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US M7 bayonet.......53 years of US and Foreign Military Service


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Hello to all of the Forum members and visitors. I am William Humes and I am an avid collector of M7 bayonets. Once I get the hang of posting pics I will be able to show you some of the rarest M7s that are still out there to be had. Last year I saw an early Colt marked M7 on ebay that sold for $5500.00. That was quit a hefty price for a bayonet that alot of collectors aren't really interested in. I started collecting M7s about 20 years ago and thought my collection would be filled in a couple years. Nothing has been further from the truth. Every year I am amazed at the various types and variations that are out there that don't appear in any book on the subject. Just as with the Imperial Colts that I posted two posts on yesterday. The association between the US Military and Colt in the early days of the AR-15 and M-16 led to bayonets being produced not for USGI contracts but by contracts with Colt. This has lead to a very confusing start to the M7. Brown handle Colt-Armalite, green handled Colt-Armalite, black and green handle Colt-Armalites that are two piece handles held on by 2 brass rivets, and the confusion as to whether Imperial and Milpar had the only contracts with Colt to produce the 1st Colt standard M7 bayonets that were of the type that the military would eventually give government contracts for to BOC, FZR, GEN CUT, CONETTA, ONTARIO, and Imperial and Milpar. We can discuss the Product Improved Ranger tested M7, the so called Sniper leather handled version, the US contract Eickhorn made half crossguard Haitian M7s that are unusual in that they have a Colt stamped blade but on the reverse side of the blade each bayonet had a serial number and on the crossguard ring it is stamped Made in W Germany, and whether TAC made M7s are a US made M7. So I hope if you have any questions we can start a conversation dealing with the M7.

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Hey Bill, welcome to the forum. I'd say something snarky but the other members here might not understand. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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Great to see you still have your sense of humor Bill. I hope that means you are feeling better every day. And I will not respond to who has a black handle Colt with rivets.....but we know it's you. Good to hear from you.

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Thanks for all your research. We need your input. Not enough people know about these variations of the M7. When is your CD of M7 bayonets coming out? ;)

Marv

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Marv....I actually am compiling my research and items together to either do a book or a CD. Maybe now that M7s are picking up in price and the really good ones on the market are drying up and becoming harder to find more people will become interested in collecting them. Considering that these bayonets have been produced from 1961 thru 2014 and still in service worldwide and still being produced is a testimony to their durability and reliability.

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Bill, I will certainly look forward to your book or CD. I freely admit that my knowledge of the pre-Milpar 1964 contract is very limited and mostly based on your previous writings.

 

From the advice given me by several sources, a book is the best way to go as it seems that CDs are regularly copied and resold. There are ways to make a CD difficult to recopy but I have been told that someone with a fair knowledge of computers can circumvent the system.

 

That said, even a book is not hard to duplicate. Shortly after my book first came out I was given the information that a person in the midwest had torn a copy apart and photocopied the pages and was selling it at some of the shows. We managed to stop him, but over the years I have found others doing the same thing. Recently I found out that someone on the west coast had scanned the book and converted the pages to .pdf and was selling it on CD.

 

I converted my book to .pdf awhile back also, and have redone my Bayonet Points articles in the same format so I can carry them on a tablet to what few shows I still go to, or search the information quickly if I see something on eBay or elsewhere on the internet. Saves quite a bit of time and allows me to quickly add or correct information as I learn something new.

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Gary.....thank you so much for your input and comments. I am basically computer illiterate and have leaned towards doing a book. Your input brought out some very good points and I appreciate that. When I first got into collecting your book was an essential reference that was used on a daily basis. In fact you book has been used so much over the years I am on my 3rd copy. One day I do hope to meet you face to face and have a great bayonet conversation. Until then Gary your input to my posts are always looked forward to and greatly appreciated.

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Hello...and welcome to this fine forum! Given your area of expertise, may I invite your comments on the M7 pictured below please? I'm not a bayonet collector...it's just a part of one of my VN rigs. I've probably had it for 20 years or more, just attached to an E-tool cover for display purposes. Thank you.

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I should say it's pretty much unused. It has all of its parkerizing apart from where it's lightly rubbed on the throat of the scabbard when being extracted and put back in again.

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Your BOC M7 is definitely a Vietnam era military bayonet. The maker is Bauer Ordnance Corporation of Detroit, Michigan who produced and delivered to Rock Island Arsenal 1, 835, 392 in fiscal year 1969 according to Gary Cunningham. The scabbard marked TWB on the throat is The Working Blind of Philadelphia, Pa. For a Vietnam display you have a bayonet that is right for that position in your display.

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Your BOC M7 is definitely a Vietnam era military bayonet. The maker is Bauer Ordnance Corporation of Detroit, Michigan who produced and delivered to Rock Island Arsenal 1, 835, 392 in fiscal year 1969 according to Gary Cunningham. The scabbard marked TWB on the throat is The Working Blind of Philadelphia, Pa. For a Vietnam display you have a bayonet that is right for that position in your display.

