Posted: 12/3/2008 12:16:26 PM EDT
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This topic came up in the Texas hometown thread and I thought I'd rehash here.
So what is a Wilson ETM 8 rounder? While the following may be labeled fluff or "sales talk".....I swear by them. They are extremely well built 8 round mag and I use them exclusively with all my single stacks. They make the brand spanking new mags that came with my new TRP, look like third rate products. I just bought the TRP and put 400 rounds through it using the ETM's without a hitch. I first heard about them through a buddy with Force Recon and still active duty. Elite Tactical Magazine http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_magazines_ETM.asp Wilson Combat®, with a firmly established reputation for outstanding quality, the highest reliability, and superb service both before and after the sale has built hundreds of thousands of 1911 single-stack magazines. We get a lot of feedback about magazines, and magazine performance – and we listen. Our magazines have undergone 3 design and/or material changes, each carefully evaluated and proven before they were released to the market. The result of our latest effort is a completely redesigned magazine with the features we’ve heard you ask for. THE WILSON COMBAT® ELITE TACTICAL MAGAZINE The ETM started with a blank sheet of paper and 30+ years of 1911 and 1911 magazine experience. The ETM is no re-design of a 7 round magazine which has been reconfigured for 8 round capacity; it’s a totally NEW product designed from the ground-up as a premium 8 round tactical magazine. It WILL set a new standard in 1911 magazines while redefining state-of-the-art. We’ve blended the latest improvements in manufacturing and materials technology with our own real-world shooting experience to provide quality, quality, and more quality. From material selection to manufacturing process to final testing – this magazine is built like your life, and ours, depended on it, as someday it may. No compromises, just stone-cold reliability you can depend on. The ETM is primarily a combat magazine, but if you’re a competition shooter, you just may gain that critical advantage that will move you past the competition. The real world for a combat pistol isn’t always in a dry, protected environment. So we built the ETM to be impervious to the elements. Every component is manufactured from either a high-grade stainless steel or super tough nylon. We worried about grime and corrosion when we designed the ETM, so you will never have to. The ETM has the strongest magazine tube yet developed, virtually eliminating feed lip cracking, tube spread and cracking, and general fatigue, - some of the most common manufacturing and/or age-related defects in other magazines. The engineers working on the ETM have a combined 110+ years of firearms experience - the ETM is a showcase of their knowledge. They refined the radius for each bend in the tube to take advantage of the strength in the stainless steel they selected – and then devised a manufacturing process to provide the tight tolerances required to make those exact radius bends. The observation slots, moved to the rear of the tube, are located exactly where they need to be to maintain the structural integrity of the tube for years and years of use. After extensive testing we selected a grade and thickness of stainless steel optimized to provide superior stiffness without brittleness. No matter how many times you empty this magazine through your pistol, you can be assured the engineering expertise, design, material selection, manufacturing, and the quality control behind the ETM promises a lifetime of smooth and reliable operation. ETM tubes are manufactured with a proprietary, custom designed welding process followed by a proprietary multi-step tumbling and finishing process. The internal and external finish, critical to smooth follower operation and insertion into the weapon, are the result of selecting the proper media and media-sequence in the tumbling and finishing process. We expended a lot of engineering time and expertise in developing the finishing process; when you get your hands on an ETM you’ll be able to see and feel for yourself, we think you will agree it was time well spent. The improvements made to the ETM’s follower and base pad have not previously been seen in a pistol magazine. This design combines advanced manufacturing technology with absolutely precise dimension control, assuring positive slide-lock after the last round has been fired. The innovative follower design with its extended skirt ensures stability in operation and minimizes creep from the tube when the magazine is empty. Super tough nylon was selected as the optimum material for the new ETM follower due to its proven durability and slick surface finish. This slick finish and the super smooth internal finish of the magazine tube result in the smoothest follower operation possible. Experienced shooters will notice this ultra-smooth performance when loading and firing. We’ve found a space-age stainless steel spring wire that is phenomenal for spring life. Have you ever worried about leaving your fully-loaded magazines for long periods of time? This spring, designed exclusively for our new ETM, will do its job longer than the cartridges will remain suitable for combat use. Another factor in spring life is the degree of compression when the magazine is loaded. Our engineers designed the ETM’s base pad to allow a longer tube. Although the ETM is not appreciably longer than a typical 7 round magazine, it has more space for the spring to work without complete compression or excessive stress on the spring. The ETM seats and locks in the weapon with the slide down – fully loaded with 8 rounds – as easily and surely as a typical 7 round magazine and much easier than any other 8 round magazine on the market. The ETM’s new almost indestructible