INFO NEEDED in ID of MAGS

HOW DO YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WW I & EARLY WW II MAGS (Non blued)


1) How do you identify the differences between WW I magazine

sleeves from the early WW II mags sleeves nickel plated (non blued) especially when most or if not all of the nickel plating is worn off, with the exception of the wood vs the aluminum base?


2) I have one mag (non blue) which has a very small proof mark on the lower back side of the slide. I must read it with a 10x glass to see it clearly. I can not find this mark in books or on line in this program. None of them look like the proof mark on my slide.

The mark is a stick eagle with the head looking to his right side. The wings go out from the body and droop very slightly then the tips of the wing go stright up (90 degree) to the top of the head. There are three single feathers on each wing which hang stright down. Below the body of the eagle is the number 6. The over all height of the eagle & the number is about 2mm. From wing tip to wing tip is about 1.5mm. The aluminum base has no markings.

Any ideas?


I have obtaine the "O" rings for my grips and will see how that works out. Thanks to all for that idea.

The E/6 on the bottom of the spine of your mag, incicates an inspector at the Simson factory between WW1 & 2. The correct bottom should also be E/6 marked. I find the the easiest way to identify the production period of mag tubes is by the finish. From 1900 until about 1916 DWM used a cadium plating which turns yellow with age. During WW1 they switched to tin plating, which I assume was faster & cheaper, but has a tendency to flake off with use. When Mauser took over in 1930 they went with the shinyer Nickel (or Chrome, I'm not sure) plating, until about 1937 when the tubes were blued. Tom h