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Reproduction Wwii Ammo Bag


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The question is asked from time to time on the board about where to find reproduction WWII spare magazine bags. The best reproduction I have seen is sold at:

http://www.atthefront.com

Click on US, then field gear, then ammunition pouches. These are maybe a little pricy at $39.99, but that didn't stop me. It's only plastic, right?

The bag quickly arrived, and I had to compare it to an unissued original in my collection. The reproduction is better made than the original, and is made of the same heavy OD #3 canvas. The back is marked JQMD. All hardware (including the lift-the-dot fastener) is dead perfect. The weave and color of the canvas of the strap and the bag itself are also perfect.

I would imagine that reproductions of this caliber will eventually have the effect of causing the originals to decline in price, as this reproduction cannot be told from original, except that it is more carefully made. Go figure!

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QUOTE
I would imagine that reproductions of this caliber will eventually have the effect of causing the originals to decline in price, as this reproduction cannot be told from original, except that it is more carefully made.

 

TSMG,

Therein lies the problem with many TSMG accessories such as FBI/Police cases, spare parts kits, 1st pattern Cutts, etc. Some reproduction pieces have been on the market for so many years that they sometimes blur the value of the originals and the impetus to collect them in the first place.

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Could it be that many of the items in question have become so desireable that that there is room in the market for really well made reproductions? I was really astounded by the spare magazine bag. Such a simple thing in concept, yet it was no cheap Pakistani or Indian knockoff. Rollin, the owner of At The Front, has gone to enormous lengths to have the canvas duplicated exactly for both the strap and the bag. The hardware is absolutely first rate and looks brand new (hey, it is!)

The best thing is that none of the componants are imported, including the labor. The things are made by him in his own rapidly expanding shop in Kentucky. He looms or purchases his materiels, with strict quality control.

I wonder if we might be entering a new golden age of collecting, where prices are reasonable, quality is excellent, and fufullment is only an Email away? Look at PKs most excellent grip mounts. I'll be proud to have one of them on my WH M1 (itself a reproduction?), when it returns from his tender care.

I shamelessly went right back to the At The Front website (abandoning years of pre-conceptions along the way) and ordered up some of the missing links in my US WWII field gear collection. I've been pursuing some of these items for years, with no luck.

I'm not so sure that this trend is all bad, given the spirit to succeed that I see exhibited. It's gratifying, in a way, to see the 21st century paying such homage to the great events of the 20th.

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I have not seen these repros up close from At the Front, but everything on the site looks about as authenticly (is that a word?) recreated as can be. You may be right, that the reproduction work WHEN DONE RIGHT is as good as, or better than the original in terms of functional quality and durability.

This may be a good thing for those of us who have to choose between supporting the family right, or buying into the original for the status. While I agree nothing can exceed the original (firearms included) for sheer historical exitement, to be able to afford work like PK does to own a firearm you can be proud to show off at the range, and own for a lifetime, versus the risk of a settlement order to sell your original 1921 Colt at whatever you can get to satisfy a judge in divorce court, the choices seem easy.

 

John

 

 

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Collectors fear not. All of the At The Front stuff is CLEARLY marked 'KIRKMAN MFG' and is marked to the town in Kentucky where Rollin has his manufactiuring facility. No such company existed durring WWII. Yes it is super authentic and is is just as good or better than the original stuff. His uniforms ar top notch also. His 1942 patern US Paratrooper unifroms will be sold as real ones in few years!! He even had the zinc snaps made for his company (by the original MFG too!) to make them perfect. Put up your collector pieces and use the ATF stuff at the range. And if you want items 'Rigger modified' let me know. I have Pfaf double needle rigger type sewing machine. It cost me about as much as a WH M1A1!!! I make a rigger type ammo pouch that holds three XXX mags sperately (less noise) from each other with a single 'lift the dot' flap and two belt loops on the back. I will be making another run of these soon.
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