DARIVS

I reshaped my handle into a ball years ago, but still have to put it into the lathe and knurling with the knurling tool. It's been waiting for 24 years to get 10 minutes work to finish this last detail off. Typical project.

For me, it's the MP-44. It throws lead and oozes history.

Very glad you could sort it out. I also swapped out parts for shooting that could experience wear and tear. On the MG-42, the sheet metal disconnector at the top of the trigger grip assembly will experience impact damage and burr over in time, so that's a good enough reason to use a Bundeswehr grip on a C&R MG-42.

Your pistol grip is definitely postwar Bundeswehr, not Nazi era. The parts were probably replaced at some point. I used to have a Maget CRA 1943 MG-42. Here are two spare grip assemblies still in my spares. Note the very faint Waffenamt below the front hook on each of the grips. One of the grips has postwar wooden oak side panels that replaced what was probably damaged originals. Also in my spare parts box are an MG-3 stripped pistol grip and an MG-3 flash hider, both unused Bundeswehr parts in original yellow paper wrapping and sealed in a plastic bag. I have never opened them to look at them. Traces of the number beneath the eagle are barely visible between the rounded spot weld dimples. Below, the eagle wings of the Waffenamt are barely visible at the top of the crescent shaped indentation.

Dan Block fabricated a bolt hold back switch which appears as the selector switch on my Kahr Thompson SBR. No more third hand! 😀 This completed all the changes made to this project gun to make it appear as a select fire Thompson with only semi-auto capability. He also detected and solved the internal problem which caused the first firing pin to break off after a year, which was due to incorrect machining of the internal passage for the firing pin. Spectacular work!

Ahem...

That type of repair is truly ingenious. It's much better than throwing an original firing pin away after the tip breaks off. Soldering the piano wire piece into the hole would make it even stronger.

The receiver does not see a lot of stress, and an oiled bolt won't wear out the inner diameter. Aside from wear and tear of the bluing on the external surface from handling, it should be okay. The parts that are most likely to fail are the tip of the firing pin and extractor.

Thinking to save wear on my MP-40 parts, I bought an FBP bolt and telescoping spring assembly and tried it out in my MP-40. It didn't work. For some reason, it would not reliably fire the cartridge and the gun was unreliable. So I put the FBP parts in the parts bin and that's where they still are. Perhaps the tolerances were too extreme, or the firing pin protrusion was not deep enough into the primer, or perhaps the recoils spring was weaker that the German one, but it just didn't for my gun. Others have had success with it.

My Kahr L drum from 2002 was a total POS. I sold it to a guy who wanted it for a display Tommy for $50. After buying two WWII L drums which work flawlessly, I'll never buy another Kahr mag or drum. Kahr can't keep the tolerances under control because they don't want to, pure and simple. "Kahr" means "damn" in Turkish, and that's precisely what you'll say when try using their drums.

I am about to submit a Form 4 for a machine gun transfer between individuals. The current owner's Form 4 does not specify the barrel length or the length overall. Should we measure the firearm and enter this information on the new Form 4 for the transferee or not? Would adding such information jeopardize the transfer?

I would not use sandpaper over markings because it makes them less sharp. If the wood needs surface cleaning to remove surface stains, old finish, or residue, carefully use a scraper. Light cuts with razor scraper will remove as little or as much as you want, and retain the edges of stamped markings sharp if used gingerly.

Winchester in the white box. Best performance for the money. Works great in the Sten, MP-40, and even the finicky P08 Pistole Parabellum. Either 115 gr or 124 gr.

It's far safer to avoid ANYTHING with a death's head marked on it. Too many fakes abound.

If you have small hands like I do, the PPK usually fits your hand well, depending on joint geometry of your hand, of course. It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautifully styles guns even made, with sweeping art deco curves. Everyone poo-poo's it for conceal carry, because of all the more modern alternatives in larger calibers available today, but if it fits your hand, and you can put lead on target, and don't mind the weight of an all steel pistol, it can work for you. It's a damn sight better than putting your empty hands up in the air and hoping you don't get shot.

New look. I like it.

Year ago I purchased a 10.5" barrel after registering the rifle as an SBR and replaced the 16" barrel on my 1927A1 Deluxe. The barrel threaded into the receiver okay, but for some reason I cannot fathom, the compensator had to be sleeved because that end of the replacement barrel was smaller than the original barrel.

As a former MG-42 owner, I would say no, screws are insufficient, particularly long term. The vibrations when firing are enormous, and screws will fatigue and break. Do it right. Use rivets and a proper press, the same as your would in an AK-47 receiver. With such an expensive gun, why go half way on quality?

I second Dan's advice. Kahr should make it right. In addition, there are many subtle problems that Kahr will not address which Dan can spot, since he is experienced with the myriad of machining flaws that come with these guns off the line. Knowing where Kahr makes shortcuts is more than half the battle. Mine once broke a firing pin, and Dan identified and internal step which placed a side load on the firing pin as it move forward. After many cycles, fatigue from impact would take its toll and snap off the pin. The rear sight on my rifle was replaced with an original Lyman sight from a WWII lend lease Thompson from Russia, and the screws were abandoned in favor of iron rivets in my shop. Yeah, it's like putting a diamond on a pig, but mine was a project gun, and had as many improvements made to it as the rifle originally cost.

Other than the "98E" indicating it was made in Steyr, Austria in "1940", I have no idea what the star means. It's probably not an original German marking. Perhaps it was used to indicate some other use after the war.

They made less than a million of them. They are far more common in the movies than in real life. Compare that to the 14.7 million Mausers that were produced. NCO's carried them, unless an enlisted soldier got one as a battlefield pickup. They are not exactly common, although they are so useful that a lot of them were were preserved and used in other countries or saved as war souvenirs. The MP-40 is available, but expensive because of the demand because they are iconic German WWII guns.

OMG! THAT IS GOLD!

Interesting mix of two guns.

Things are getting scarce to impossible to find these days. Parts we were swimming in two years ago are just gone.

Hefty price indeed.