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General >> Ammunition, reloading, shooting, etc >> Re: Mills Cartridge Belts
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Message started by Knute1 on Dec 31st, 2018 at 5:18pm

Title: Re: Mills Cartridge Belts
Post by butlersrangers on Jan 9th, 2019 at 4:39pm
The correct name for the Mills belt competitor is "Hurlburt".

I believe 'Jason60chevs' recently acquired belt, with its sewn on loops, is of Hurlburt manufacture. (Shown in 'Dorsey' on page 90).

A pioneer reference work, that covers many U. S. woven belts, is "American Military Belts and Related Equipments", by R. Stephen Dorsey.
The soft cover book is very useful. (But, to me, some pages are in an odd order. At times it is confusing matching text to photos or difficult to see important details).

FWIW - On page 121, Dorsey, displays a khaki 50 loop belt that he believes is probably by Gilbert Loom.
It has the fine blue stripes and wire bails on the end-fittings, like Hurlburt belts. However, the loops are integral (woven) like a Mills belt. (This might explain the blue-dyed 'Mystery Belt' photo, that I posted).

IMHO - The 'world of web gear' has gotten more confusing and risky with all the used reproduction items showing up at shows and online. Bogus and suspect Mills buckles seem rampant on ebay and are being sold as 'originals', (and Bannerman's did 'restrikes' with original Dies, almost a century ago).

I did order a reprint of an 1893 Mills catalog today to build my 'Library'.
mills_catalog_page.jpg ( 117 KB | 0 Downloads )

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