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Wtk: Why Aren't There Any Used Mg42 Or Mg34 Semi Autos For Sale?


The Moor
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Most of the time when I see a semi MG34 or MG42 the owner is working on it trying to get it to work as advertised. You would think there would be plenty to sell based on the words I have heard owners use against them at the range.
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Most of the time when I see a semi MG34 or MG42 the owner is working on it trying to get it to work as advertised. You would think there would be plenty to sell based on the words I have heard owners use against them at the range.

 

 

I have heard some of the same and one of them was a gentleman that I approached at a shooting range with an offer to buy. He not only wouldn't take what he had in the gun but said he wouldn't sell for more due do the collector potential of the gun.

 

He did get the gun to working before I left the range and on a tripod it was awesome (sounded like it shooting full auto but he was manipulating the fire control bar for each shot). That thing just kinda rocked with the springs in the tripod and kept on working through an entire belt.

 

I want one more than ever now. Not only for a live gun to display but because it appeared to be loads of fun to shoot from the tripod.

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He not only wouldn't take what he had in the gun but said he wouldn't sell for more due do the collector potential of the gun.

 

Sad to say but these semi auto conversions will never really have any true collector value.

 

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I have an XMG "upper" which mounts on my M-16 lower and runs great on full auto and semi-auto. See the XMG upper at www.brpguns.com The only drawback in Ohio is Ohio law which makes any semiautomatic gun, larger than .22 caliber, which can fire more than 31 shots in sucession a machinegun (even though gun is semi auto only) and therefore "Dangerous Ordnance" which requires an Ohio dangerous ordnance permit BEFORE you buy the upper for your semiauto lower. Thus for any belt fed semiauto in Ohio (greater than .22 caliber) you need the Ohio permit or you get felony time. Edited by hawksnest
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He not only wouldn't take what he had in the gun but said he wouldn't sell for more due do the collector potential of the gun.

 

Sad to say but these semi auto conversions will never really have any true collector value.

 

 

Maybe someone will read your post and decide to sell one. Right now I don't know of any MG34 semis for sale at any price other than a new price for the MG34 semi. No MG42 semis that I can locate for less than a mint.

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Try here, it is primarily a semi auto crowd, very few NFA owners participate on this site - http://www.mg42.us/

 

 

Lot of rambling on without a lot of information on complete guns, who makes em, what is available, etc. Talked to a dealer at a local gun show this weekend (who was displaying and selling some semi M1919A4s) who said he had a semi MG42 8mm made by brp. I asked how it functioned and he said that it functioned very well with an occasional hickup as with any belt fed mg. I asked if he would be interested in selling and he said he would for $5,500. He said that he paid ~ $4,200 for the gun new but said that brp is not making new ones anymore so he estimated that value to be at his price of $5.5k. Guess he really likes his MG42.

Edited by The Moor
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Lot of rambling on without a lot of information on complete guns, who makes em, what is available, etc. Talked to a dealer at a local gun show this weekend (who was displaying and selling some semi M1919A4s) who said he had a semi MG42 8mm made by brp. I asked how it functioned and he said that it functioned very well with an occasional hickup as with any belt fed mg. I asked if he would be interested in selling and he said he would for $5,500. He said that he paid ~ $4,200 for the gun new but said that brp is not making new ones anymore so he estimated that value to be at his price of $5.5k. Guess he really likes his MG42.

 

Except for meeting several very knowledgeable European collectors I found little on that forum to interest me as well. Most of the discussions had little to offer someone interested in serious collecting. They also had a tendency to run off owners of full autos, FAs did not fit into their scheme of things.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Lot of rambling on without a lot of information on complete guns, who makes em, what is available, etc. Talked to a dealer at a local gun show this weekend (who was displaying and selling some semi M1919A4s) who said he had a semi MG42 8mm made by brp. I asked how it functioned and he said that it functioned very well with an occasional hickup as with any belt fed mg. I asked if he would be interested in selling and he said he would for $5,500. He said that he paid ~ $4,200 for the gun new but said that brp is not making new ones anymore so he estimated that value to be at his price of $5.5k. Guess he really likes his MG42.

 

Except for meeting several very knowledgeable European collectors I found little on that forum to interest me as well. Most of the discussions had little to offer someone interested in serious collecting. They also had a tendency to run off owners of full autos, FAs did not fit into their scheme of things.

 

 

I'm a moderator on the MG42.us forum and a C&R full auto Mg-42 owner. We don't "run off" full auto owners. As for "serious collectors", if you are too "serious" thereby lacking a sense of humor, you would not appreciate our freindly banter anyway, and leave on your own accord. We like "not-so-serious collectors". If you want to learn something about the MG-34 or MG-42, you won't find a friendlier crowd than on MG42.us.

