MG34 Parts Manufacture I.D. and a warning.

[untenbeschuss]

Hello and thanks for taking time to read this.
I joined the MG42.US forum a couple months back, I'm a novice when it comes the the MG's 34 and 42, but a lifetime of fascination with the type has lead me to desiring one of my own, a semi-auto. To that end, I posted in a couple of places, including Sturmgewehr, and have been approached by individuals who I believe were scamming me, one here in the U.S, and one in the UK. I didn't bite, but as part of this post, i thought I'd pass along a caution about posting for parts wanted.

Now, the below pics are from a different seller, here in the U.S. who is offering me (2) kits, and has provided several pics, per my request of individual parts, below are a few of them. My question here is, the seller has had these kits for some time, and is not familiar or can't remember about the manufacture of the kits, so can other forum members tell me something about the country(s) of origin? Yes, the one photo of the buttstock clearly shows a waffenamt, but parts without finish, have me puzzled.

I have requested photos of any proofmarks, I just thought I'd post so see if anyone can I.D. the kits from the pics already sent to me.

As always, thank you for helpful information.

[Tommygunn]

What exactly are your concerns?
There are a couple of things which are immediately apparent. First, is that the one barrel shroud has a Czech bipod. If I remember rightly, after the war, the Czechs outfitted their surplus MG34 parts with the ZB bipod before they were sold onto the Israelis. That shroud will probably have Israeli proof marks next to the serial number by the rear sight.

The other thing is the stock on my 'dot' coded MG34 only had a faint Eagle, if I remember correctly and of course it may not match the shroud, but it certainly didn't have a maker's code or a year stamp. I have also just looked up 'oxb' and couldn't find any trace of the code, granted my A to Z listing of codes is somewhat old now.

Could you elaborate on the parts kit from the UK? I won't say much right now but that has the potential to be highly illegal under UK laws.
What exactly is he selling? Pressure bearing parts or just bipod, stock etc?

Tom.

[JBaum]

You've shown us pictures, but didn't ask a question or tell us your concerns.

As the MG34 was only made by the Germans, these parts are German manufacture, except for the funky bipod, and perhaps the barrel. .308 barrels were made post war for the 34, if it is .308. Receivers were all made by the Germans. As the war ended, so did production of the MG34.

[Tommygunn]

John,
In case there was a misunderstanding I was refering to MG34's made at the Brno plant (dot) in the Czech Republic while under German occupation.

Tom.

[JBaum]

John,
In case there was a misunderstanding I was refering to MG34's made at the Brno plant (dot) in the Czech Republic while under German occupation.

Tom.

Not a problem - I still consider those to be German made. There's nothing wrong with a dot gun.

[untenbeschuss]

Thanks for the responses guys, that'll learn me to post right before going to bed. There were two things I was trying to communicate, first, the warning/caution about being approached online in response to my advert for a parts kit, by people who no doubt wanted me to send them money with no intent of sending me a parts kit in return.

Second, regards the kits being proffered to me at this time, the bipod I knew was not German manufacture, the waffenamt stamped on the buttstock puzzled me, as did the lack of finsh on some of the parts, just trying to learn if any of the parts are aftermarket. Like I said, I am new to the MG34, and having been spooked a bit by the scammers, am being extra cautious I suppose, in wanting to know what I am buying. I am aware that after WW2, German equipment found it's way around the world, including Israel ironically.

Again, thanks for your responses, the seller is supposed to send me any photos of proofmarks he can see, and of a receiver section he has for sale as well.

[JBaum]

There's no harm done in asking, where ever you receive a reply, about who the guy is and if anyone has had good dealing with them. Sometimes the seller is 100% honest, sometimes a shameless thief.

Most often, you'll get exactly what was offered.

[untenbeschuss]

Picture of one of the barrel markings, the receiver section the seller has is from an MG42, so, he'll be listing that online soon, so he tells me.

What would the peened "B" indicate?