1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Duplicate of an thread that I posted earlier on 1911.org and thought it would be of interest to all concerned.
Apologies to all for my erratic participation the last few days. Too many irons in the fire and not enough time and energy to cope.
First...I need to make everybody aware of a fake magazine that's come to my attention. The ones that I have in hand have the Metalform "M" stamp with the Colt pony logo. They're stainless with a dull brush finish...7-round with a suspiciously familiar bogus wadcutter feed lip design.
A few days ago, 1911.org member EchoBravoKilo offered to let me have 10 Colt/Metalform magazines in appreciation of my efforts there, which is much appreciated. He said that his Commander didn't like them, and that I could have them if I wanted.
The fact that they didn't perform in his Colt was the first red flag. When they arrived yesterday, I immdiately spotted them as fakes due to the differences between them and the real Colt contract Metalform magazines. I'll contact Metalform tomorrow and send them a magazine to examine.
The other issue was that they appeared to have decent springs...which is odd because the bogus magazine producers generally use the cheapest components that they can get...and this may provide a way to nail this guy.
(I have a suspect in mind. If anyone picks up on it, please don't announce it in an open forum. Don't wanna warn him what's comin'.)
Upon disassembling the magazines, it jumped out at me that the springs are dead ringers for Check-Mate's proprietary 7-round springs. I'll work with Jackie at CMI to determine if this is fact...and if they can track sizeable spring orders to a certain individual and/or area...they may be able to provide Metalform and Colt with information on whoever is infringing on their copyrights.
I'll try and get a few comparison pictures up soon. Our digital camera has gotten a little hinky recently, so it may not provide enough clarity. We'll see.
This thread will be sticky for a few days so that all may have a chance to see it.
Apologies to all for my erratic participation the last few days. Too many irons in the fire and not enough time and energy to cope.
First...I need to make everybody aware of a fake magazine that's come to my attention. The ones that I have in hand have the Metalform "M" stamp with the Colt pony logo. They're stainless with a dull brush finish...7-round with a suspiciously familiar bogus wadcutter feed lip design.
A few days ago, 1911.org member EchoBravoKilo offered to let me have 10 Colt/Metalform magazines in appreciation of my efforts there, which is much appreciated. He said that his Commander didn't like them, and that I could have them if I wanted.
The fact that they didn't perform in his Colt was the first red flag. When they arrived yesterday, I immdiately spotted them as fakes due to the differences between them and the real Colt contract Metalform magazines. I'll contact Metalform tomorrow and send them a magazine to examine.
The other issue was that they appeared to have decent springs...which is odd because the bogus magazine producers generally use the cheapest components that they can get...and this may provide a way to nail this guy.
(I have a suspect in mind. If anyone picks up on it, please don't announce it in an open forum. Don't wanna warn him what's comin'.)
Upon disassembling the magazines, it jumped out at me that the springs are dead ringers for Check-Mate's proprietary 7-round springs. I'll work with Jackie at CMI to determine if this is fact...and if they can track sizeable spring orders to a certain individual and/or area...they may be able to provide Metalform and Colt with information on whoever is infringing on their copyrights.
I'll try and get a few comparison pictures up soon. Our digital camera has gotten a little hinky recently, so it may not provide enough clarity. We'll see.
This thread will be sticky for a few days so that all may have a chance to see it.
