A puzzling L1A1 magazine

[enbloc8]

Hi all,

Tonight I picked up my new British L1A1, and with it I got a magazine that's different from any other I've seen. (Which, I'll admit, isn't many!)

At first glance it looks like any other inch-pattern magazine, but the mounting tab on the front of the body looks more like a metric-pattern type. (And it appears to be a fastened-on tab, not something punched out of the steel.) The floorplate and mounting tabs look like any other inch-pattern type.

The mag body is marked "9600017" with a broad arrow, and an Enfield E-inside-D mark with "79" next to it. The floorplate is marked with a reverse-R, then R, 1959 and "9602044".

What is it? Anything unusual? Differences aside, it mounts in my rifle just fine.

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Was it tooled down? I've seen this done to fit inch mags which were common, to a metric gun. Then refinished.

[Peter Laidler]

I think that BAR has the answer. But as a matter of general interest, the numbers you quote are part of the NATO stock number that in full would be B1 (a rifle part) 1005-99- followed by the 960-0017 that you mention. In your case, the magazine assembly. Because the magazine always came as a complete assembly. The double reversed RR on the floorplate indicates that it was made by ROLLS RAZOR Company.

A whole lot could be said about this company but the least said, the better. They folded in the early 60's owing zillions. To the English people reading this, think Emile Savundra!

[AmEngRifles]

Never mind, response was redundant. Oops!