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I need an MG42 expert


DZelenka
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Dan if you can find a copy of MG34-MG42 German Universal Machineguns by Folke Myrvang published by Collector Grade Publications, I highly recommend it . This is the most informative book I have read on the MG34-MG42 machineguns.

Hope this helps and good luck in your purchase of that magical MG42. They are awesome !!!

 

Darren

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Now is not the time to be in a rush or too cheap to buy the book. Educate yourself before spending that kind of money.

 

http://www.amazon.com/MG-34-MG-42-German-Universal-Machine/dp/088935278X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441929890&sr=8-2&keywords=universal+machine+gun

 

Try posting your questions here just make sure what answers you get are for a full auto MG42 and not a semi conversion.

http://mg42.us/

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There are a lot of things to be aware of and to have some knowledge of. Grossfuss made a lot of the receivers(code bpr) is one of the five manufacturers. Maget, Steyr, Gustloff, Mauser/Borsigwaldeand Grossfuss . Many of the Mg42's made by Maget and Mauser Borsigwalde used subcontracted receivers made by Grossfuss. Most MG42's are marked MG42, they will also be stamped with the contract/assembler code, year of manufacture and serial number. In late 1943 two letter codes were used for the date of mfg. You need to be aware and make sure it is papered as a Curio and Relic and has not been rewelded or remanufactured. There are many other things to be aware of as many guns will have post WWII parts and not original German parts. If you have not read the Folke Myrvang's book yet, I highly recommend you purchase it ,read and study it thoroughly before you purchase your MG42. Not only is there a lot to know of the MG42 from the standpoint of manufacture, originality of all parts, etc, you have to know what to be aware of to shoot it safely and to know why it will not function properly. Correct length buffer springs, proper non worn ejectors, anti bounce springs in the bolt and the list goes on. The MG42 is a magnificent weapon and a joy to own and shoot. That being said there is a lot to know and understand about this weapon to shoot safely and to enjoy for many years .

 

Darren

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The gun is a BNZ, Steyr, correct?

 

Other than the obvious listing of a U.S. Company as manufacturer, how do you make sure a gun is a C&R?

 

Will all of the WWII parts have Waffen stamps and/or swastika stamps? Should they be numbered to the receiver?

 

The gun comes with lots of extras - six 8mm and three 7.62 barrels, four spare bolts, a WWII and an MG3 tripod, spare springs, grip frames, stocks . . .

 

I'll order the book, but I'm under the gun so to speak so it will have to be a crash course.

 

Dan

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Not much really to look for in a 42. Numbered parts are rare on 42's, some parts are german marked some are unmarked. Finishes may be mixed like MP44's of the period and still be correct. Almost all of them are C+R, so the odds of a reweld, etc are slim. Many, if not most were dewats, but it was generally done by tack welding the barrel door shut on the bottom and filling the barrel with weld......meaning reactivation time of 5 minutes or so. Often evidence of that is obscured by refinishing. If the gun is original phosphate or lightly blued you can see it. Generally refinishing doesn't seem to affect value, nor do "other" parts, since german parts are readily available and cheap...relatively speaking.

If this were an MG34 the numbers are everything.....like a Luger.

 

Generally if it's not C+R you'll see someone's name on the paperwork as the mfr, or their info stamped somewhere on the gun, but you'll have to look carefully for it since you could put that info just about anywhere back in the day. Rewelded should be pretty obvious as it would have probably been cut in half.

 

It's a very simple plug and play gun where parts interchange easily and they run well and fast without much operator input or expertise. The is no simpler beltfed made to this day that I can think of? That MG3 lafette will be your best friend, since shooting it off a bipod is not that pleasurable. As others have pointed out that anti bounce setup in the bolt is highly recommended though I've shot without it. If it's less than 25K you don't really need to know anything other than if it is not C+R or cut in half, just buy it. If you're not interested PM me and I will. Best of luck.

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In first of the two pics, green stock is post-war Steyr MG74, topcover is MG3 with MG3 .308 feed tray and one piece booster, and barrel will be Rheinmetall or Steyr .308.

Assorted parts are nice to have, along with the 7.92 conversion parts. .308 conversions are drop usually in and require no modifications to any other parts, although sometimes the .308 feed trays need to be fitted to the WWII receivers at the front end of the tray.

Field kits will be post-war. Wartime bolts are all marked with two or three letter makers ID, serial numbers on bottom of body and very small waffens on the tops of the rollers and elsewhere. Yugo bolts are common and will have a small s in a square stamp or s prefix code numbers, and do not have waffens or three letter makers codes. Many Yugo parts have the s prefix followed by 114- and a five digit code number or the small s in a square.

