Jump to content

All Activity

This stream auto-updates

  1. Today
  2. If I remember correctly, the individual rounds of ammunition spin freely when loaded into my magazines (ie, I can run my hand over the top layer of rounds and they will rotate as my hand moves over them). If yours are too tight, the problem is not likely the prongs, but the outer rim of the pan magazine itself. When these are unloaded, they have a tendency to bend in slightly if mishandled or tossed around in the field. If you have old surplus mags, the rims may have bent in slightly from moving around over the years. Where did you get the mags?
  3. So, I bought a few drum mags (five). I have been cleaning the cosmoline off the mags and oiling them up. Here is my question: How free should they turn and on one, the ammo is very tight in the prongs? Can I bend the prongs to make the ammo slide in better? Does it matter? Thanks.
  4. Yesterday
  5. You're right Doug. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the movie Saving Private Ryan caused a spike in the prices of military Thompsons (non-Colts and West Hurleys) but after a while the spike hit a plateau and many years later we are still at that level today. You're spot on with demand setting the price more than supply but I think the reason the military Thompsons didn't go down with reduced demand is that sellers had mid $20k in their minds as a price that their gun was worth and they were 1) not going to sell for less than that and 2) they didn't need to sell so they just held onto their guns until they found a buyer. So guns have sat at the mid $20k range for a long time waiting for buyers that only occasionally come along. Given another surge in demand I think that military Thompsons will languish where they are until the lower end of the MG hobby (Reisings, MACs, STENs, etc.) starts pushing the Thompsons up from below.
  6. Why do so many people think that Savage Thompsons were built with Colt parts? I have not seen any evidence of any kind to support that idea, and lots of evidence that contradicts it. If I see Colt parts on a Savage at this point, I'm 94.7% sure that they were swapped onto the gun at some point over the last 70 years. I'm 100,000,000 miles away from having any kind of expertise on the topic, but I have seen about 10 or 12 minty looking early Savage Commercials at this point and they all looked identical - all Savage parts with kind of a dull finish. My Savage has a Colt buttstock, but it belonged to a police department that also had one other Thompson - see if you can guess what kind.
  7. One of the things I always do is make the recipient SIGN for the item. Then they cannot say they never got it.
  8. You could always buy a donor gun, too. Sometimes you have to.
  9. There is always a chance that just about anything can happen. I don't worry about it. I'm not cheap, but I'm really careful with money. I drive base-model Ford cars until they are about 10 years old. I live in a mcmansion in a rich area. Every house on my street has $100k worth of cars in the driveway, slowly turning into $10k. If losing all that money on car depreciation doesn't bother them, then I'm not going to worry about the Democrats showing up at my house and taking my MGs away. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I figure that I saved enough money on cars by driving them until they are dead to pay for anything I lose on MGs. That being said, GUNS ARE NOT A GOOD SINGULAR INVESTMENT, for the same reason investing a lot of money in any one thing is a bad idea - there is not enough diversification. If you invest your retirement money into a S&P 500 fund, you will out-perform 85% of all other investors. Because the S&P 500 fund lacks the flaws that most people voluntarily put into their own investment picks. One of the major flaws being not enough diversification. Putting all your eggs in one basket is a bad idea from a statistical standpoint. Not because the eggs will be confiscated, but because the eggs might underperform other investments. Back in 2008 or so, the stock market crashed hard and everyone did the opposite of what they were supposed to do - instead of waiting out the dip and buying more stocks at a discount, they sold at a huge loss and drove the price of gold up to $2,000 per oz. The human brain makes emotional decisions. A lot of times they are not-so-wise decisions. The way to avoid that kind of pitfall is to do what is most sound from a statistical standpoint, even though it might not feel as good as something else.
  10. The only way the registry of transferrables will ever open up is if a whole bunch of politicians make a massive political push to make it happen. Because a repeal of the existing law would require a Bill to pass both the House and Senate and then survive a presidential veto. Picture this headline on the front page of the newspaper: HUNDREDS OF POLITICIANS ACROSS THE USA DEMAND ACTION! "WE MUST HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF FULLY AUTOMATIC M16 ASSAULT RIFLES FOR SALE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS ONE, FOR ONLY $500!" SHOUTED SENATOR TED CRUZ ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE. The only way that the politicians will go to the mat like that is if MILLIONS of average voters like housewives and old retirees demand it. This nation is ruled by a gigantic, humongous wad of centrist voters. That's why we have close elections. If you asked 100 people at random if lots and lots of M16s should be available for sale to the public for $500 each, 90% of them would say NO. I honestly believe that if MGs weren't so nosebleed expensive, they would be completely illegal now. My guess is that the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 actually saved MG ownership by restricting it to limited number of people, now mostly rich guys. Your neighbors cannot keep you from owning guns, but they can do a real number on what guns you are allowed to own. If you doubt that, ask your pals in New Jersey about it.
