Rebuilt cotton bandeliers for the M1 rifle are easy to find, but often without the items that belong in them. To complete such a bandelier, in addition to .30-06 bullets, you need six cardboard holders, a card with a number and a pin.

Those cardboard holders made it easier to insert the 8-pattern clip into the bandelier at the factory and better protected the bullets. In the left pocket was a card with information about where the ammunition came from, what type it was and the batch number.

Below are the four types of kits I offer. The only difference are the lot cards. The inserts are the same. The inserts must be folded and glued. A black safety pin is part of the kit. Please indicate which kit you would like.
 

Balset	AP-Kit	Repacked Ball kit	Repacked A.P. kit

Pink cards are common in repackaged sets. This repackaging occurred during the war. Previously made boxes containing twenty individual cartridges were repackaged in clips and placed in bandeliers. Bandeliers were a quicker and easier way to supply soldiers at the front with ammunition.

Either 28 bandeliers were put in a wooden box with metal inside (earlier), or five bandeliers were put in a large metal box, just like a large can. Two of these cans went into a wooden crate (starting in 1943).

A safety pin was attached to the sling to make it shorter.


The image above shows the front and back of the lot number cards.
The inserts are for the .30-06 en-bloc clips only. Slightly larger sleeves were used to fit two 5-round stripper clips for the '03 Springfield rifles.



Here are four real bandoliers with their corresponding inserts and labels. The inserts came in many different types of cardboard and construction. Some had a thumb recess, others did not. It is thought that the recess was only used with the 8-cartridge loaders, while the inserts for loaders with two times 5 cartridges did not need that recess.

It is important to note that the bandeliers are without print. Only at the end of the war did they stop using labels and put the information directly on the bandeliers. It is generally believed that these printed bandoleers were not used during the war.

Smaller inserts (with the text "8 RD" printed on them or embossed) that cover only the visible part of the cartridges are also post-war. War inserts cover the entire loader.
Bandeliers with chargers for 10 cartridges for the carbine are also considered postwar. These loaders were made for the 30 cartridge magazines that belonged to the M2 automatic carbine, which came into use at the very end of the war.

Additional Information;
The refill kit of an M1 Rifle Bandoleer consisted of the ammunition clips and cartridges placed in the compartments of the bandoleer. Each clip contained 8 rounds of .30-06 Springfield ammunition, the standard caliber for the M1 Garand.

Ammunition: The cartridges were of the .30-06 Springfield type, used by the U.S. Army for the M1 Garand and other weapons during World War II. The cartridges were packed in a metal clip, which allowed for faster reloading of the weapon.
Use of the Bandoleer: A soldier wearing the bandoleer had quick access to ammunition while holding the rifle in his hand. This was essential for soldiers' efficiency, especially during combat where quick reloads were crucial.