Dehavilland Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 New to the forum and new owner of a MG53. It has not arrived yet, but I expect the buttstock to be pretty beat up. Is a replacement Bakelite MG42/MG3 buttstock compatible with a MG53? Or would the internals have to changed out as well? Is a top cover from a MG3 with all internals compatible with a MG53? Or if the internals are not compatible, would the top cover internals from a MG53 fit into a MG3 top cover? Sorry for all the new questions, but this was the only forum I could find to post to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anjong-ni Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 (edited) RTG has the parts you need. WW2 MG42 buffer threads differ from M53 threads and the buttstock internals are different so the stocks are not perfectly interchangeable although they can be forced-on. The RTG Bakelite buttstock fits WW2 German buffer threads but not well on Yugo M53 threads. There is some incompatibility among MG42, MG1, MG3 and M53 models. If your M53 is in original 8mm Mauser calibre, changing to .308 requires replacing barrel, feed cover, buffer, recoil booster among other parts. RTG and BRP Parts can sort out what you need. ...Phil https://www.robertrtg.com/store/pc/MG42-MG3-M53-c17.htm?pageStyle=h&ProdSort=3&page=5&idCategory=17&viewAll=yes Edited September 21, 2019 by anjong-ni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black River Militaria CII Posted September 22, 2019 Report Share Posted September 22, 2019 Between the MG42 and Yugo 53 all parts are interchangeable including the complete M53 stock/ buffer assembly if it is used a a unit.Unfortunately, the M53 stocks are generally quite ugly so using the post-war bakelite MG1/3 or Mg74 stocks with matching buffer will work fine.The only other part that will not fit between all models of MG42 variations is the MG3 family barrel recuperator housing which is about 1 1/4" longer than the WWII parts and will not fit MG42 or M53 receivers. It is designed to fit receivers of MG3 and variants, early post-war Rheinmetal MG42s, MG42/59, MG1 variants, etc. There are a lot of these longer recuperators available in the US from import of MG3 parts and they are not useable except for internal parts.FWIW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehavilland Posted September 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2019 So to mate a MG3 buttstock to my MG53, do I merely take the MG53 buffer assembly and place it into the MG3 buttstock? Or do I need a MG3 buffer assembly to place into my MG53 buttstock and then it will mate up with my MG53 receiver? Thanks for the keeping me straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now