Posted: 6/22/2007 10:15:08 PM EDT
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All I own are 7 rounders, are the 8 rounders longer? If so I'll just stay with the 7's. I don't want my mags to hang out the bottom. I'd be thankful to see a pic of the 2 side by side. |
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No. IIRC the standard design of all 8 rounders is the Wilson-Rogers design, which some say is merely finessing 8 rounds out of a 7 rounder with the right spring and follower. As such you could buy a mag rebuild kit and convert all of your 7 round mags into 8 rounders. Some detractors feel the Wilson-Rogers design is a compromise to reliability and use 7 rounders, which have a stronger spring, but while the 7 rounder may be more durable, there is no definitive verdict that the 8 rounder is unreliable in the least. Having said that, there is one (or more) such design(s) that have redesigned the 8 round mag to have the power/reliability of a 7 rounder, but the cost comes with a longer, protruding tube. These magazines are not very common however, because people tend to go with the tried and true 7 rounders or they have enough faith in the Wilson-Rogers designed 8 round mags. |
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They are the same length, but... I have several 8-rounders (Wilson and Mag-Pack) that were too tight when fully loaded. That is, it was very hard to get the mag to seat when doing a reload with a closed slide. Really had to whack them very hard to click in. Kept missing tac-loads, so I converted them to 7 rounds with Tripp spring-follower kits. Better to have smooth 7-rounders than iffy 8-rounders. That's not to say that all 8-rounders are that way. I have others (Wilsons and McCormicks) that work fine, so I carry them with 8. |
I can tell you that Wilson 8 rounders are the same as their 7 rounders. None of them are flush, but thats only because they were designed to have a removable floorplate. |
On the standard USGI design, the mag follower is an L stamped piece of steel. The difference between the 7 and the 8 rounder was that the back L leg of follower (the anti cant leg section) and the spring was clipped/shortened to allow the additional round to be loaded in the mag (the bodies are one and the same). On this design when taken to load 8 rounds, the spring was weaker, and since the back leg of the L follower was shorter, you could have problems with the last round loading. The 47 design uses a full-skirted follower that prevents canting, and since the spring can be loaded higher into such, the spring does not have to be compromised. In regards to the differences between the 7 and 8 rounder on this type of mag is the 7 rounder has a more coils on the spring to add addition tension over the 8 rounder alone. |
Same here. I keep all of mine loaded at 7 rounds so I don't have to worry about it. It's the same reason why some download their AR mags to 28 rounds. |
yea, i know the WC 47As (or w/ low pro plates) 7rnder and the 8rnder 47Ds (or DC low pro plates) from WC are the same length--i'm refering to the std USGI spec length 7rnd mags vs most of the commerical 8rnder mags  --most brands of the 8rnders tend to be sligthly longer as you know (mainly b/c of the removable base plate option as you said mr pulpsmask) |
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I've been using WILSON 8 rounders for over 15 years with no trouble what so ever. The CMC Power Mag 8 rounders are fine too. Years of IPSC and IDPA mags changes, dust, sand, stepping on them, etc. Hard use. I'm talking +10,000 rounds a year hard use. No problems. I trust them enough for carry. |
| My Wilson and Wolff 8 round mags have longer tubes than the 7 round mags, and do protrude below the frame, even without the basepads. My Wolff 7 round mags without basepad fit flush. Like others have said, I load 7+1 with the 7 round mags, and use 8 round mags for reloads. |