 

 

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I have 2 semi 34's a brp that works good and a home built that runs even better, here is a vid of the homebuilt 34:

 

http://projectguns.com/JCmg34video.html

 

I also have 2 home built 42's that run fine, here is another video:

 

http://projectguns.com/mg42video2.html

 

Ya just gotta know how to build them!!

 

here is a vid of one of my 1919's:

 

http://projectguns.com/1919fun.html

 

we will have a 34 and a couple of 42's for sale sometime in feb or march.

 

the thing most people don'y understand about these guns is that they are not like your typical mag fed semi auto. they are complex and require proper care and maintanence to run properly.

Edited by Pirate
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I have the real thing so I've probably got a different view point than those that can't afford a real MG or live in a state that doesn't allow private ownership.

To me the 42 semi is a total waste of time! It can never be made to sound like, or even close to, the real thing, which is what is attractive about a 42 - its distinctive sound.

The 34 is a bit better, but still not real close. The semi BAR is one that can be worked fast enuf with a bit of practice to sound like a real one. Never been around a semi 1919A4, but it would probably be the same as the BAR.

Soo, it depends on what you want and why you want it. If all you want is a 25 - 26 lb semi auto rifle that looks different and draws lots of attention at the range, then go for it.

I see semi 34s with some regularity on the different boards and an occasional 42.

Sarge

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Semi conversions and full autos are two different worlds that in my experience never mix very well on the internet.

 

What Sarge says has a lot to truth in it, in some respects the semi's are a waste of time if what the owner is looking to experience is the shooting of the original. There is absolutely no way that a semi MG42 or 34 can compare to the real thing so in that sense it is a waste of time. Now that being said, I have also seen some absolutely fantasic collections of original tools, accessories, mounts and other items associated with Mg42s and Mg34s built around a semi or dummy firearm by those who live where live Mg42s and Mg34s are illegal. I have the upmost respect for fellows with that level of dedication to put together such collections. This collecting hobby covers a great many areas and interests, not all of which takes place at the firing range.

 

As far as looking down on someone for owning a semi conversion I would not do such however I also do not care for the semi owners making crude remarks directed at me or others for owning full autos. Every hobby has its price tag and if an individual cannot afford to be in a particular hobby be it semi's, full autos or what have you they should not attack those that are in a position to be in that particular hobby. There are some other hobbies I would love to be involved in if I could afford it but I can't so I make myself happy in the one that I am in.

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Ahh, now you want to expands the discussion to ALL semi look alikes - WHY?

I gave a specific reason for not liking the 42 semi and compared it to a semi that very much simulated an original FA.

NO, I would not reccomend OR encourage anyone to buy a 10/22 - Or ANY ruger product. Have heard that the son is better than the old man, but bill r sure was not the friend of anyone who didn't buy a ruger! He supported such anti gun legislation as the mag capacity ban!

 

I am not at all looking down my nose at those who have semi versions of the real thing! I very much understand the situation of those who live in the 10 anti gun states that do not allow FAs. They get what they are allowed. Same goes for those who can not afford the cost of the real thing. FA prices are beyone reason and have been for better than 15 yrs.

My question was, and hasn't been answered yet, Why is he interested in a semi? Speaking of which I've heard from a lot of people that the 34s often gave problems till tinkered with, but then most worked fine. I've not hear much about the 42s exept that some have had problems with them as well.

 

I'm fortunate that I started collecting this stuff in the mid 1950s. Of course what cost $25-30. then was almost as expensive as that same item at $10+K now because I was going to college and working part time for 50¢ an hour and it would take 2 or 3 months to save up $25-30.

Sarge

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Being a has-been 42 owner, I would agree w/Roscoe and Sarge in having no interest in a semi as I can't ever imagine a similarity between the two beyond cosmetic. That being said, everyone has their own poison for whatever reason. If the day comes I can spring for another, I will. It was the ride of a lifetime. :D
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A question was asked at the start of the thread as to why there doesn't seem to be any semi 34's or 42's available. and someone responded that they don't work well. my response is that they are available and they do work reliably as seen in the videos of my guns. I am not trying to "simulate" fa operation, only giving the guns a good pounding to test their function and reliability. the conversion parts in the 42 are my own design and were put through rigorus testing to make sure they are reliable. being an 07 / sot having fa belt feds is not an issue with me, I have kits to build several fa guns if I chose to do so.
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  • 4 weeks later...