 

Roger that...thank you very much!

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I am not just or this forum to answer questions pertaining to M7s, which by the way I am always willing to do. I also know there are alot of very big collectors and experts in this field that maybe can help me find some answers to some questions I have. In my collection I have three different varieties of a M7 that is simply marked TAC USM7 on the crossguard. One has a two piece black handle which allegedly was found in a US Army armory at Fort Hood , Texas. The other two have tan handles, one with a normal M7 blade and the other with a serrated blade. All three varieties have the 90 degree back cut on the blade. My question is who the manufacturer of the TAC M7 is. Are they American made and if so when and where. Does anyone else have a TAC M7 or have you seen one. They are very well made bayonets. As previously stated once I get set up to send pics with my posts I will. I know it is always better to see pics with this type of discussion.

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Bill I just knew you would have one. Have you ever figured out who the manufacturer is? I wasn't that concerned with the one in my collection until I can across the two tan versions. They are well made but when I got the serrated blade version I figured they were commercially made. Then the armorer at Ft Hood said he found a black handled TAC in his inventory in his armory. We both think a soldier lost his M7 and simply replaced it with the TAC. I still am very curious who the manufacturer is. They don't appear to be that common.

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And all three varieties of my TAC M7s have M-10 scabbards. Black with the black handle version and tan with the two tan versions.

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I have never seen one of the bayonets and have absolutely no idea if this is the correct company or if this is a ripoff commercial item.

 

However, according to an official government source, the code TAC was assigned to:

 

TAC

CAGE: 4M356 (Note: old number, company has been renamed and new number assigned)

TALLEY IND INC

TALLEY DEFENSE SYSTEMS INC
4551 MCKELLIPS ROAD
P.O. BOX 920
MESA, AZ 85201

 

Possibly someone would like to contact them and see if they would have any information. It appears that they currently work on rockets and propellants, but may have done some bayonets in the past.

 

This is their current address and website: http://www.nammo.com/Locations/USA/Nammo-Talley--Mesa/

 

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Frank Trzaska

Hello Mr Humes and welcome to the forum! Glad to see you here where there are some serious students of bayonets hanging out.

 

Good to see you last weekend in Baltimore and that was a super Kick rump display you put out. For those of you who have never seen one of Bill's displays it is amazing what you can find in his collection of the "common M7"! Well done my friend.

 

All the best

Frank Trzaska

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I have to echo what Frank said. Bill and his brother John put on top notch, comprehensive displays. I wish we had more like theirs at the SABC annual meetings.

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Frank and Bill....thanks for the very nice accolades you give our displays. Believe it or not we are already in the planning stages for the SABC meeting next year. We also like to do at least one display at the Allentown Forks of the Delaware show yearly. I am very proud of my collection and truly enjoy displaying my various M7s and talking to people about them. There is something special about having the item right there so people can pick them up and actually get a close view of them that photos just can't do justice to. We truly put alot of planning into each and every display and never repeat the same theme.....especially with the SABC meetings. When you have collectors from around the world get together you have to capture their attention. And although you weren't there this year Bill we certainly had you in mind with our display because we always look forward to your comments and critique of what we bring. This year it was rare and unique M7s and I truly think you would have enjoyed it. This forum is awesome......to think that Gary, Frank and Bill are giving me input and helpful comments is just great. These three gentlemen were very instrumental in me continuing to strive for the best collection possible and putting it out for other collectors to enjoy. It is people like them that give new collectors incentive, ambition and drive and that I thank all three of them for.

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Let me throw this out for discussion. Is it me or are there more FZRs showing up on Ebay recently. It seems like as soon as one is sold another one is posted. Last year a collector I know got two FZRs off of Gunbroker for $40.00 a piece. When I was looking for one they couldn't be found. My first one I got from Frank and it was in near new condition. In fact most of the ones I have seen are near mint condition. This worried me for awhile until I ran across a military used example. I got it for $35.00 on Ebay from an Operation Desert Storm US Marine veteran that had carried it while he was deployed. He engraved his name and rank and dates of service on the blade and scabbard along with his girlfriends name. It was listed as an FR7 and I was the only bidder. After winning it and finding out the story behind it from the veteran I explained to him exactly what he had and offered to cancel my purchase so he could list it as a FZR and he refused. I offered to pay him more than the $35.00 purchase price and he again refused. I sent him $135.00 and he sent me $100.00 back. He restored my faith in humanity and Ebay sellers. He simply said a deal is a deal. So with that purchase it showed FZRs were still in military use into the 1990s. So I have this one and the one I got off Frank and I picked up one that is worn but probably not from military use. Why? Because this is an obvious factory mistake that got passed quality control with the pommel reversed so there is absolutely no way this bayonet could be mounted on a rifle. Just some information for thought and conversation.

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Very much welcome and appreciate your work on the M7 bayonet. The great variety of both government and commercial contract M7 bayonets makes them most interesting. Eagerly awaiting your publication.

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