base pad provides a sure grip when pulling a magazine from a pistol or a tight pouch – especially in a combat or competitive situation when seconds count in reloading. If you have ever been in the rain, trying to get a traditional magazine from a wet, tight pouch, you’ll really appreciate this feature – and it might save your life. The ETM has numbers 1 through 10 included on the bottom surface of the base pad to make it easy to mark and identify your individual magazines to track usage and performance. The ETM has observation ports clearly labeled for rounds 2 through 8, on both sides of the magazine. It's easy to see at a glance how many rounds are remaining. The ports are moved to the rear third of the tube to maintain the tube’s strength in the sides and prevent the tube from spreading over time. Developing a cutting edge product always has one downside, your competition WILL copy some of its unique features. We delivered our first magazine over 27 years ago, and others have copied our designs ever since. But no one, anywhere, has ever copied what is arguably our best feature; the feature that has a huge benefit for you. You can't see it in a photograph and it doesn't improve the function of the magazine. We call it the Wilson Combat Lifetime Satisfaction Policy. You get one with every Wilson Combat Product you buy, and it should be a major factor in your decision to purchase. Since 1977, Wilson Combat® has been standing behind our products and services unequivocally. If your Wilson Combat® magazine doesn’t perform as it’s designed to, return it to us and we’ll fix it or replace it – with no expense to you just like we have been doing since 1977. We’ve worked hard to build the finest track record for customer satisfaction and service of any firearms company in the world. We’re proud of our satisfy-every-customer history, and we will continue to do whatever it takes to be sure that your purchase from us works as it should work, and works that way from now on. The ETM is so good, you’ll probably never find a reason to test our satisfaction policy, but rest assured, if you do, we will be here as we have been since 1977 to take care of you. Buy an ETM today, and depend on it for a lifetime of service. Try the new ETM – and discover for yourself why 1911 experts around the world won’t use anything but Wilson Combat® magazines. |
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Quoted: This topic came up in the Texas hometown thread and I thought I'd rehash here. So what is a Wilson ETM 8 rounder? While the following may be labeled fluff or "sales talk".....I swear by them. They are extremely well built 8 round mag and I use them exclusively with all my single stacks. They make the brand spanking new mags that came with my new TRP, look like third rate products. I just bought the TRP and put 400 rounds through it using the ETM's without a hitch. I first heard about them through a buddy with Force Recon and still active duty. I have four of them (.45ACP) and they are the best I have bar none. No problems whatsoever.  |
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The ETM basically does what the Tripp mag did before it did. It uses a longer tube to be a "true" 8-rd mag.
The ETM has an inferior follower and inferior springs when compared to the Tripp mags. The Tripp mags are generally regarded as having better tubes than the ETM. Apparently, the ETM feed lips will spread over time like the 47D lips did. That seems to be the general consensus from the 10-8 forums. I've got no reason to disagree as my Tripp mags perform significantly better than my Wilson mags. My ETM is actually my worst performing Wilson mag as it may not drop free if the mag is full and will mostly drop free if empty on both my 1911's. I believe the Chip McCormick mags are also considered to be better than the ETM's, in general. You can read more about 10-8's testing in this thread. |
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Quoted:
The ETM basically does what the Tripp mag did before it did. It uses a longer tube to be a "true" 8-rd mag. The ETM has an inferior follower and inferior springs when compared to the Tripp mags. The Tripp mags are generally regarded as having better tubes than the ETM. Apparently, the ETM feed lips will spread over time like the 47D lips did. That seems to be the general consensus from the 10-8 forums. I've got no reason to disagree as my Tripp mags perform significantly better than my Wilson mags. My ETM is actually my worst performing Wilson mag as it may not drop free if the mag is full and will mostly drop free if empty on both my 1911's. I believe the Chip McCormick mags are also considered to be better than the ETM's, in general. You can read more about 10-8's testing in this thread. I'll have to read it. I have 6 and they function flawless. EDIT: Having read the entire thread I'll have to disagree with you on several points you noted which are strictly opinion based. In fact, several people continue to use the Wilson ETM tube and simply replace the follower and spring. Some of those ETM were used for 10,000 rounds. I'd say that's more then reasonable service life. |
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I'm under the impression there is an article in the 2008 American Handgunner Annual Tactical where a 5000+ round 1911 Magazine Performance Test was conducted. According to the Tripp's website their CobraMag was the only one to complete the test without a jam. I've tried to find it to order online to no avail. I'm going to see if I can locate it at a local bookstore and give an update when I can locate it.
Anyone have it already by chance? |
| A friend of mine swore by Tripp mags until the lips spread on 2 mags during a practice session. Then 3 mags spread during a match. He switched to ETM's and has hadn't had a problem since. I borrowed his old competition gun with his old 47d's and didn't have a problem. |