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MP40 grips


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It was a very good idea to grab some mags for the gun. Anything you can buy for around $100 is a good deal I think because without the mags you have a really cool paperweight. What other parts did you buy? The sling looks pretty salty. I am going to say that it is a good one. The refinish on that thing is really nice. It shines like a diamond in a goat's ass. Your 122 40 lower is very early production (1st series). I am lucky enough to own a 122 40 gun also and mine is 2460a (2nd series). Your lower came off of an MP38/40 transitional gun. The original receiver had a claw style cocking handle and the unmodified receiver (no front safety notch cut in receiver). It also had a square hook front site as well as an aluminum resting bar. How was the Creek?

Also, thanks for the info on the lower that is very interesting. Did most of the mismatching occur during recent time or did this take place at all during war time?

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Sure no probelm. My guess is that a lot of mismatching happened during the war. Parts would wear out and they would simply cannibalize other guns to make one functioning gun. This was either done in the field or some guns were sent back to the factory to be refurbished. My shooter gun has a mismatched slab side magwell on it eventhough the magwell should be ribbed. Sometimes parts just got damaged in the field I guess. Do you have a mag loader? I have an extra one advertised over on the sturmgewehr website. If you might be interested, let me know. I think you got a good deal on your mags at the Creek. $90 is a really good price. It was also a good idea to pick up a firing pin, ejector and extractor.

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Thats kind of what I figured. I guess I understand miss matched parts on a tube gun, but on a C&R with the main drivetrain matching didnt make sense to me other than maybe something got bent or broken and they had to go back to the depot to be repaired. I grabbed two loaders at KC, one repro and one original. Also grabbed a repro mag pouch set.
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MP40 mismatching didn't much happen during German service. This one, while nice looking, is a mismatched parts kit assembled post war. German troops were trained to keep serial numbered items together, and they did. There were armorer's spare parts, which were generally not serial numbered.

 

The MP40 was designed to be cheap to make and replace. They didn't undergo depot repairs as 98Ks did. If they did, no one's reported the presence of the markings usually associated with German small arms depot repairs. If damaged, MP40s were just thrown away and replaced.

 

I agree that refinishing sometimes does little harm. The damage comes from over buffing. There are artists on these boards who can do a fabulous refinishing job without damaging the original markings. PK is certainly one. I've been on the fence about having this done with my all matching bnz 41 MP40. The finish is almost completely gone, but it's original. These guns were hot blued, which was not a durable finish. Any MP40 that saw actual service use is in the same condition. From close up my gun looks like a bit of a beater, but it's never been disassembled past field strip, and the bore and internals are perfect. The matching bolt glides like butter.

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  • 1 month later...

To be honest with you, I would not be too upset about it. Some of the things that were said in his post do not even make sense. Do you really think a German soldier would throw away an MP40 because it had a broken firing pin??? That makes ZERO SENSE. Remember, Germans were and are very frugal. If a gun got damaged in the field, it would be sent either to the armorer in the field or back to the factory for repair, You should be proud of your gun. It is beautiful. In fact, I like your finish so much, I would even trade you my C&R MP40 which has a matte finish. I like the bright finish on yours and mine is the Amnesty Gun registered by Hank Willimas Jr. back in 1968 complete with a copy of the Amnesty Form signed by Hank personally!!! Take care, Haenelistklasse

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Well since its been I while with no further comment, I will say this. Real nice spending the first part of your response trashing my gun and spending the last part, and most of your response, explaining why yours is so much better.

 

Nobody trashed your gun. That was not my intent.

 

A German soldier would not throw away a broken but otherwise repairable MP40. He wouldn't have been authorized to do so. He'd turn it to his unit armorer for repair or replacement. The armorer would have maintained a stock of spare parts. I am saying that there was no arsenal rebuild program for the MP40, as there was for other weapons, such as the 98K.

 

German soldiers were required to keep the serial numbered parts of their weapons together, and for the most part, they did. Their small arms were hand fitted during assembly, which was why serial numbered parts were not casually interchanged. This was not the case with American small arms, which featured true parts interchangeability. The parts of the first Garands issued in 1936 will, for instance, fit the last M1s made in the mid 1950s, without modification or fitting.

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