BEST 2011 PISTOL MAGAZINES
2024 is clearly the year of affordable 2011/double-stack 1911 pistols. With so many people getting into the world of the 2011, now seems like a good time to let people know just what the best magazines are.
In the early days of the 2011, magazines were by far the hardest part to get right. Thankfully, now there are several great options and a couple of them won’t break the bank.
YOUR GOAL MATTERS
As with most things in life, you really need to understand what your goal is before you can know what magazine is right for you.
Do you want flush-fitting mags that are bomb-proof? Maybe you want to stack as many rounds as possible for competition? Do you want your slide to lock back on empty or do you want to have one extra round in the mag?
All of these are available to you, but you need to know if you want them.
Flush-fitting mags conceal a little better and have a certain aesthetic to them.
But longer magazines will fit more bullets and more bullets are more better.
If you really want to cram in the rounds, you can choose a magazine that won’t lock back on empty. This might sound like sacrilege to tactical people, but in competition, it is fairly common.
LENGTH MATTERS
There are three lengths that you will see fairly standard across any brand of 2011 magazines. 126mm, 140mm or 141mm, and 170mm.
These lengths mostly come from IPSC/USPSA/IDPA rules that limit the size of magazines based on total overall length. 126mm will be flush-fit in a standard grip module, 140mm/141mm are for Carry Optics or Limited Optics, and 170mm are for Open.
These rules and lengths bleed over into other rule sets such as several flavors of Multi-Gun mostly because they are already pretty standardized.
If you’re not competing, you don’t need to worry about the exact lengths. If you are shooting competition, make sure you double-check what your flavor of match allows.
By far the most common size for things like multi-gun and USPSA shooting CO or LO division is 140/141mm. Technically, the USPSA rule is for 141.25mm or smaller magazines. But most manufacturers round that down to 140mm or 141mm.
BEST 2011 PISTOL MAGAZINES
Springfield Prodigy
By a fair margin the cheapest 2011 magazine that you will find that is still reliable, the Springfield Prodigy magazines are actually made by Duramag and sold exclusively under Springfield’s name and with the Springfield logo. While that doesn’t make a huge difference, I think it’s only fair to give Duramag the credit they deserve.
The Prodigy magazine is a standard 2011 pattern and will work in any 2011 pattern pistol that takes the standard pattern, this includes Tisas, MAC, Staccato, Atlas, Nighthawk, the list goes on and on.
Available in three sizes the 17, 20, or 26-round magazines are all functionally the same, just different lengths. The three sizes don’t have length measurements, but Springfield’s website does denote that the 17 and 20-round mags are legal in USPSA limited, so it’s safe to say both are under 141.25mm.
The 26-round mag is listed as being legal in Open making it at most 170mm.
Honestly, if you want a mag to stack deep — this is it. At about $40 to $45 street price at the time of writing, these mags do the job and won’t break your bank. These are also fairly easy to find in stock both online and even in-store, something that can’t be said about most other 2011 mags.
I’ve had zero issues with my Springfield mags. Easy to load, shoot great, even the 26-rounder I impulse bought from my LGS has performed wonderfully.
| GunMagWarehouse | $38 |  |
| MagShack | $40 | |
| MidwayUSA | $47 | |
Even though Springfield doesn’t offer a .38 Super Prodigy, the magazines are marked as working for both 9mm and .38 Super.
Check-Mate / Tisas
Check-Mate has been making 2011 mags for a while but recently Tisas started producing a selection of 2011-style pistols and partnered with Check-Mate to build the magazines under the Tisas name.
You can find Check-Mate magazines or Tisas magazines for basically the same price and really can think of them as being the same thing. From what I’ve seen, Tisas only has 17-round magazines but Check-Mate does make 20-rounders. Tisas might add 20-round options to the website eventually, but we don’t know for sure.
Either way, these are the second least expensive magazines for the 2011 and clock in at about $50 to $65 per mag depending on where you buy from.
I don’t have a ton of experience with these, but I have been using my 17-round Tisas magazines for a while and have had zero issues. Well made, work just fine, I don’t have complaints. They do what I need them to do.
| Tisas USA | $50 | |
| Battle Hawk Armory | $50 | |
Options are limited to the two sizes, and the 20-rounders have been hard to find in stock lately, but if you get them I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Staccato 2011
The company that really set the standard for what a 2011 magazine should be, they still offer mags in a lot of shapes and flavors. 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 26 round magazines are all available. They even have .45 ACP and .40 S&W magazines.
Depending on the mag they’ll run you about $60 to $80 each, but they are high-quality and very reliable.
If you’re in a ban-state of some kind, this is likely your best option to find a lower-capacity magazine. For everyone else, Staccato has a ton of options that should fit most people’s needs, except for the ultra-competition folks.
| Staccato | $56 | |
| Check-Mate | $65 | |
| Dawson Precision | $70 | |
For a balance between super-reliable and cost, Stacatto hits the best.
Atlas Gunworks
The gold standard in 2011 magazines, Atlas is almost always referred to as having the best magazines on the market for durability, longevity, and overall quality. They also have a LOT of options to choose from.
16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, even 29-round magazines from 120mm to 170mm for 9mm, .40 S&W, and more. If you have a size and capacity in mind, Atlas likely has a mag for it.
The downside, they ain’t cheap. The lowest price for an Atlas mag is about $75, but most of them are around $100 each.
| Atlas Gunworks | $70 | |
| GunMagWarehouse | $62 | |
| Shooter’s Connection | $70 | |
Atlas has limited capacity mags that are capped at 10 rounds, but the price is significantly higher than Staccato.
MBX Extreme
Maybe you just really hate money or maybe you’re a game-faced pistol competition shooter, either way, MBX Extreme is not for the faint of heart.
Options are basically unlimited. Size, capacity, caliber, if it can be made, MBX has it. It might cost your firstborn, but MBX has it.
They also have magazines that are a bit tricked out specifically for competition. While most other brands’ 140mm mags have 20 or 21-round capacity, MBX offers a 140mm mag that holds a staggering 24-rounds.
If that doesn’t impress you, you’re not shooting competition at the level where MBX magazines are worth buying. That’s a fact.
If you were impressed by that, you’re the kind of person who can understand why MBX magazines are the holy grail for USPSA and multi-gun.
Exciting, yes. But you’ll pay for it. Normal price for MBX mags is about $130 per mag. Woof. If you shoot open and want those sweet, sweet 170mm 30-round mags, you’ll have to spend $160 per mag.
If you want MBX mags just for the flex, make sure you pay attention when ordering and choose between slide lock back or not. The magazines that won’t lock back on empty hold an extra round or two.
MBX magazines aren’t the most perfectly reliable because they operate the ragged edge of what works. These are mags you need to keep clean, you might need to retune eventually, and will definitely need to keep an eye on the spring and follower to make sure they are in good repair.
| MBX Extreme | $130 | |
Think of these as race car tires. They aren’t built to last forever and in any condition, they are built for one job and to do that job at the peak of performance.
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