A note on "G.I. contract" 1911 mags

[mikikanazawa]

The genuine mil-issue mags will have an assembly number and a manufacturer code on the base.

The manufacturer's code in this photo is "30745." This is known as a CAGE code, which stands for Commercial And Government Entity. All government contracting companies have a CAGE code. They are alphanumeric, can have all numbers, all letters or both.

You can look up the manufacturer's info by entering the CAGE code into this site:

https://www.bpn.gov/bincs/begin_search.asp

Sometimes you can get lucky and find some original Colt mags for a song. I checked the CAGE in the photo above and it's for a defunct company called "Mason-Rust Co."

PS: All gov't issue hardware should be in a package with the originating contractor's CAGE. So sometimes you can look up your MREs and such too.

 

[Shorts]

Thanks for the link, I'll check my mags in the a.m.

Note of performance at the range, both new mags did excellent in the SA GI. No hiccups what so ever. We even forgot that we had new mags in the mix they were so smooth.

The only differemce between the SA mags and the new GIs is that the GIs are a little snugger in the well and need to be smacked in with the palm of the hand. They also drag a bit on release.

 

[Eghad]

hehe... you folks eat MREs?

I avoided em like the plauge and tried to bring pogie bait.....

yeh some of the new ones aint bad....but some are.

I remeber when MREs first came out....

I tested some on my dog and she tried to bury all the stuff from the MRE I gave to her...lol

I would probably not want to know which of the lowest bidders made em.....

However, I can assure you if you have a bad MRE you will know..hehe

 

[Shorts]

Well we picked up a couple new ones on ebay, and they were cheap. If they weren't perfect, they'd only be range mags. Yes, I'm one of the cheapos who skimp on mags But they aren't carry. At least not out of the wrapper. I'd like to put another couple hundred rounds through them and see if they are reliable. If so, we've got an xtra 2nd mag for carry.

So, buying them wasn't really for "ooh, I could get a GI mag, it's so cool" factor

Edit: ours are the Mason-Rust Co too

 

[jonathon]

Are genuine colt mags worth more than others?

 

[Dave Sample]

Most 1911 troubles are caused by bad ammo and cheap magazines. These are the first things we look at when someone has gun touble.
I don't skimp on gun parts. I like the best. I have a great friend who told me last night on the phone that he finally reached a point where he is no longer going to do work on cheap, crappy guns. I qiut that 18 years ago and have never regretted it. There are plenty of" so called" Smiths that will do anything for money. I do not want to be ashamed of my work, I want to be proud of it. I also have to back it up with my No BS Lifetime Warranty. Can't do that unless I give it my best efforts.