Now is the question, did they still mark all parts in the late 1944 with eagles? We know the barrel, feeding tray, bipod and buttstock are fake and its missing the i-sight. Can anyone see other parts that are postwar?
Late war mg42
Late war mg42
My friend has bought himself a mg42, now he wants to know wat is real and what is not. The weapon seems to be reused after the war by the bundeswehr.
Now is the question, did they still mark all parts in the late 1944 with eagles? We know the barrel, feeding tray, bipod and buttstock are fake and its missing the i-sight. Can anyone see other parts that are postwar?
Now is the question, did they still mark all parts in the late 1944 with eagles? We know the barrel, feeding tray, bipod and buttstock are fake and its missing the i-sight. Can anyone see other parts that are postwar?
Re: Late war mg42
I don't see any fake parts on there......what do you mean by fake? What is an i sight?
There may be some post war parts but its not always easy to tell. Unless they are marked with the later part numbers used by the west German army its not always easy to tell. The fact that the Bundeswehr used wartime parts as well makes it even tougher. It looks like an MG42 that has seen some use by either the West German or the Austrian Army post war. The BH eagle on the rear of the receiver shows that. It also looks like the gun has been refinished at least once but its not always easy to tell from pictures. All in all if the gun is shooting well (make sure you use the bolt catch always) than its an MG42 and who cares about eagles and stamps. If you (or your friend) bought it as a collector piece its kind of at the bottom end of appearance for that so why worry about the rest. Not all parts were stamped throughout the war not just in the last year or so. The 42 was one of the few German guns that didn't have serial numbers, inspector proofs and makers marks on every single piece. Lots of parts were never marked or marked sporadically. If you want real detail info buy Folke Myrvangs book on the MG34/MG42- the Universal Machinegun. Its worth whatever it costs.
Frank
There may be some post war parts but its not always easy to tell. Unless they are marked with the later part numbers used by the west German army its not always easy to tell. The fact that the Bundeswehr used wartime parts as well makes it even tougher. It looks like an MG42 that has seen some use by either the West German or the Austrian Army post war. The BH eagle on the rear of the receiver shows that. It also looks like the gun has been refinished at least once but its not always easy to tell from pictures. All in all if the gun is shooting well (make sure you use the bolt catch always) than its an MG42 and who cares about eagles and stamps. If you (or your friend) bought it as a collector piece its kind of at the bottom end of appearance for that so why worry about the rest. Not all parts were stamped throughout the war not just in the last year or so. The 42 was one of the few German guns that didn't have serial numbers, inspector proofs and makers marks on every single piece. Lots of parts were never marked or marked sporadically. If you want real detail info buy Folke Myrvangs book on the MG34/MG42- the Universal Machinegun. Its worth whatever it costs.
Frank
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Re: Late war mg42
You'll have a hard time shooting the gun with no extractor in the bolt head. It looks like an early, unchromed bolt head, so besides taking the harder to find square extractor and retainer, it's way too old to be shooting anyway. Put an M53 or MG3 bolt in it. They don't shatter from age.
The steel just behind the muzzle, on top in front of the rivets forward of the stock, and the D in the D.F. at the left rear on the side.... is this gun a reweld? Mauser usually had better weld quality than that.
The feed tray is post war, as it doesn't have the ears to attach a drum. The stock is post war. Wartime bakelite stocks don't have the flat circular area around the bolt head. I keep the same post war stock on my 42. Looks great.
If by I sight you mean the AA sight that mounts in the rear ramp sight fixture, they're available on ebay sometimes. It can be added with no difficulty. Expect to pay $125-$150.
Recommendations:
Don't shoot a wartime bolt. It's 70 years old (steel crystalizes with age and can shatter), and you don't know if the wartime supply of nickel or other particulars required for proper steel composition were properly done, or if the slave labor screwed something up that day on purpose.
Don't shoot it without the bolt catch. It's embarrassing to have someone pick the brass shrapnel out of your arm.
Check the recuperator to be sure the springs haven't taken a set (been permanently compressed by age). Don't shoot 40+ year old surplus ammo. You wouldn't siphon gas at the junk yard for your Mercedes, would you?
Old ammo can blow up the gun just with a slight hangfire. It's not worth the chance, just to save a dime on a cartridge.
Get some help/advice from someone with experience with the 42 when your friend takes it out shooting. It saves a lot of problems. It's not your average MG.
The steel just behind the muzzle, on top in front of the rivets forward of the stock, and the D in the D.F. at the left rear on the side.... is this gun a reweld? Mauser usually had better weld quality than that.
The feed tray is post war, as it doesn't have the ears to attach a drum. The stock is post war. Wartime bakelite stocks don't have the flat circular area around the bolt head. I keep the same post war stock on my 42. Looks great.
If by I sight you mean the AA sight that mounts in the rear ramp sight fixture, they're available on ebay sometimes. It can be added with no difficulty. Expect to pay $125-$150.
Recommendations:
Don't shoot a wartime bolt. It's 70 years old (steel crystalizes with age and can shatter), and you don't know if the wartime supply of nickel or other particulars required for proper steel composition were properly done, or if the slave labor screwed something up that day on purpose.
Don't shoot it without the bolt catch. It's embarrassing to have someone pick the brass shrapnel out of your arm.
Check the recuperator to be sure the springs haven't taken a set (been permanently compressed by age). Don't shoot 40+ year old surplus ammo. You wouldn't siphon gas at the junk yard for your Mercedes, would you?
Old ammo can blow up the gun just with a slight hangfire. It's not worth the chance, just to save a dime on a cartridge.
Get some help/advice from someone with experience with the 42 when your friend takes it out shooting. It saves a lot of problems. It's not your average MG.