I am starting this thread due to what seems to be a total void of information about the evolution of the followers and when they changed over the years. Anyone that has different makers, dates or marking and wishes to add to this can do so and if this keeps going I will update the list every few days. If it dies, it dies.

Black Followers:
6P199 06/91 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS (PainKillaX)
33710 6-91 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CONN U.S.A. (PainKillaX)
33710 7-91 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CONN U.S.A.
6P199 09/91 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS (PainKillaX)
6P199 10/91 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS (PainKillaX)
6P199 04/92 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS (PainKillaX)
6P199 09/92 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS (PainKillaX)
33710 4-95 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT  RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY (PainKillaX)
33710 6-95 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT  RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY (PainKillaX)
33710 12-97 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT  RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY (PainKillaX)
33710 4-99 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT  RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY (PainKillaX)
6P199 06/00 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS RESTRICTED LAW ENFORCEMENT/GOVERNMENT USE ONLY(PainKillaX)
33710 8-03 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A. RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT/EXPORT USE ONLY (PainKillaX)

Green Followers:
90435 8 95 GENERAL STAMPING OCONOMOWOC WI, U.S.A. 90435 RESTRICTED LAW ENFORCEMENT GOVERNMENT USE ONLY
33710 9-03 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY (Francis_Marion)
33710 11-03 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A. RESTRICTED MILITARY/GOV'T/LAW ENFORCEMENT/EXPORT USE ONLY
6P199 10/04 CENTER INDUSTRIES CORP. WICHITA, KANSAS RESTRICTED LAW ENFORCEMENT/GOVERNMENT USE ONLY
33710 11-04 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A.
33710 4-05 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A. (PainKillaX)
33710 10-06 COLT'S MFG. HARTFORD, CT (Francis_Marion)
12238 04-07 BROWNELLS MONTEZUMA, IA U.S.A. (PainKillaX)

Tan Followers:
12238 04-09 BROWNELLS MONTEZUMA, IA U.S.A. (3ACR_Scout)
12238 05 09 BROWNELLS MONTEZUMA, IA U.S.A.
33710 10-09 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A. (texaggie77)
33710 11-11 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A. (Francis_Marion)
33710 2-12 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A.
6P199 04/13 (PainKillaX)

Blue Followers:

Tan Follower

33710 10-09 OKAY INDUSTRIES, INC. NEW BRITAIN, CT U.S.A.

I hope this helps a bit, even though a number of manufacturers put no info. This is everything I could get from a relatively large sample, all formerly issued magazines. I did find an odd set of magazines with some discrepancies towards the end, the four noted below. Also, I'm assuming OKAY made ALL of Colt's magazines, as Colt was stamped 33710 (OKAY's cage code, not Colt's 13629).

One Okay floorplate, unlabeled body, cage 33710 dated 6-91 has left side cage code but no right side "MIL only." The only dated pre-94
Two Okay floorplate, Colt name on body, cage 33710 dated 12-97 and 4-99, right side "MIL only"
One Colt floorplate, entirely unmarked body

I will note that the Colt magazines were both the largest representation AND the only ones where everything was consistently marked

BLACK FOLLOWERS

Colt

Left side:
Colt's Mfg.
Hartford, CT.
33710 4-95 (also have 6-95)

Right side:
Restricted military/
gov't/law enforcement
use only

Floorplate:
(Logo) CAL 5.56 MM
Colt's Mfg. Co. Inc.
Hartford, Conn
U.S.A.

Sanchez

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
(Logo) Sanchez Ent.
Mansfield, OH
USA

Labelle

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
Labelle Ind
Oconomowoc, WI USA
Mfg 90435

Adventure Line

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
Adventure Line Mfg. Co.
Parsons, KS. U.S.A.

Parsons Precision Products

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
Parsons Precision Products
Parsons, KS. U.S.A.

Center Ind

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
6PI99 09-91 (also have 06-91,06/00, 04/92, 10/91, 09/92,)
OR
Umarked

Floorplate:
Marked bodies
Center Industries Corp.
Wichita, KS. U.S.A.
Mfg. 6P199

Unmarked bodies
Center Industries Corp.
Wichita, KS. U.S.A.

Okay Ind

Left side:
(Logo) Okay Industries,
Inc.
New Britain, CT U.S.A.
33710
8-03

OR
33710
6-91

OR

Colt's Mfg.
Hartford, CT.
33710
4-99 (also have 12-97)

OR

Unmarked

Right side:
Left side marked(except 6-91)
Restricted military/
gov't/law enforcement
/export use only

Unmarked left side
Unmarked

Floorplate:
(Logo) Okay Industries,
Inc
New Britain, Conn U.S.A.

Green Follower

Okay Ind

Left side:
(Logo) Okay Industries,
Inc.
New Britain, CT U.S.A.
33710
4-05

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
(Logo) Okay Industries,
Inc
New Britain, Conn U.S.A.

Brownells

Left side:
Brownells
Montezuma, IA
12238
04-07

Right side:
Unmarked

Floorplate:
Brownells
Montezuma, IA U.S.A.

