shooterike

I have the MG3 tripod, excellent, in the box, with optical sight and also night vision mount. Plus translation of the German military TM. Anyone interested?

The best ammo to use in a MG34 is sS ball (196 grain fmj bullet @2450 fps) made to German specs! I wish Ivan would get to work and duplicate German sS ball in steel cases in their military classic line. The sS ball is what the MG34 was designed to use, and I would buy plenty! The S ball load (154 grain fmj bullet @2940 fps) generally runs OK, but the sights are not set for it. At short range, this is not much of a problem, but you can really tell it at longer ranges! When dealing with any kind of military surplus ammo, inspect each cartridge carefully and reject anything that has a split or hairline crack neck, corroded, wobley bullet, dented, dirty, rusty, or anything else that just does not LOOK RIGHT! I've found non 8mm Mauser cartridges mixed in with the real thing in bulk surplus, so set down and study what the 8mm Mauser round REALLY looks like! BEFORE YOU GO TO THE RANGE, check out your MG34! The hole in the booster cone should be 11mm. There are 9mm booster cones out there that were intended for use with BLANKS or the 7.62mm (.308) NATO conversion! DO NOT USE THE 9mm Booster cone for 8mm Mauser AMMO! WAY, WAY TOO TIGHT! THIS WILL BEAT YOUR GUN TO DEATH! If you are not certain which cone is in your MG34, take a 8mm mauser case or dummy round and see if it will PASS COMPLETELY THROUGH the little hole in the booster cone! When you replace the Muzzle assembly on your 34, make certain it is tight! Use the wrench from the tool kit to nudge it just a bit past finger tight and let the latch lock it in place. Check the bolt for wear and tear and replace anything that is not right. If you don't have a spare bolt, get one! The best replacement bolt is one made by same maker as your MG34! Remember to check the codes!

I think I have a spare MG34 extractor tool (Israel version) in the spares bin. If you are interested, I'll take a look.