theduellist
Active member
I am thinking I should go with repro mags for shooting and reenacting, due to the really high prices for originals. I have heard that they don't fit the rifles correctly. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Info needed on the serviceability of Repro G43/K43 Mags
- Thread starter theduellist
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Cyrano4747
Well-known member
Depends a lot on the mag. There are mags marked "made in denmark" that are post-war repros (50s and 60s I believe) but are just as good as the originals. I've read they were made on original tooling, so mechanically they're as good as wartime. They tend to go for a significant chunk less than the wartime mags, but they're really serviceable for shooting.
If you shop around you might also find wartime mags that were refinished or are otherwise not collector grade. I've got one sitting in my spare mag drawer that clearly had a bunch of rust cleaned off it and was parkerized - NOT a wartime phosphate job, I'll note. Probably wouldn't get much for it if I sold it, but it's perfectly fine as a shooter. That said, you're going to want to hunt around collectors and shooters for those, you can find some real beat up dogs on gunbroker and the like because L@@K RARE NAZI G/K43 G43 K43 MAGAZINE HITLERS GARAND NOT K98k STG44 SVT40 MOSIN
If you shop around you might also find wartime mags that were refinished or are otherwise not collector grade. I've got one sitting in my spare mag drawer that clearly had a bunch of rust cleaned off it and was parkerized - NOT a wartime phosphate job, I'll note. Probably wouldn't get much for it if I sold it, but it's perfectly fine as a shooter. That said, you're going to want to hunt around collectors and shooters for those, you can find some real beat up dogs on gunbroker and the like because L@@K RARE NAZI G/K43 G43 K43 MAGAZINE HITLERS GARAND NOT K98k STG44 SVT40 MOSIN
theduellist
Active member
Thanks for the informative message! Would you let that one go?
I have been looking for repainted, rusted, and bad looking original mags (I have a post on the Forum Trader), without success. I am stunned at the original prices! I had a transferable STG that I sold to send my oldest son to college in 2021, so I shouldn't really be surprised as I see the prices for those mags.
What I don't want is to buy repro mags and have fit issues, or cycling issues. My time is valuable; at least to me. I would be asking myself why didn't I just buy the original mags and bite the bullet (pun intended)!
I have been looking for repainted, rusted, and bad looking original mags (I have a post on the Forum Trader), without success. I am stunned at the original prices! I had a transferable STG that I sold to send my oldest son to college in 2021, so I shouldn't really be surprised as I see the prices for those mags.
What I don't want is to buy repro mags and have fit issues, or cycling issues. My time is valuable; at least to me. I would be asking myself why didn't I just buy the original mags and bite the bullet (pun intended)!
Cyrano4747
Well-known member
Nope, not looking to sell any mags right now.
Honestly given that repro mags are about a fifth of the price of real ones, I'd just grab a repro off ebay for $50 and give it a shot. If it works, great, buy more. If it sucks then you learned a lesson but it's not too painful. If you don't have time for a range trip to test that mag, then I guess just suck it up and buy originals.
Really glad I don't do anything where I need a full rig of mags, that can get expensive fast with these.
Honestly given that repro mags are about a fifth of the price of real ones, I'd just grab a repro off ebay for $50 and give it a shot. If it works, great, buy more. If it sucks then you learned a lesson but it's not too painful. If you don't have time for a range trip to test that mag, then I guess just suck it up and buy originals.
Really glad I don't do anything where I need a full rig of mags, that can get expensive fast with these.
theduellist
Active member
Thanks for the great advice. I read the thread on the forum about this. As you say the "Made in Denmark" postwar mags work well. I'm going to look for some.
theduellist
Active member
Purchased two rough looking originals at decent (not cheap however) prices. I'll post for opinions when they arrive.
I bought one of the Numrich/GPC ones. It required some filing on the front edge and the follower shortened on the rear tab to work. However, after an hour of trial and error, it fits tight and feeds 100%. If I just wanted more for shooting and not pay for an original, I'd do it again.
theduellist
Active member
Thank you for information!