Tan Follower

Assuming Center

Left side:
Unmarked

Right side:
6P199
04/13

Floorplate:
Unmarked

PainKillaX
That is some good info. Prior to your input, my 7-91 example I listed above was the earliest dated mag I'd heard of. I chose not to list my pre-date code mags as like you mentioned, the makers are really only listed on the floor plates. I'm hoping that eventually we'll be able to nail down when followers changed through actual examples, instead of wildly conflicting internet chatter that seems to be out right now. I'll get your entries sorted and added over the next day or so.

Do you really have a 91 dated mag with the restricted stamping? That would be interesting.

No my 6-91 does not have the restricted marking. Sorry if I made parts confusing. I typed the whole thing with just my left hand, as my right hand was black from sorting through 20 year old magazines

OKAY does the new EPM with the blue follower now too, NSN: 1005-01-630-9508. As of 2018ish

Magpul followers were/are only utilized on their commercial magazines. They are currently on their 5 generation of USGI mag......nearly 46 years, longer than anyone making 30rd. AR mags.

They started as aluminum followers for a very short time, then went to black, then to the GI green (mint green in color), followed by the tan follower, and currently on the blue follower (not to be confused with their vibrant blue commercial follower used on their commercial E2 mags) for the EPM. Hope that helps.

You may know this already, but before the external markings that we’re all familiar with, many brands stamped the date of manufacturer on the inside of the magazine. I would suspect that several of the ones you listed as unmarked may actually have dates inside them. When I pick up used GI magazines, I disassemble and inspect them, clean and lube if needed, and on the old pre-ban ones, I shine a light inside them to check for a dated stamp (usually an inch or so up from the bottom of the mag).

I did not. If I ever pull that box down, or when I clean them and replace the springs and followers, I'll check again. Always good to learn something!

I'm not quite sure I would call those markings as a manufacture date. I've had some of my undated mags for longer than those letters and numbers would suggest. Unless it's stamped in some form of code. I have one mag that I know has been with me since July 1989 and inside it's stamped K5 on one side and 05 on the other.

Here are three examples - all Okay mags with no markings on the outside of the mag, just Okay baseplates with the older style font. I’m not sure that the number closest to the bottom of the mag is the month, because the format seems to be inconsistent. The number behind / above it is the year of manufacture though - 86, 87, and 91 in these examples. On all of these, the year is stamped on both sides but the number below varies (the ‘91 has “K3” in that location on the other side). The internal date stamp is a recognized way of identifying ore-ban mags, but in Massachusetts, the only ban state that still recognizes pre-ban, they are less desirable than externally dated mags.

91:

Attached File


87 (maybe 03-87):

Attached File


86 (maybe 06-86; very hard to make out, looks like a light stamp, also inverted relative to the others):

Attached File

Scout, I  will continue looking at the rest of my undated OKAYs tonight, but the 3 I opened up last night only had the K/O codes. The adventure lines and sanchez mags didn't have anything in them but dust.

I have 6 black follower Okays, one of them the early external dated mag in the list above. The balance of the 10 total predates are Adventure Line and Sanchez. Of the 5 Okays with no external markings, three have only the K/0 codes, the other 2 have have dates of 86 and 91. Should I add the internally dated mags to the list above, in a separate category? And it would be nice to know if the K/O code is the month. I have one with K/O11. If one shows up with anything over 12 we can rule it out, but I'm wondering why one side with a K and the other with a O unless it was something done when the aluminum halves were stamped from the sheet to keep the different sides separate, which would make sense being that one side would need to be a little wider in the flat form.

I've owned at least 50 black follower mags over the years and sold all but the 10 I have. I'm wishing I had kept them now.

I'm really surprised there haven't been more green follower mags posted up.

Went through some of my magazines yesterday. Most are OKay mags 33710, dates from 8/03 to 11/11. The 11/11 have the tan follower. Found several black follower FN made mags, along with some black and green follower Colt mags.

If I can find a photo hosting site, Ill post some photos.

Colt Mag catch side green followers


Colt base plates two on the left are green followers, 2 on the right have black followers


FN all have black followers, no side wall markings

How does Massachusetts handle completely undated mags?  I regularly find aluminum mags from the old known GI makers w/ black followers & the anodizing rubbed to gold.  Those good to send to Mass?

I picked up a few surplus GI mags at a show yesterday. One of them is a tan follower Brownells mag dated 04-09. I hadn’t thought that the tan follower was introduced that early. I had always thought it showed up in the late ‘10 / early ‘11 timeframe.

Attached File


Attached File


Attached File


According to my brother, since the burden of proof is on the state to prove that a mag is post-ban, an undated mag is generally fine, as long as it’s not a brand / design that appeared after the ban went into effect (like PMAGs or a newer model of HK pistol, for example). However, people obviously prefer dated mags to avoid uncertainty.

Having said that, MA authorities rarely pursue charges related to magazines. It’s pretty much only used as an add-on charge for some other type of weapons violation.

Francis_Marion, do those black follower Colts have any external or internal date codes? Also, have you ever checked those FNs for internal date codes? I can add an internal listing if we get more examples. So far, we have 5 OKAYs with the internal codes, but no others. Those FNs might be from that 88 contract.

Think we were issued new Brownell's mags w/ tan followers for our mob to Iraq in late 10.

I have only one FN magazine - not sure where / when I got it, but the baseplate is identical to those in the photo above. It has no external or internal markings that I could find (looked inside with a light from both ends). I’d like to find a couple more to go with the FN A2 and A4 clones I’m working on, but they seem to be pretty rare on the surplus market.