CheckMate is a fine manufacturer of 1911, M1A, Desert Eagle, and Beretta magazines. For their 1911 magazines, three type of feedlip designs are offered: Wadcutter, Hybrid, and GI. There is much history behind these designations. The GI design dates back to the origins of the 1911. The Wadcutter came later, followed by the Hybrid which is more of a modern creature. Most mags these days employ a hybrid design. Strong chances your OEM mag that came with your 1911 did as well. Here is a detailed picture (courtesy of CheckMate) showing the three types.
Which feedlip type to use really comes down to total round length. The original spec for a 230 grain “ball” ammo was 1.26 inches overall length. This is what the GI feedlip was designed around. If all you shoot is traditional ball ammo, this is the feedlip for you as you will experience the highest level of reliable feeding. However there is a tradeoff. Hollow point (and wadcutter) rounds may be as short as 1.20 inches, and that difference is notable. Load a GI mag full of these shorter rounds, and the reliability level decreases. The degree of which varies from gun to gun. What happens is that in that 0.06 inch difference, the ball round had hit the feedramp, but the shorter round can get pushed upwards and cause a jam. It doesn’t take much really.
The Wadcutter feedlip solves the problem for shorter rounds, like the wadcutter, which gained popularity in competitive shooting. Use this feedlip style for the shorter rounds. The tradeoff here is that the feeding is the best for shorter rounds, but traditional ball ammo loses a true controlled feed in this feedlip type.
The hybrid feedlip is a combination of both designs and generally works well for all. If you find yourself shooting a mix of ammo and want the greatest selection of caliber options, and capacity, this is the preferred option.
For a 1911 there are many items that contribute to proper feeding. The above assumes a properly functioning 1911 of reputable make to begin with, and one that is shooting standard pressure ammo at bullet weight between 180 and 230 grains, with a recoil spring of standard rating to +1 strong as described by the extra power Wolff springs. With this in mind, it is also necessary to have extra consideration when using the fantastic 10 mm caliber. The loads vary greatly for this round, and a 10 mm 1911 needs to be designed as a system for handling the 10 mm cartridge.
The officer model 1911 is generally 3.5″ (I say generally because any manufacturer can call their 3.5″ something else as well as call another length “officer”). This is considered a compact 1911. Most items on an officer’s model 1911 cannot be swapped with commander or government item. The frame size is different than the commander and government. Not only is the length shorter 3.5″, but the magazine capacity is shorter. You can use longer mags in a compact officer’s 1911 but it doesn’t go the other way around. Compact mags cannot be used in a full size 1911.
The commander model 1911 is generally 4.25″. The length, 4.25″ refers to the barrel length. Some guns may be marketed as commander length with a 4″ bushingless barrel. They really aren’t considered a true commander gun, more so the “mid-size”. For the purpose of grips and magazines, this is still considered a full size gun.
The government model 1911 is generally 5″ and considered full size. Other than the uppers (barrel, recoil springs, slide, guide rod…), parts for a government are usually interchangeable with a commander model 1911. The frames of government and commander versions are the same.
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