Techwell, magazine well for your Government Model

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Though I am by no means on the level of many competition shooters, I have an understanding of the fundamentals of the sport. Speed and accuracy is really what it all boils down to. There are lots of gadgets that help with both aspects, some of which I have tried.

I would imagine that there is debate on each aftermarket part as to whether it is viable or not. Be that as it may, there is little debate on the benefits of a large magazine well for a competition pistol. For those that are familiar with this, then, please bear with me – as I am going to explain my take on a magazine well.

One area where time can be made up in a match is magazine changes, and especially shooting “Single Stack” where the greatest number of magazine changes must be made. The more time you devote to a magazine change, more time you have on the clock.

By adding a funnel (for lack of a better term) to the magazine well of the receiver of your pistol, you increase the target area for the fresh magazine. I have spent a lot of time practicing magazine changes and I have become fairly competent in finding the narrow magazine opening of my pistol receiver, but not every time is a textbook mag change (actually, more times than not it is not textbook form). By adding a funnel (aka magwell) to the magazine opening and increasing the target area, you increase your chances for the fresh magazine to find mark.

There are plenty of aftermarket magazine well options, but the open questions are: How well do they work, and how easily are they installed?

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A few examples of magazine wells:

Many folks shoot matches with the same pistol they carry. A large magazine well is ideal for competition; however, it is less than ideal for the times you are using your pistol for concealed carry. Well, Bob Novak, an accomplished competitive shooter, put some thought into this as far as the Government Model is concerned and came up with something so simple it will make you ask yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” The TechwellUSA System is available in three interchangeable sizes, and it installs as quickly as you can turn the four stock screws.

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The TechWell USA System is held in place by the stocks, which have a void machined in the inside bottom to accept the lugs of the TechWell.

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When the stocks are installed, the lugs of the extended magazine well fill the void and the extended magazine well is held securely. Once you snug down the stock screws, the extended magazine well is well secured and I could find no vertical or horizontal play.

One could easily drive to a match with one’s pistol concealed “Carry” model and, upon arriving, swap to one of the competition models for the match and back again before leaving the range. Each of these swaps would take less than two minutes.

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Colt Gold Cup Trophy with a few of the different Techwells available

One drawback to any magazine well extension is that it adds length to the bottom of the magazine well. With standard magazines fitting flush to the receiver without the magazine well extension, they would be recessed in the extended magazine well. This would make reliable seating difficult.

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Magazine with no base pad.

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Now, as many of us have seen, many magazines come with base pads. These base pads (or “slam pads,” as I have heard them called) add the length necessary for reliable magazine seating.

Not all magazines are created equal. With that in mind Bob spoke with Virgil Tripp, owner of Tripp Research, about a special magazine for the TechWellUSA System, named by himself, appropriately, the Cobra “System” Magazine, an eight-round stainless steel magazine with the Tripp removable base pad. The CobraMag worked flawlessly with the TechWellUSA System. As a matter of fact, 1911Tuner and I talked about the CobraMag line of magazines and we actually tried some prior to my knowledge of the TechWell. The ones we tried functioned as they should. With that said, I believed there were other magazines that would work as well.

Jackie from Check-Mate Industries sent me a couple of the new Check-Mate 8-round, stainless steel magazines with hybrid lips and base pads. I am a fan of Check-Mate magazines as I have been running them for years in my carry and match pistols without issue. . These Check-Mate magazines also worked flawlessly with the TechWell system. The base pad on the Check-Mate fit perfect as well with the TechWell system.

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The Tripp and Checkmate magazines.

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I want to point out the TechWell USA System does nothing to jeopardize reliability or function of your pistol but, as I said above, with the extended magazine well having a base pad on your magazine is a good idea for reliable magazine seating during a reload.

Conclusions

The TechWell USA System has been used by such shooters as Rob Leatham, and has already been featured in the Front Sight competition magazine (July 2008), Guns and Ammo Magazine (August 2008), Shooting USA’s “Sighting In” edition (October 15, 2008), and more.

The TechWell USA System is available where they stock the TechWell models and the specially “slotted” AlumaGrips designed to hold them in place in Black, Silver, and Olive/Gray. All are machined from T-6 aircraft aluminum.
It is also worth mentioning that the TechWell is made in the USA.

The TechWell System is designed to be compatible with all 1911 pistols and clones using Mr. John Moses Browning’s design specs. However, some manufacturers fabricate their pistols with minor changes to those dimensions, so the TechWell USA System was designed to be “tuned” to accommodate these fluctuations. To that end, though installation is pretty straightforward, the TechWell USA.com web site has a detailed short video on how to install the TechWell System, and an additional one if “tuning” it proves necessary (which is truly rare).

Check the website http://techwearusa.com/techwell/ for prices and packages.

Acknowledgements.

Bob Novak for the chance to review his TechWell USA System, and his help throughout the review.
Virgil Tripp with Tripp research.
Jackie at Check-Mate Industries
1911Tuner

By Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.

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