View Holes On Patent Date Mags?

[Waffen Und Bier]

Was looking at my three repeat patent date mags a couple months back. Two had the view holes on one side while one had the view holes on the other. What's up with that? I've never taken them apart to see who made them.

[TSMG28]

Waffen,

 

FWIW, all of my Patent Date mags (24/24 and 20/24) and Colt Blank mags have the viewing holes on the same side. I have no idea why you would have one that is different.

 

Roger

[Bob B]

Just a thought, but could your "reversed" mag be a factory mistake? I'd guess that the perforated channel part of the magazine would be formed prior to doing the end-forming, so it would seem possible for one of these perforated blanks to have been reversed in this secondary operation. I've seen other examples of "factory mistakes" such as drum lettering being stamped twice - in the right place as well as 180 degrees away. If your mag is in this category, maybe it's more valuable in the same way as currency and stamp misprints. Could your reversed viewing hole mag be the "inverted jenny" of Thompson mags? http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[1921A]

Magazine Viewing holes

 

One is for a right hander the other a lefty. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/wink.gif

[TD.]

Waffen,

Is is possible for you to post a picture or two? It sounds like you have found something new to the board.

Thanks,

[Waffen Und Bier]

Wow, you mean I have an anomo......., an anomi.....an anoma.....something different? I'll have to dig them out of the safe this weekend. So what if one half of you guys have view holes on the left side and the other half has view holes on the right and you have just never had them together? So much for my anomo......., anomi.....anoma.....something different.

[Bob B]

Yup. Sure sounds like what you've got there is an original Thompson ammoanomaly. Might be a special like the shotshell mag, made to take only left-handed "anomolous ammo". Could also be you were just a little "under the weather" and didn't realize you were looking at it in a mirror. Oops! Just gave away my strategy for selling rare left-handed M1A1s at three times the going rate! Oh well, easy come, easy go ...

 

Here's a thought: colttommygunner has a 1923 AOC brochure that shows pictures of an aircraft fitted out with thirty mounted Thompsons. Here's the url to that page (direct link disabled; copy and paste only): http://colttommygunner.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1923-6.jpg It doesn't say, but they must have had right-twist barrels on one side and left twist ones on the other to neutralize inertial effects when firing - the same principle as counter-rotating props. It only stands to reason then that the mags were also made for left and right, you know, to maintain proper balance and to allow the pilot to see when he was low on ammo. Think I'll have another drinky poo. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/blink.gif

 

Post a picture or two if you can, but remember, NO MIRRORS! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif