Trench Mount Question

[LA MITRAILLE]

Hello,
it is not too much my way to think, the collection of weapons it's good, but it looks like a little the collection of football players' stickers of my youth... To have a MG 08 on sledmount dating the beginning or the front war and one of the war end it is good; to have 5 of it, it looks like nothing! One, but the most beautifull, with original paint on the sledmount...that's enough! ( I am a liar, I have more than one )

Furthermore, I do not see where is the personal research, we block the photos of books as we possess weapons. In the field of weapons, I think that there are many books which were made; we know everything on it P 08, c96, Mauser 98, MG 08, MG 08/15 etc.; on the other hand the accessories of all these weapons are little known, and that's right that I find nice, it is the research for documents, for the knowledge then for the part... for exemple, I bought that on EB USA
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... K:MEWNX:IT

One of mines



It 's the muzzle cover of the kar 88 which closes with a small leather belt, how much did you see it? and how much Kar 88 have you ever seen?

It is it that I love in the collection of weapons, it is to find things which are not STILL in books, make work my brain. When I go to a gun show, all the world looks for a MG 08/15 and I buy the sling of the tank gewehr 1918 for some euros.....

Now in the United States, you are lucky to be able to try your machine guns it will need that one day I will come to Knob creek, to smel the smell of the powder! I tried some in past in France but it is forbidden!


Best regards
david

[bmg17a1]

Yes, I certainly agree 100% with you, David, and am myself completely addicted to everything related to MGs. I guess having a limited amount of $ and also somewhat limited ability and time to travel and look for stuff inspires me to focus on the MG hardware. Of course, the guns are the most interesting to me, but that's just my personall preference.
I really enjoy seeing the pics of everyone's collection of MGs and accessories and there are alwyas varioius things I'd very much enjoy having myself. Of course, once one has been involved with any collecting for many years, then one knows what is really rare and, especially not documented and it's just great to find some thing like that. We all know of things that just can't be found, or obtained for our collections. I have a long list!!
Finding rare examples of MGs and MG realted items and parts is still a great thrill for me, and every once in a while some accessory or part that I hadn't seen or heard of before.
US MG owners as resources for new and interesting information about MGs is relatively recent, really only happening since the end of WWII. While there was interest in collecting MGs from WWI on, and some growth in the fifties and sixties, the hobby really took off in the late seventies and early eighties in the US. I got hooked in 1953, mostly from seeing MGs in movies and then in museums and then from advertisements in gun magazines for DEWAT MGs. I had to buy a few of those!
There is a great deal yet to be discovered andlearned about MGs, of course, and one of the most interesting results of all the experience with MGs accumulated by US owners of MGs is that a lot of the incorrect and erroneous information printed by the old MG authors and "experts" is being revised, based on actual hands-on experience. For so many years, only MG manufacturers, politicians, firearms 'experts', military and museum personnel, and "authorized" personnel etc really had any access to MGs, and often the writers never handled, maintained, repaired or fired the MGs about which they were writing.Add in the poliltics of the MG industry and military use, whicih also heavily influenced what was written about, there really has never been any way to really evaluate and understand what was true and what wasn't. I find the 'democratic' leveling based on private MG ownership to be incredibly productive and valuable because it leads to so much more objective, factual and useful information about MGs and their function. The kind of documentation that exists for, let's use Lugers as an example, is astounding, but the restrictions on MGs in so many countries has left their documentation sadly lacking in so many ways.
Now that we have the internet, collections such as yours are available for those of us who might never have an opportunity to see such treasures, and also to be able to ask questions and converse. Access to all these wonderful resources can hardly be improved and as time goes by so much more will be revealed.

[IMBLITZVT]

I must admit, that I tend to only collect firearms, not the accessories. I like to shoot and I have always put this first and above anything else. So I don't have a lot of accessories for most guns. I shoot shotguns, 22s, bolt rifles, semis like the AK and FAL, SMGs, MGs, pistols and even black powder pistols and rifles. There are few guns I don't like to shoot or own. I have a rule in my collection... no non firing guns. So if there is something in my collection, I mean to shoot it sooner or later or it gets sold! I don't have new in the box guns and I don't care if its super rare or gold engraved, if I own it, it will get shot!

So collecting is pretty different here in the US. If I was in France, I would not own a shot gun, 22s or black powder gun as my interests in them is only in shooting. I probably would not own 75% of the guns currently own. Collecting is great but seeing a gun and shooting a gun are two very different things! I kind of like the difference in looking at a car and driving it.

Now please don't get me wrong David, I love your collection or maybe the better term is museum! The German Maxims are the only guns that I really plan on collecting accessories for. However there is only so much money and ammo costs a ton! Usually $0.20 to $0.50 a round. Now think about 550-900 rounds a minute shooting! The guns often are much cheaper then the ammo you will shoot through it. So I have made accesories come in 3rd, to guns and ammo. I would love more but just can't afford them so I am decided I will only buy ones I really like and/or ones at really good prices. I don't know if I will ever spend the money on a Maxim Blank fire adaptor but I will put out cash right now for certain accessories!

David, You must really be careful when you come! Once you get here and shoot the guns, you might not be able to go home! I suggest you make plans to come now while the price of the $ is low compared to the Euro! Right now you can buy 1/3 more bullets!

[jmann]

Ahh, Knob Creek. I once showed someone this picture of my vickers that had been on the line for about 7 hours at this point. They asked why my vickers tripod had such a short rear leg. I explained the leg is not short, the brass is that deep. The maxims throw it out in front so you only have to use the leaf rake to knock the piles down when there becomes a danger of hitting them with your projectiles. After a few shoots at knob creek, accessories do become less important than ammo.

[LA MITRAILLE]

In france, you can own and shoot with all you want, war guns or not; exept :

Machine guns
Machine pistol
Flamenthrower
Mortar
artillery.......they must be deactivated!

After, when we find a machine gun alive for example, we have to send it to a body which is going to deactivated it ...... the forbidden parts are the lock and the barrel.





They put a plug (AN with a crown wich means deactivated Gun) on the barrel, the lock and the body of the machine gun and give us a certificate (that there is for a mg dreyse).


Consequently, I find that my machine guns are protected because it is not difficult if I wanted it on , to change the mechanics by a living being , the deactivated are very clean!

I'll come in knoob creek one time, it's sure......i think that you are lucky in USA to be abble to make noises!
I came one time, few month after the attack in new-york , to visit the show of show and the gun show of louisville; it was fantastic, beautifull remenber!

Regards
david