  11. I have to disagree with you about the "greed" thing. I see this kind of comment a lot with regard to collectables, and it's more of a expression of exasperation than anything else. Any economist will tell you that the price of ANYTHING, including collectables, is 100% determined by two things: SUPPLY and DEMAND. With most collectables, unless you have a time machine the supply is FIXED, so the only thing that can change the price is demand. And demand comes from BUYERS, not sellers. Back in the 1980s, you could buy a Tucker 1948 automobile for about $40k. Then they made a really popular movie about Preston Tucker. AND THE PRICE FOR A TUCKER WENT NUCLEAR. Now they are $2 million. Did the Tucker owners make the price go up? Or was it the people who didn't own one who fought against each other at auctions like a pack of rabid dogs? Because they saw the movie and just HAD TO have one. I recently bought one of those Cox 010 engines off of Ebay. The seller started the auction at 1 cent. It sold for $275. I didn't voluntarily pay $275, I HAD to because the next lowest bidder was $270. And the next lowest bidder below him was $265. Me and the other bidders set the price, not the seller. Some day in the future, when all the Baby Boomers die off, that engine is going to be worth $25. Because it's not useful for anything and kids today fly electric planes. They don't know a Cox engine from a Schmox engine. Sellers can ask any amount of money they want, but the guy who forks over the money is the one who sets the price. I can't prove it, but I suspect that the reason that MG prices went to the moon is a.) youtube videos and b.) millions of baby boomers paying off their mortgage and having a crapton of money to spend.
  12. Last week
  13. i have machined some parts for these. designed and produced a metal feed ramp assembly for it to replace the plastic one that wears down over time
  14. You know the great pyramids? I’m the guy that came up with that triangle idea.
  15. When i retired i gambled what to keep and what to sell. i held it at $25 g i could afford to lose. So at that it still remains. when if anything happens and the gnashing of teeth and whining of i lost this> they took millions or maybe only hundreds of thousands. It won't be me. some put a lot of guns in a certain basket of guns.a GUN BASKET!! Know a few in town who are sitting on well over 2 million maybe 3 million more in the gun stuff. And i asked will you be wiped out if its all gone. They say well heck yeah about 70% of my wealth. we all have a ceiling of what we can afford to lose. and i feel for a long time, some maybe never gave that a thought with rising price and values. since they bought on the down low. and that has increased over time.So now its time to enjoy it. And not worry...And if you do you better start selling now. and have that comfort mark of what you can afford to lose...without a sweat.
  16. My father was 4 years old in 1967, and he didn’t even have me until he was 35 😅 What was it like for you gents to witness the Gettysburg Address in person? Did president Lincoln really have that big of a top hat 😛
  17. Why didn't I think of that.... .buy a resizing tool from TIZ!
  18. Hi ranger1385, I second the Privi. Clean and good quality. Reloadable. I try to stay with FMJ but it is often out of stock. Oddly the 150gr SP runs just fine in the Bren but the 180 SP (soft point) does not run. The 180 soft point jams when feeding in the Bren. Congratulations on the Lewis! That is really a prize! Certainly a really neat firearm. Awhile back there were some threads by board members that were shooting cast bullets at reduced velocity to save $ and wear on the 100 year old guns. It should be a blast to shoot. Take care, Grasshopper
  19. If you want something traditional: https://www.sarcoinc.com/italian-ww2-samurai-magazine-vest/
  20. Sorry it has taken a couple days to get back. As per someone saying they will never take your guns. Ny now has a safe act ammo safety check to buy ammo and a lot of other stuff 20 years ago that would never happen. So yes, I do think there is a chance.
  21. Light Machinegun vs. Machine Rifle is a distinction without a difference. Both fill exactly the same tactical role. The Chauchat was a hack job from day one and has not improved with age. It functions as an exemplar of how not to do things
  22. It is still the US postal circus. I'd recommend contacting your state Representative or state Senator. Technically it's a public corporation as it's no longer a department if the dot.giv, but your rep or senator will get things moving. Worked at the St Paul USPS iffice 30 years ....There's a reason I refer to it as the postal circus. That is ..... The clowns are in charge!
  23. The distance from the top of the mag catch hole to the top of the feed lips is 2.30 +/- .007 inches and the distance or gap between the feed lips is .55-.56 inches and .22 inch lip radius as manufactured.
  24. "The Lewis gun was the opposite end of the spectrum from the Chauchat. It was reliable, controllable and deadly accurate - and because of its virtues still in use through WWII " Yes. But you forgot to mention the LEWIS is a Light Machine Gun that weighs about 28 pounds ! The Sho- Sho is a Machine Rifle that weighs in under 20 pounds. A Machine Rifle is a different beast than a LMG. Remember every Chauchat on the range today is OVER 100 years old. For a 1915 rush job the Chauchat was OK. When the guns were new from the factory they would work. Usually. Biggest problem was the magazines. As long as the mags were properly loaded and the piece was reasonably clean it would work. Just do not fire more than 300 rounds in a short time. Yes, they are very clumsy and uncomfortable to shoot. The only other thing close to it in 1915 was the Madsen LMG. But that is another story. I have shot every one of the Machine Rifles and LMGs from the Great War. Back to OP. Your blank only Faux Sho looks pretty good. Am sure it can be tweaked to satisfy those at Neuville.
  25. if you have a machinist caliper, try measuring the bad mag vs a good mag hold it up and look down it and see if something is bulged or bent there is no magic to it, AFAIK. it's just a square metal tube
  1. Load more activity
×
×
  • Create New...