Afterthought: Dart, be sure and troll the "Classified Section" of local Gun Forums. Or even some of the big national ones.
You can *always* find a good deal on stuff, as someone is always selling some gun related item to get another gun related item.

Glocktalk, XDTalk, AR15.com, etc. Check for local State "Hunting & Fishing" forums. Texashuntingforum.com is really active.

They're really one time purchases, so I'll bit the bullet on the cost; it just shocked me to see some of the prices. I've never had a .45 mag fail on me.

"Idiot scratch?" Are you talking about the chip to the duracoat at the slide release?

Once the airplane is done and flying I'm thinking of fleshing out the guns. Crazy how M1 Carbines are suddenly gold plated - I think when that time comes I'm just going to buy one of the newly manufactured carbines - it'll be less expensive and just as good (if not better).

Then maybe an AR-15/M4 variant that looks as close to an issue M16 as I can get. I don't get all the crap they hang on them today. Take out the batteries and learn to shoot, young man! Zero at 25 meters and you can hit out to 350 no problem.

My sister has my Ruger Security Six buried somewhere in her house and promised to look for it; I'm not too concerned as I had cleaned it before putting it in the box and it's been in a cool, dry place for the last 25 years. Might need to replace the ammo, though.

Yes sir, the scratch just below the slide release is refered to as "the idiot scratch".
You feel like an idiot when you bind the slide release trying to get it back in place, and it scratches the finish on the frame.
It can be reassembled with out hurting the finish, but a rare thing to find as it just happens. HA!
I like to see 'usage' wear on pistols. Not abuse, mind you, but wear from someone that is not afraid to carry and use their pistol.
"Barbeque Guns" are cool but not practical.

Spend the money on the Wilson Combat mags. Won't regret it, and they will not let you down.
And yes I have shot my .45 enough to have experienced bad magazines. Sucks when it won't feed well and you get a FTF/Stovepipe out of it.

IMO the Tripp Research Cobra mags are even better than the Wilsons, although I have never tried the newest Wilsons.

Another set of 1911 parts I'd recommend are the Cylinder and Slide spring steel extractor and the EGW square firing pin stop.