As noted, there is a spring loaded plunger assembled in the bolt body. Do not shoot without this assembled, ever. Wartime 42s had an ongoing problem with out-of-battery detonations, serious enough for the employment of high speed camera development to watch the action of the gun while firing to find out why. The problem was thee fold: on going into battery the bolt tended to bounce or oscillate allowing the rollers to retract far enough so that if ignition occurred the bolt was not locked. Result was an OOB detonation that can be very destructive. Second issue was the fast ignition time of the standard rifle primers, which did not allow time enough for the bolt to settle down before ignition. Third, the high rate of fire required the barrel recuperators to be In top notch condition. Once the problem was understood, the ammo manufacturers made ammo specifically for the MG42s with slightly slower primers to delay ignition for a few micro-seconds. This alleviated the OOB issue and after the war the bolt catch was introduced that acted as an inertial hammer on the locking wedge to force fast lockup of the rollers.

Once you get the gun and are familiar enough with its assembly and disassembly, remove the barrel recuperator and send it to me for assessment of its condition. It is possible that the springs are in good shape, might have been rebuilt, or might not be in very good condition. If not, I assemble them with new springs that will insure proper function.

When you get it check for cracks in the webs between the holes in the shroud and around the muzzle, two of a number of places where cracks happen. Check all review heads for tightness. Look carefully at the rivets along the sides to see if there is any play, just to insure that they are tight.

Remove the barrel and bolt. With a good flashlight look inside through the barrel door and also the top of the receiver at the front ends of the unlocking cams, especially at the front ends to see if there are an cracks or breaks in the metal. Damage to the ends of the cam bosses will be evident.

Once you are accustomed to firing the gun and are running belts, keep in mind that the breech can get very hot, enough to fire a round if a live round is left in the chamber. Although it is extremely unlikely, I know first hand of several incidences where a live round the remained in the chamber, the bolt was cocked, and the barrel door opened to remove the barrel. As the barrel rested in the open access door, prior to being removed the round went off. One fellow suffered the case going through the fleshy part of his upper arm! Having a live round stuck in the chamber after cocking the gun can happen with lacquer painted 7.92 ammo. The lacquer accumulates in the chamber and eventually with heat and build up, a dud round can get stuck. This is what happened in the two cases above.

To avoid overheating the barrels practice fire control and change barrels every 200 rounds,letting the hot barrel cool a bit. This will preserve your barrels and not lead to possible cook offs, even though they are very rare.

Keep bolt body and rollers and rails well lubed.

Keep your hands well away from close below the ejection port as the empty cases will punch a deep circular hole in flesh if the neck end hits first!

If you are mixing WWII German bolts with post-war Steyr .308 barrels, check that there is a bit of a gap between the inside of the barrel extension at breech face and the bolt face. This is simple to do. Take the bolt head off the the body and assemble it to the barrel extension of the barrel you are checking, pushing it into the extension so the rollers a fully engaged and locked. From the side, look across the bolt face to make sure there are a couple thousandths of an inch or more gap, meaning that you can see daylight through the gap. This will prevent bolthead to barrel extension freeze. This means that the bolthead will not disengage from the barrel extension because the boltface and breech are jammed tight together due to no gap. If this happens, remove the booster, buttstock and coil spring. Put a piece of hardwood on the floor and drop the gun from a half foot above the wood onto the muzzle of the barrel. This will force the rollers out of battery, 99% of the time. Remember that for the barrel to release the bolt, the force of the drop still has to overcome the resistance of the barrel recuperator springs.

The are a number of other minor points that are not really important enough to mention mere, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Hope this helps.

 

Bob Naess

Edited by Black River Militaria CII
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Bob,

 

Thank you for the detailed information. I've heard your name mentioned as being one of the go to guys for info on the 42.

 

After taking stock of what parts are on the gun, it looks like the bolt, bipod and trigger are M53. I think the remainder are WWII. I haven rug through all of the spares. My bet is that one of the bolts or grip frames is a WWII. I'll end up with post war parts in the gun for shooting, but want a complete set of WWII parts just because.

 

I've read much of Folke Myrvang's book. It's really good, but it didn't have near the amount of information I had hoped on manufacturer codes and the differences with WWII and post war parts.

 

Any more information would be appreciated.

 

Dan

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Price? If you don't mind me asking. Are you buying this from Taylor in LA? If so, it's a bnz from 1943 right?

 

Lots of spare parts there. That's nice!

 

Bob with Black River Militaria is your guy for information on these 42s. He got my 42 running perfect and has great customer service. My gun just needed some replaced worn out and missing parts and love after 70 years.

Edited by michaelkih
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bnz 1944 (PJ)

 

I'm in Louisiana. We know the same people.

 

I haven't seen the spares yet other than the pictures, but I am relatively sure the missing WWII parts will be found there. As expected, the spares ran the ultimate price of the gun up a bit.

 

One thing is weird, the trigger stick (?) is unmarked. It has a trigger with a part number that I assume is yugo but has a safety that is marked S/F which is German. The other yugo parts on the gun are pretty clearly marked.

 

Dan

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looks to me like Bob Covered pretty much what you need to know - Guess it really rolls out to what the asking price. is. Looks like a decent setup, with a fair number of post war parts - Not really a bad thing, just means you will want to find a WWII parts set. I had a post MG42, and it was just to fast and to hard on ammo to shoot - But it was one of the coolest belt feds I have had. Still have the MG34..... Good luck on it !!

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