Mk1 Bren magazine

[Flying10uk]

The MK1 mag did not have what is known as an auxiliary spring attached to the front inside face of the mag but the MK1* and onwards did. These MK1 mags are rare and expensive when they do turn up and I have never seen an example in the flesh. The member who posted post 1 has since emailed me some pictures, very kindly, but I assume doesn't wish them to be made public which I will respect.

[peregrinvs]

Here's my most recent one which I 'logged' on here in July 2014:

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=49498

[blitzkrieg]

The MK1 mag did not have what is known as an auxiliary spring attached to the front inside face of the mag but the MK1* and onwards did. These MK1 mags are rare and expensive when they do turn up and I have never seen an example in the flesh. The member who posted post 1 has since emailed me some pictures, very kindly, but I assume doesn't wish them to be made public which I will respect.

I have no problem with the pics being made public, I'm just useless with computers and can't upload them!

[Flying10uk]

I'm not much better with computers but will have a go if I have a chance; please don't hold your breath.

[Flying10uk]

Here are the photos:

[Brit plumber]

Unfortunately I believe there are some fake Mk1 mags out there. By fake, I mean mags that have been converted back to mk1. So far they all appear to use ZB39 mag covers. So check markings carefully if it's costing an arm and a leg. If it's in a box of hundreds and it's only a fiver, chances are it's genuine!

[Flying10uk]

What markings would we expect to see if a ZB39 cover was used to produce a "fake" MK1 mag then Brit plumber, please? If we assume that the original ZB39 markings on the cover haven't been changed.

[Vincent]

There are no markings on the ZB39 mag covers I have.

[Brit plumber]

That's the give away, no markings and a very new deep blue finish. You can get a ZB39 mag for a tenner, a Enfield mag for a fiver, a little welding and hay presto, fake Mk1.

[Flying10uk]

I think that it's worth saying that blitzkrieg did mention, in his e-mail to me, that the MK1 Bren mag was only made by enfield and so we should only expect to see Enfield markings on a genuine MK1 mag.