Welcome Back

[MarkFinneran]

Hello chaps - I have missed you all and will now try and catch up on the threads!
I am back in UK from Belgium (sadly) but have brought back some nice pieces after years of research and trades/sales etc. I will share with you in due course.
Just quickly glancing through the threads I see there cannot be much left to buy in the USA after the finds of the wonderful site members!

Mark

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Welcome back!

Got any pics of the stuff you found?

[cobra]

Mark, Glad to see that you have returned. The forum members have not even scratched the surface of relics hidden here in the STATES. Every day I and friends find items that will never show up at gun and war relic shows. Just this past month we have located three more MG-08 guns and mounts that have been stored away. This country abounds in pieces brought back by our Government and our soldiers and many are in attics and cellers. Advertising for these items don,t always seem to help but talking to friends and former soldiers as we have brings many items out in the open. We also located many silver pieces of Eve Braun in an antique furniture store that was in an old desk. Keep looking. Cobra

[dwmmg08]

Welcome back Mark!

I hope you still have your contacts back in Belgium, but given the UK's current sad state of affairs given our hobby, I'm sure you'll wish you stayed there! Ever thought of just moving over here? I'm sure you'd be more than welcome, we'd love to have you!

Glad to hear you're still ok and upright. Yes, the members here have found some wonderful things, and are working hard to do the best we can to help increase the knowledge and understanding we have of our rare guns, and WWI and WWII. I hope you find some neat new things!!!

Yes, thanks to the US laws, and our government back in WWI, I think there may be more MG08"s and 08/15's over here in good condition than in any country in Europe! Of course, the rare (or any) accessories are even harder to find over here than in Europe. It would appear that they kept everything that they were brought over just as guns, without their took kits, or anything at all on that.

Welcome back man!!!! Send more pictures!

Glen

[www.Prussia.us]

Mark,

I thought you had run off with the gypsies good you have you back

[MarkFinneran]

Thanks for welcome. Some gypsy ladies are very pretty but alas absence not so exotic.
Items obtained are 08/15 wooden training MG, skeleton 08 and 08/15, sled mount, AA pole/extensions and water jacket clamps, extra locks, 2 odd 08 feedblocks I suppose converted for metal link (don't require these as presumably post WWI), and a few other nice items. Everything from top nothch source so all guaranteed.
I will be looking to trade where possible the non-Great War items for Imperial pieces.

As an aside, as sadly a non firer, I do not need working locks so please you guys don't throw away your worn out examples, we can do some business there. I am also keen to investigate how I can 'replace' locks/feedblocks with matching numbers. In the MG08 and 08/15 world all of us must have mis-matched locks/feedblocks in addition to matching, and it may be that some swopping could also take place there. Nice to have fully matching serial numbers, live firing or not!

VMT

Mark

[IMBLITZVT]

Mark, Nice to have you back!

I would be very interested in one of those MG08 feedblocks converted to fire links. Since thats a post war item, I figure you will probably be looking to trade/sell. Please send me pictures of what you have to sell/trade to phiteshe@vt.edu I may be able to help you out with the locks too!

We must see some sled pictures and pictures of all the other good items.

Matt

[dwmmg08]

Hi Mark!!!

I'd be interested in the feedblocks converted for the metal belts as well, as well as anything else you'd be willing to sell, give me a try! Please do send pictures here also. Actually, I'm hoping you'll post pictures of all that stuff, a wooden training 08/15??? Do tell, that's really different! Did you ever get some of the great accessories that you showed there?

On the locks, what are your deact rules over there? Can you accept lockfaces which have broken??? I've got one that literally broke off the extractor grooves on both sides of the lock, right where the cartridge sits in the chamber, so obviously won't work as a shooter. I seem to recall that part of the deact stuff was to grind off the grooves on the face of the lock anyway???

It's good to have you back, welcome back!

[dwmmg08]

I am also keen to investigate how I can 'replace' locks/feedblocks with matching numbers. In the MG08 and 08/15 world all of us must have mis-matched locks/feedblocks in addition to matching, and it may be that some swopping could also take place there. Nice to have fully matching serial numbers, live firing or not!
Mark

I've thought of that as well, the community that has these things and is interested isn't really that big, perhaps if we all listed the locks we've got on a spreadsheet somewhere, I think there's a good chance we'd start to see a few matches come up for the few guns that have survived. It wouldn't help everyone, but a bunch of the 08/15's and 08's that came from Interarmco, for example 50 years ago or so, apparently had matching locks that were sent all together in a seperate box, to comply with the dewat regs at the time. Those locks were later sold seperately, and a few at least could conceivably be matched up with their guns now? That would be really cool to see, but it would have been totally impractical to do 60 or even 10 years ago. It could be done pretty easily now, as an arm of this website or something.

Glen

[JBaum]

Sorry if anyone resents this as off subject, but this is the best spot to not bore everyone else with MG08 news.

I've just finished a 1934 manual "The Shooting Stands for the M.G. 08". 59 pages. Details on my website.

[MarkFinneran]

Wooden trg guns have with them their history. Brought onto Belgian Army 'stock' in 1919 after capture. The report does not say whether they are WWI German 'dummy' guns for deception purposes or trg wpns but it is plainly clear to me that these are for MG drills. They have cycling action and are able to perform loads/unloads. They are also marked as if for MG school purposes. As for the 'dummy' gun argument I have not heard of such tactics but this of course does not rule it out. If I were a German infantryman I for one would not be happy with dummy wooden guns around my dug in position attracting such unnecessary attention!
I will arrange photos asap.
The rest of the kit is superb and all correct and ty for interest - I will contact once all photographed and logged. Pse be aware though I am primarily looking for gaps in the German MG display so hopefully we can assist each other.
Glad also 'serial number' seems welcome - I will list my holdings soon.
VMT
Mark

[dwmmg08]

Glad to see you back Mark! I will be very interested to see your training gun, that's something I hadn't thought of, are they weighted like the real thing???

Love to see the collection! I hope I didn't sound like a jerk on inviting you to move over, you are always welcome of course, but I was just being playful. I hope you can make it across the pond, though, and meet up with us sometime for a shoot, like we were talking about! I think that would be a blast, and it would be fun to have all of us meet up some time. If we time it right, we might match up with a shoot like OFASTS or Knob? That could be dangerous to your pocketbook, though!

Glen

[MarkFinneran]

Glen no - you sounded and do sound quite normal!!
And again I thank you and the rest of the team for the invitation. I have yet to clear Summer period leave with my new boss but USA is my preferred location
and I have been saving too. so far I have $14.25 cents.

Mark

[dwmmg08]

Glen no - you sounded and do sound quite normal!!
And again I thank you and the rest of the team for the invitation. I have yet to clear Summer period leave with my new boss but USA is my preferred location
and I have been saving too. so far I have $14.25 cents.

Mark

Thank goodness! I'm glad!

Now you need to work on the visit! We'd love to see you, but unless the Dollar gets a LOT better you'll need more..

Love to hear about what you've got, stay in touch!