ammo. I had positive slide lock every time on the last shot, fired and the magazine dropped free when the magazine catch was pressed every time as well. The magazines were even easy to load right down to the last round. I didn’t bust my thumbs loading them.

A few hundred rounds were run through the Never Unarmed 1911 magazines; the polymer bumper pad allows the magazine to be slapped home and seated. Robert Sadowski Photo

I also dropped loaded magazine on the cement floor of the shop from shoulder height and none of the Never Unarmed magazines spilled any rounds. I even stepped on an empty loaded magazines and no issues.

Are They Cheaply Made?

From my limited use of the Never Unarmed 1911 magazines, I’m sold on the quality and performance, and with a cost of less than $20, it is a real bargain.

 

Check out Ammo To Go, the ammunition retail sponsor of TTAG gun reviews (and sometimes gear reviews, too). Get your bulk and quality ammo for a bargain by visiting their site. 

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48 COMMENTS

  1. Most reliable l have – free, ww2 surplus, salvaged from ashes of old house, base plate tigged to body, spring and follower original, never stutters…

  2. If they are truly comparable to the Wilson Combat mags they will soon be selling for about the same price once their reputation is solidified as legitimate.

    Economics 101

    Either these will go up in price or the WC mags will have to come down to match.

    • I haven’t bought any WC mags, but I have a few McCormicks that are bullet proof. Now that WC owns McCs, I can’t tell if there is any difference between the two. And with all of the variety they offer, I get confused as to which one I should buy.

      Being in California with its ten round mag limit, I am intrigued by the ten round .45 mag. AFAIK, no one has ever built one of those before. I have to assume that they will simply extend the body to increase capacity, which makes the gun less concealable, but still a great range or home defense mag.

      • I have a pile of WC 10rd mags, and shot from a couple tonight. Plenty of people make them.

  3. I love the look and feel of 1911 model handguns. I think I have to start saving up some money to buy one. Or two. Or three. Or …

  4. The springs seemed a little weak to me..but mine were made in Taiwan.. He claims they are US made now..

  5. My favorites are the SIG mags, they have a slight bevel where the mag catch can sometimes hinder a super smooth insertion. I wish that more manufacturers included this minor but very helpful detail.

    • 1911’s are fine just not optimal for a lot of considerations. With that said if I am going to go with 45 would probably go with some variety of USP.

    • Avoid GLOCK imperfection and step up to a CZ P-10 F 45 Auto- thankfully, CZ perfected the G21…

    • If I was to get a .45 acp again, no plans to, it would be the gluck 21 sf.

      Everybody is different but it fits me well.

      • After shuting single actions for so many years and never having any interest in DA/SA or DAO pistols I’m just not very good with a Gluck.
        And now that emu is so expensive it is cost prohibitive for me to learn to shute one proficiently.

  8. I’m waiting for the typical Lynn Thompson product advertisement we’ve all come to know and love. I want to see how much rope and hanging brisket this mag can slice through.

  9. I’d give a couple of them a try if I saw them in a LGS, but I’m not giving up my Wilson magazines.

    • I’ve had good luck with Ruger mags – 3 came with my 1911 when I opened the box up, and at about 400 rounds in, the front sight broke and was lost. Sent the slide back to Ruger, which agreed to do a $12 upgrade to a fitted Novak fiber sight. They ended up not even charging my credit card for it, and the shipping box had an additional two, 8 round mags in it for my trouble.
      Now if I could just wrangle some free ammo somehow….

      • Biden is buying all manner of special interest votes this week with inflationary giveaways. Perhaps trade ammo for votes?

      • Pb_fan59,

        My father purchased an inexpensive 1911 handgun made in a foreign country. After several shots the small blade front sight fell off into grass and I was not able to find it. I pondered for two years how to repair it.

        I ended up sanding a small area where the front sight goes and brazed a steel washer in place of the missing front sight. Then I simply cut off most of the washer (with bolt cutters) and proceeded to remove all remaining excess material with metal files and a rotary tool. Finally, I applied black oil-based paint (and ample time to cure) to the blade sight and sanded metal area around it on the slide–and it looks like a stock factory slide and sight. You really have to look close in good light to see that the new front blade sight is a repair.

        Had it been a premium 1911 made in the U.S.A., I would have told my father to send it back to the manufacturer. Since that wasn’t the case, I figured the next best option was to repair it myself, especially given that it is an inexpensive working pistol meant for rough use.

  11. these are marketed to this type of person:
    “uh…yeah…i have this thousand dollar pistol…thats super finnicky…unless it has just the right mags…does anybody make a cheap one…”

  13. I have a Kimber .45 that runs 100% with Wilson Combat mags. I don’t carry it very often just because of the weight. I may pick up a few of these for occasional carry.

  15. Been using a 1911 for decades. Still using the same Colt manufactured mags nearly as long.
    Last issue was caused by some surplus ammo not the magazine. Last time I bought Egyptian surplus ammo. Burned it off on the range by running it through the cheap Hi-Point pistol.
    Use decent quality ammo and decent quality magazines and you shouldn’t have many problems.
    Might have to check out a couple of these mags. A couple well used mags are getting a little weak in the springs.

    • Old Man in Al,

      “A couple well used mags are getting a little weak in the springs.”

      You probably already know this: you can purchase replacement magazine springs for many/most magazines and I imagine that there are ample choices for 1911 magazines.

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  22. I have quite a few 1911s and all the .45ACPs run Wilson 47Ds, I have a dozen so far. I got 4 of these Never Unarmed and comparing them side by side there is only one visible difference, aside from the name on the baseplate. These have witness holes versus the long slots on the 47D. One functional difference you will notice is the spring is obviously lighter than the 47D, so loading a full eight with your thumb is no problem. The 47D will usually need a loader assist, at least for my sissy thumbs.

    Stripping them down I measured the wall thickness with my digital calipers and these are identical to the 47D, but I cannot assess the material grade. The weld and polish is first class as well. I tried them at the range and against the 47D they performed flawlessly. That said, I would expect them to fall off a bit as the lighter spring breaks in. Since I’m not willing to wait for that to happen I just swapped the light springs for Wolffe 47D replacement springs which begin life 5% stiffer than the OEM Wilsons. This adds about $4.50/ea to the cost per magazine, still about $12.00 cheaper than the 47D.

    One last point, if you take one apart the small hooked turn on the bottom of the spring faces the rear of the mag, not the front as shown in the photo.

    All in all these are a good value, in my opinion.

  23. The Never Unarmed .45 ACP 1911 Magazine offers excellent performance at an affordable price. Users praise its reliability, smooth feeding, and durable construction. Compatible with most 1911 models, it’s a cost-effective choice for both practice and self-defense. The magazine’s robust design ensures longevity, making it a highly recommended option for budget-conscious shooters.

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