Here's some quick pictures.
Pic 1: Left Mag is the Repro that I had to file the rough welds to get to fit.
Pic 2: Left Mag is the Repro that shows I shortened and rebent the tab on the follower to clear the rear indent on the body when loaded with cartridges. It was too long and hit the tab on the inside back.
Pic 3: The Repro with all the fake markings and nice paint.
Pic 1: Left Mag is the Repro that I had to file the rough welds to get to fit.
Pic 2: Left Mag is the Repro that shows I shortened and rebent the tab on the follower to clear the rear indent on the body when loaded with cartridges. It was too long and hit the tab on the inside back.
Pic 3: The Repro with all the fake markings and nice paint.
daltrey99
Senior Member
You will have to do A LOT of work to get the repros to feed right. The lips on the top are shaped different, you will have fit each one slightly to get them to even be able to clip in and the springs are too weak. I have a few of them but would rather spend the money on a real one even if beat up a bit, at least I know it will work properly. Its a shame that they took the time to make a repro but they didnt take the time to make sure they work properly!!
Cyrano4747
Well-known member
I'll be the dissenting voice here and say that even with all that fitting the price savings is worth it. The repros are $50, a beat to crap original is in the $300 ballpark and they go up from there for a nice one. I'm more than happy to fiddle and tweak to save $250.
theduellist
Active member
Thank you for this information, which will certainly help other members!
theduellist
Active member
One forum member said this earlier, "How much range time do you have?" For me, I can't shoot on my property, and the closest range is ~1 hour away. If I bought repro mags, it might take multiple visits to the range to get the repro mags to work. I don't have unlimited free time, either. I made the decision to buy beat up but serviceable original mags. Hopefully that was a good decision. At least they will appreciate in value. Stay tuned...
Cyrano4747
Well-known member
Yeah, that's absolutely a factor. My range is about 45 min away, but I also go out there to shoot a lot. What I tend to do is take one project gun that I need to function test or otherwise fiddle with, and then one gun that I know is shooting well that I want to do some actual target shooting with.
But yeah, there comes a point where your time is the real valuable commodity and it's worth it to just buy a solution you know will work.
Make up some training/dummy/snap cap rounds and do your finessing with them. When mine fed dummy rounds manually to my satisfaction, it worked fine when I got to the range. The lips only needed a touch with Emory cloth or 800 grit sandpaper to smooth them. They didn't need tweaking or reshaping. It was easy work and didn't take long. YMMV depending on patience and skill. It's a hobby. What part you enjoy doing is up to you. An hour of fiddling was worth the $250 to me.
theduellist
Active member
So, here are my recently acquired G43 mags. They are both gcb and one only has about 5% paint. They are a bit salty, but I got them below the current market cost. Please give me your opinions: Keep as they are or refinish and paint? One might have been repainted already?
Attachments
Cyrano4747
Well-known member
I'll leave it to others to comment on the one on the left and whether it's been redone, but my two cents is to leave them as is. An original mag is only original once. Refinish it and it's a refinished mag forever.
Kind of like how a gun with 25% finish might not be pretty, but it's still more original than a refinished gun which, by definition, has 0% (original) finish.
If you want/need new looking mags for display when reenacting I'd buy a couple repros and use them when people are up close and looking.
Kind of like how a gun with 25% finish might not be pretty, but it's still more original than a refinished gun which, by definition, has 0% (original) finish.
If you want/need new looking mags for display when reenacting I'd buy a couple repros and use them when people are up close and looking.
theduellist
Active member
The black one looks as if someone slapped some black paint on it post war. Thoughts?
The other was definitely painted (5% left which really doesn’t show in those photos), not phosphate.
Incidentally, there is a thread in this forum that talks specifically about G43 mags, and is quite good.
The other was definitely painted (5% left which really doesn’t show in those photos), not phosphate.
Incidentally, there is a thread in this forum that talks specifically about G43 mags, and is quite good.
