Question about military magazine

[boogeymanou812]

I recently purchased a colt made in 1942 it came in a kraft box with a canvas magazine pouch marked AVERY 1942 it contained two mags one is a colt risdon the other appears to be a commercial with 3/8 inch of the bottom parkerized it also has a lanyard loop and is stamped with a M on the bottom I've heard of converting some commercial mags but in this manor but ca't find anything with an M stamp, the box also contained a lanyard stamped Hickok 1943 a cleaning rod and a disassembly tool. Can anyone identify this magazine

[exitwounds]

I have not seen one personally to date, but it sounds like one of the reproduction lanyard loop magazines made by Metalform.

This is one: https://www.metalformmagazines.com/images/45-293L.jpg

Note the welded baseplate, the last lanyard loop magazine issued with a pistol was in 1915, long before the Colt Commercial military transfers.

[exitwounds]

The Commercial magazines you are referring to that were transferred to the military contract were fully blued with pinned bases, and marked "COLT 45 AUTO. ", and did NOT have lanyard loops. They were parkerized on the bottom to more like a 1/4" to dull the bluing that was exposed when the magazine was inserted into the pistol. They were used at random with pistols made during that time period. Look your magazine pouch over many repros and fakes exist that were marked AVERY 1942, as well as the HICKOK 1943 marked lanyards, they are green corded whereas the originals were Khaki corded, just something to keep in mind if the magazine was being sold as USGI surplus.

[Hawkmoon]

Look your magazine pouch over many repros and fakes exist that were marked AVERY 1942, as well as the HICKOK 1943 marked lanyards, they are green corded whereas the originals were Khaki corded, just something to keep in mind if the magazine was being sold as USGI surplus.
This may be a rhetorical question, but is there any distinction between a "reproduction" and a "fake," other than whether or not the seller admits it isn't an authentic original?

[Doran]

Reproductions from honest manufacturers are normally different in some manner as to not be mistaken for original issue, ie the M on the Metalform loop magazine or the off color lanyard cord.

Fakes occur when sellers modify an item or mislead the buyer into thinking he is purchasing original issue. However, in some cases the seller doesn't know he has a fake either.

[exitwounds]

........is there any distinction between a "reproduction" and a "fake," other than whether or not the seller admits it isn't an authentic original?

I believe Doran summed it up pretty well. This maybe redundant but typically, a "Reproduction" is a reasonable facsimile thereof, usually identified by the manufacturer who made with some sort of marking (like Colt using a WMK serial number on their 1911 USGI Repro pistols), and not passing it off as "genuine", but more as a "copy" of something that once existed. Whereas, a fake is something created to be passed off as original with no attempt to inform someone otherwise, misleading them to believe it is something original, and usually for monetary gain. And some of it is done so well it can get by the best of them. That is why it is important to arm yourself with knowledge, observe original genuine examples, and always be skeptical of those things that are to good to be true until they can be validated as genuine. Some sellers simply do not know real, fake, or repro and can jeopardize their credibility simply by not doing their homework before they label something as genuine.

[Scott Gahimer]

The Commercial magazines you are referring to that were transferred to the military contract were fully blued with pinned bases, and marked "COLT 45 AUTO. ", and did NOT have lanyard loops. They were parkerized on the bottom to more like a 1/4" to dull the bluing that was exposed when the magazine was inserted into the pistol.

On the WWII Colt c/m magazines, the bases might appear to be Parkerized, but the whole magazine is actually blued. When the magazines were being converted over to military, they were sandblasted and polished to military spec....which leaves the same appearance as a Du-Lite blue over sandblasted surface pistol.
A Du-Lite Remington Rand might look the same as a Parkerized one to many dealers and collectors, but we know they are different upon close examination.
Often the overspray from the sandblasting extends quite a ways up the mag tube. The markings on the bottom of some of these mags reads COLT (OVER) .45 AUTO. too, with the decimal point in front of the 45. All the marked bases are in the fat, squatty font Colt used on their pre-war mags. Some of the mags are not marked on the bottom, as they were not far enough along in their commercial production prior to tranferring them to the military to have received the baseplate markings in the first place.
Often finish will be flaked on the sides of the tubes, leaving a nasty brown appearance similar to what we refer to as the black army finish. I believe this was caused by the hasty process of transfer and the surfaces not being properly cleaned and prepared prior to blueing...about the same thing that happened with the late 1918 and 1919 black army pistols.

[exitwounds]

Thanks Scott, I had heard about the unmarked type that you mentioned above but never saw anything in writing regarding there existence. I was unaware of the COLT (OVER) .45 AUTO with the decimal point in front of the 45 variation. Thanks for the information.

[TattooPaul]

What I have found indicates that the last Colt equipped with a lanyard loop mag from the factory was #125566 - the last of 1915's production run. Springfield mags were approved for loop elimination on July 18, 1916. The first issues in 1912 were blued and the later ones were had the heat-treated two-tone finish. I see no reference to M stamps on military production and don't have access to the commercial book as yet. Most likely a repro or a refinish, just can't pinpoint the M for you and WW2 issues were Du-lite or Pentrate. The C- S mag with my '43 1911A1 is fully parked so it got a repaint somewhere along the line. If you could get a couple pics it'd be interesting to look at the construction to help ID 'em better.

[exitwounds]

I see no reference to M stamps on military production and don't have access to the commercial book as yet. Most likely a repro or a refinish, just can't pinpoint the M for you and WW2 issues were Du-lite or Pentrate.

M = Metalform, and is a reproduction magazine. ;)