......One aspect in certain situations, would allow a semi-(& working) mg-34 or mg-42 to find it's place would be on the WWII re-enactment battlefield. Sarge and I have been re-enacting since the 1970's, and know in the stricted infantry battles, especially on the Eastern Front, the arrival in recent years of the SAs have really helped us who play german hold back the russian hordes in their mass attacks. Sure the fa MG-34/42s are the best to field, but they seem to be few and far between, so the SA's have really helped fill the gap.

Keep in mind, most German re-enactors carry the bolt/98k, and on the Russian front, the Ruskie re-enactors mostly hold the bolt/ Nagant, so you non-re-enactors can imagine how welcomed the sa-MG-34/42s are.

I include here, a photo of me in position in the trenches of the Eastern front behind my sa-MG-42 last saturday. The bolt/trigger conversion is by 'Pirate'', & in the lafette tripod, fires blanks like a dream, and has broken up many mass Russian attacks in those trench positions there. The gun does supplement the 98ks and the few MP-40s that are in the trenches with us.

Marching to the trenches, my assistant gunner carries the lafette, and I spread the 4 full ammo cans among the other guys. In one day, I usually run thru 1000 blanks up there.

For years, I have babied a TNW MG-34, with the same set-up above, but find the sa MG-42 more reliable. ...> Last year, the wife & I bought a fa MG-34, and yes, there is no comparison shooting live, but until the WWII re-enactment world is flooded with fa MG-34/42's, there will be a place for the SAs out there...>

(we are seeing fielded, the sa MP-40 now, that is filling the SMG gaps out there)

 

 

Marion_08.jpg

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Now all you need is a real WW2 lafette :D

 

Way I look at SA beltfeds is, whatever floats that persons boat. IM fortunate to have a real 42 that I reenact with. Not everyone can afford them, so be it. They're always welcome to shoot mine.

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I agree - WHAT are you doing using an MG 3 looking tripod/lafette? That doesn't even look close to an original.

The true value of an MG 42 is the sound of the gun firing, since that sound can ever be duplicated with an SA you had just as well have a G 43. With an SA 34 you can "Almost" get the true sound. Hell the gas gun 42s are better than the semis for sound level/volume.

Unless things have changed back east there was never a lack of 34s u. 42s at battles, maby not as many as we would like, but quite a few. Always varied from battle to battle what was there.

As said before, there are both 34 & 42 semis for sale. You never know what will pop up when. Since there have been more 34s sold than 42s there will probably always be more 34s for sale.

Sarge

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You guys got a good eye!... :agree: ..It is a post war one, that has been modified with the cradle pulled to the rear, and second pad on the front leg, & fine for the muddy mess of the trenches at Marion. I have an original lafette, that cost more than the gun that I'll bring out to the field soon.

I can get the sa-42 to fire much faster than my TNW sa-34. Sarge, other than replacing the TNW firing pin spring, with an original F/P spring to make the trigger pull lighter, what else can i do to 'speed-it-up'?

 

(are you coming to Ft.Campbell 27 Feb for TSG battle?)

 

Marion.09_005.jpg

Edited by junglewalk
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You can buy one of the Yougo M53 tripods for not a lot more than the MG 3 and be 100% correkt! That's what I use. Some day I'll find a repro German range table and replace the Jougo one.

No idea what you could do to increase the semi rate of fire on either a 34 or 42 repro.

This is the first I've hear about Ft Campbell. Might, If I'm not out of the country, which is a good possibility at this point. I'll be back for a week in mid Feb, but am expecting to do a quick turn around.

Sarge

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Ryan Schnee in Momtana, at, www.Zwillingssockel.com may have a firing table for it.

The Ft.Campbell TSG battle, 27 Feb-1 Mar, is a west front one, that will be in one and maybe two of the Town-mount sites.

From what they have outlined on the TSG site, we will be settled in for over-night staying in the town sites. The Camp Hinch field camp is already taken by real units for billeting, but will be used for check-in for us. Feb 20th is the supposed dead-line for pre-registration. Should be a good one......bh

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Mg34.com also has or at least a couple of years had reproduction firing tables. I used one to restore my Lafette. I do not believe they were listed on their website, you have to call to order one. Edited by RoscoeTurner
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If anyone is interested, I do come across TNW MG-34s from individuals for sale on occasion;> ,,almost always these are guys in the WWII re-enactment world, and of course fired live in the gun, but mostly worked with the gun to get it to fire blanks reliably.....> There is a gun out in the Pikeville, Ky area right now, and I'm trying to get a price on it now. ...bh
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