www.MG42.us

I got a notice from Sportsmans Guide this morning that the MG42/34 Drums that have been on backorder have shipped, and will arrive Monday! Do many of you guys have any on order? If so, post some info on them and photos if possible so we can determine IF they are post war or Yugo reworks.

Will do as soon as I get mine. Good to here they are shipping.

I went to their site to order a few and it was posted that they won't be in until Feb. 28. I wonder if they are just covering the backorders first.

smoogle,

You may have a good point that they are covering their "rears" and shipping the backorders, then see how many they have left????????

As I stated, mine is due to arrive Monday, but I found out late yesterday afternoon that I will be out of town until Thursday. I will post a description of mine and a photo as soon as possible. Maybe others that have them on backorder will post the condition and a photo. I still feel they are WWII German, but the truth will be know shortly.

Received my back order from Sportsmans last night. They are dark green over dark grey over tan paint. Inside is solid dark red and they are in good-very good condition.

glad to hear they are finally shipping, I have a couple on back order for months.

I would like to know about the drums, how do they work? What drums do you need for a 8MM 42? and how do they fasten on to the gun? I wanted to get a drum from RTG Parts but he said the ones that he sells are for a MG3 and I would need a MG3 feed tray and would have to change my gun over to 308, I want to stay with 8 MM What do I need to purchase? Thanks in advance. Harry.

Also what is the purpose of the drum? is this just to keep the belt out of the dirt? Is it really necessary? Is this a big expence for the Cool factor? Could someone explain the principle of the drum? Thanks Harry

harry the 8mm gun uses a 50 round drum, it clips to the feedtray lips, it is an empty container that holds 1 50 round ammo belt, they start at $40, for the mg3 in 308 there is a plastic drum same deal as above, if you look you will find quite a few pics on this site, the 8mm drums fit the mg34 and 42

It is also sometimes called Assault Drum, it is used when the machinegun is in LMG role and it provides moblity -so the gunner does not have to move with a belt dragging somewhere or another person with an ammo box behind him. It is also a must when the gun is in AA role on AA tripod so the belt does not hang all the way down to the ground. It can't be mounted when the gun is on tripod.
The history of the drum went way back to the Maxim 08/15. There is no spring inside this type of drum, just the belt rolled up. For the belt fed gun to maintain mobility, this type of drum seems to be the best solution.

Well guys, I got home last night and my Drums had arrived! I wiped some of the oil off them and as I speculated, they are definelty WWII German Drums! Even under the paint job, I saw the manufacturer's code on the lid..."ddf". I did not have time to look it up, but will do that tonight or tomorrow.

My drum was originally Ordnance Tan, with a coat of Olive Drab color paint over the Tan. The inside still has the Red Primer paint. I was wondering if these were re-painted in WWII or by Post War Germany? The Green color is awfully close to the color on the post war Tripods! At least they are not the "yucky" Yugo Green, LOL.

This is an awfully good buy and I think I should have bought some more. My evil "want to buy more stuff" side is coming out again, and I know I have plenty of them. You guys that need some Drums should get in on this and buy them all before I buy more, LOL!

Edit - Oh Yea....what codes did your Drums have on them?