MG42 Ammuntion

[Scuderia]

With the possible purchase of a transferable 42 my main concern is ammunition. I think most guys purchased the surplus Romanian or Yugo stuff which is corrosive but now nearly impossible to find. I had seen some Prvi Partizan 198gr. FMJ and wondered how well it will work in the 42? There is also the possibility of a .308 conversion but since this is 100% original German configuration from '44 I'd like to keep it that way. So that is my concern.

[man_am_boden]

Well you can keep all of your WW2 parts just dont use the ones that get switched out for .308. I think that if you are willing to pay that much for a great gun!(which i would if i had it) why do you want to run old crappy ammo that could possible malfunction or cause problems. Why not just run a modern ammo and its not corrosive. Plus you can find .308 surplus pretty cheap right now. I havent seen any good surplus ammo for the MGs on websites for a while aside from private sales on forums.

[42rocker]

For sure think about doing something so you can use good ammo. Bad - so so ammo seems to cause most of the problems that we see. Some of the folks reload their own ammo so they can have faith in their ammo. They sure don't save a lot of money reloading just have good ammo.
As far as switching from 8mm to .308 it's just trading out a few parts. Last time I shot, I started with 8mm then changed to .308 then went home and cleaned everything and put it away set up in the 8mm mode.
Main thing, good ammo that will not hurt your fa.

Later 42rocker

[Scuderia]

How is the Prvi Partizan 198gr. FMJ ammo, it's none corrosive but will it feed properly?

[man_am_boden]

I havent shot it in a FA gun but in my G43 it works like a champ! Its a bit pricey i think however as a reliable 8mm source i think its about as good as you are going to get. You could always buy a couple boxes oad up a belt and see how it does.

[flemgunner]

As long as you get FMJ the privi shoots great in 42's

[Scuderia]

How well does the 308 POF FMJ 147gr. work in the 308 conversion?

[Gulfstream4]

I have fired several thousand rounds of 308 POF with zero FTF.

[Scuderia]

I have fired several thousand rounds of 308 POF with zero FTF.

Roger that!!!! Wasn't sure about some of this surplus stuff as I know some will give you problems and you don't want that in this type of gun. If using steel cased ammo 8MM or 308 will it create more wear on parts than the brass cased ammo? Also, if using lacquer coated steel cased ammo does it give any problems like in some AR rifles?

[Scuderia]

Was the casing the Germans used during the war steel or brass?

[42rocker]

Steel

Later 42rocker

[Scuderia]

Anyone have experience with the Russian Silver Bear or Brown Bear 308 FMJ? I know that stuff can be a bit dirty when used in my AKM but was wondering in the 42 how it functions. I have a very long time till my 42 gets transferred so I figure I would brush up on the ammo available and see what works good. Thanks.

[42rocker]

Personally I want to be like JBaum.... Get a lot of re-loadable stuff then shoot and reload. Wait a second be like John... Ok, clear that up, like his ammo and reloading. He will be quick to tell you that ammo is the key in full auto. On semi auto then good ammo is important but not as much in FA. Think out of battery explosion in FA. That said I have bought a few boxes of non re-loadable good ammo to use as I obtain a supply of re-loadable 8mm and .308. Yes, I can shoot either.
Good Luck in finding good ammo.

Later 42rocker

[1fozziebear]

What is the concensus of the Iranian 8mm ammo. Price is decent.

[haak48]

What is the concensus of the Iranian 8mm ammo. Price is decent.

I tested samples from several cases for a distributer here in AZ. About 40% hang fires was the norm. I would avoid. JH