What is the proper mag for a 1940 CSR?

[colt thompson]

Is 2-tone correct for a 1940?
Thanks
Brian

[Johnny P]

Pin base, full blued, unmarked.

[Scott Gahimer]

I agree with Johnny, and those magazines are pretty tough to find in original condition. There are a lot of 2-tones out there folks have full-blued and misrepresent as original Colt mags from 1940-1941.

I assume you're asking what is correct as shipped from the factory? Bear in mind, up until about mid-WWII (for the U.S.), there were far more 2-tone magazines in the system than full blue mags. If a pistol had been issued prior to mid-1943, it could have easily been issued with 2-tone magazines. The 2-tones were reportedly withdrawn from being issued after then...but a lot of them still came home with pistols after the war.

[KeithNyst]

I seem to recall reading that there were also some full-blued marked
COLT
45AUTO.
used either in 40 or 41, can't recall the details. Johnny or Scott, any knowledge on this?

[Johnny P]

Colt transferred everything from parts to complete pistols to the military contract, but I don't believe they were doing this to any extent in 1940. Some of the 1940 pistols have small parts with a commercial high polish blue.

The commercial magazines that were transferred to the military contract were first sandblasted on the magazine body to remove the high polish blue, then rough polished to smooth the sandblasting back out. Then the base was sandblasted with a finer grit, and the magazine was then blued. Most of these magazines have the Colt/.45 AUTO on the base, but some are not marked