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MP40 grips


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I just bought my first MP40 and got a parts kit with the deal. When cleaning the parts kit I noticed the finish came off the pistol grip panels, apparently they had just been painted). Turns out they are aluminum. Is that right? I didnt take notice of the grips on my gun (its still at the shop waiting for paperwork to clear), but I am pretty sure they are Bakelite. Thoughts?
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Reproduction barrel rests, grips, and stocks from History Arms are not made of bakelite. They look slightly odd, are somewhat soft and will not resist heat. You want original grips. They do turn up from time to time.

 

Edit: Here's a set of repro grips that the seller claims are made of Bakelite. They look pretty good.

 

https://mantheline.com/product/mp3840-bakelite-grips-brown/

 

The best reproduction Bakelite out there is made in Germany by SSD but they won't sell parts outside of the EU. I've tried.

 

MP38 and MP40 grips were not interchangeable. They were made to different dimensions. MP38 grips were made in black and dark chocolate brown. MP40s had these colors and later various lighter shades of brown and reddish brown. Differing degrees of mottling depended on the amount and type of filler (usually wood chips) mixed with the phenolic. Collectors want the grips and stock to be all matchy-matchy, but they seldom were originally.

Edited by TSMGguy
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It is a C&R. Barrel, barrel nut, and receiver are matching numbers. Bolt, front sight assembly, etc do not match. The lower receiver/trigger housing assembly does not match. The gun is a bzn but unsure of the date. It has a 4 digit SN with no letter. The lower is a 122 made in 40. Ive always wanted an MP 40. I got a call from one of the dealers Im familiar with letting me know that it was incoming. The owner passed away and his son was selling it. It came with a parts kit as well which had everything except for the cut receiver. It also came with four mags. id post pictures but my Photobucket account is apparently out of data and Im too cheap to pay them for it LOL. So if anyone knows another way to post photos on here please let me know.
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Wow, that is pretty cool. You have a bit of everything on the gun. A parts kit is a really nice thing to get with an MP40. They are very tough and expensive to find nowadays. It is great you got the gun you have wanted for a long time but I can't help but feel a bit sad that the son would not want such a cool gun. You can also check ebay for grips. They sometimes have originals as well as repros for sale.

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I am sure you will set it up right in what you want and need. everybody does that buys one When i got my first in 1975 I was the same way.However at that time Slings and mags and even original pouch sets had been hard to find and get.The repro business was not in full swing at that time, And as far as pouches and slings that market had not opened up. or the imported parts kits and mags had not flooded in.I was lucky to have a sling and a few extra magazines. And many a WW2 vet was still alive and hanging on to what they had.

 

Quick take around that time Dominic Tumminello sold me #7888C And i owned #349F from Roger COX and another came out of a bank Robbery haul in Midolothian ,il. That MP40 was Sold to Peter Kokalis in Phx Az. he returned it do to lack of not 100% finish and some not matched parts for $2,000.00 I never did get to ask him later on,I bet he wished he had kept it with the increased prices.Even Ole Sparkies Roger Fullmers MP-38 has gone to the great beyond. In that explosion and tragedy that was Buffalo Rock.

Enjoy the MP-40 they are great guns.I have owned a fair number of them over the decades and miss them all. RON K.

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Thanks Ron. Im sure it will be 10 months minimum unfortunately due to ATF wait times, but cant wait to bring it home. Wish it was 100% matching but I think I got an ok deal on it, so Im satisfied. All of my guns are shooters, so as long as it runs good Im happy. I fired one mag before I agreed to buy and it ran fine.
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Is it original finish? Yup, I am sure you will wait for at least 10-12 months to get your baby. In the meantime, maybe the dealer will let you visit it and maybe shoot it now and again. It is none of my business, but may I ask what you paid? The 100% matching guns are a lot of fun too but they are too nice to shoot so many collectors wind up with at least two. One to shoot and one to look at. Your next gun will be an all matching one. Ask me how I know. Remember my words haha.

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Its a C&R (Germany is listed as the manufacturer) and It appears to have been refinished at some point. I doubt it still looks this good after all this time. According to the dealer they found that it had been registered by a PD in the early 50s, whatever that means. I negotiated the gun, 4 mags, and the parts kit down to $16.5k. I was ok with the price.
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Oh, hell ya, that is a good price I think. I mean any C&R MP40 has got to be 16k all day long, a parts kit at least 2k and three extra mags at like $300. I was thinking in the neighborhood of like 18.5k Also there are more and more people that don't mind a refinished gun (me for one). I still like the original finish better but it is done all the time in the world of collector cars. If a car is rusty, I don't see anything wrong with making it look like new again. I really wouldn't want to ride around in a rust bucket.

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Agreed lol. They started at 18 but we settled on 16.5. Maybe one day Ill get an all matching one, but for now this will do just fine. I grabbed a bunch of mags and some additional parts from Folke at knob creek. I want to say it comes with what appears to be an original sling as well. Looks a little old to be a reproduction but hard to say. If I can ever get my Photobucket account squared away Ill post some pictures.
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Agreed lol. They started at 18 but we settled on 16.5. Maybe one day Ill get an all matching one, but for now this will do just fine. I grabbed a bunch of mags and some additional parts from Folke at knob creek. I want to say it comes with what appears to be an original sling as well. Looks a little old to be a reproduction but hard to say. If I can ever get my Photobucket account squared away Ill post some pictures.
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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?

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At that price today looks like a good shooter and a WW2 history. Back in the day i had a pre 86 to shoot that somebody green parked up and i had a blued posty that would have put some originals to shame.And of course some nice real deal matched mint ones. Now sadly gone to the collector archives forever.

 

That one will serve you well.And you can sit and watch Cross Of Iron, and Where Eagles Dare and have the real deal.

 

Most who end up with a real mint cond matched original. find another less grade gun to shoot later as they care not to shoot the best one.And the days of having ten MP-40's lined up in a rack are long gone.very few today can say that since you might be looking at $250 g just sitting there.90% of class 3 owners today don't have that luxury. sure there is a few exceptions.

You are one of the lucky few.So enjoy it as i know you will. And hope you have decades left to enjoy it.

 

Not everyday we can enjoy that history but when it presents itself take the leap.RON K.

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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?

The Creek was good. Pretty much the same as always. No more Sunday though, they end it on Saturday night now. I got the mags for $90 each from Folke, they were good condition but not excellent. I also grabbed a spare firing pin, ejector, and extractor.

Edited by Dtu2179
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