M79

[Rekraps]

I have to tell you guys, this DD is the best fun gun available. Hard hitting and not even remotely dangerous as long as you pay attention to shooting. Fun to reload, fun to shoot and a big... THUMP!

[Rekraps]

See my notes under the TPT thread about the chalk rounds and the load for them. Using aluminum shells with a full power .38 Blank is WAAAAAY much.  Okay for the plastic shells, but not for the metal.

[Rekraps]

Also, I ordered an almost complete set of internals for the M79 from ReconOrdnance. Jerry Prasser will fix you right up. Slower than a 1/2 dead sea turtle, he's reliable and will get the stuff to you. 

[Rekraps]

So I scored the holy grail of M79 Thumpers! I found an original OEM M79 specific sling! Waiting for the delivery......

[Frank I.]

I'm pretty sure the slings used on the M79 were originally Bazooka slings 1.5" I got the part number from the M79 BYOI (Be Your Own Inspector) in the Army's PS magazine.

  

[Rekraps]

1 hour ago, Frank Iannamico said:

I'm pretty sure the slings used on the M79 were originally Bazooka slings 1.5" I got the part number from the M79 BYOI (Be Your Own Inspector) in the Army's PS magazine.

  

Now what could you possibly want an old, very old sling for? If you'd like, I'll take that off your hands! And you're right, the one I located is a 1.5" sling. As for it being a bazooka sling, all my research could not uncover why this particular sling was different than the M14 sling (slightly narrower) or M1 sling. The gun is lighter and smaller than a m14, and certainly a Bazooka. 

[Frank I.]

I think my other one on my M79, had same packaging, dated 1952.

As I recall the slings are not only wider, they are shorter than rifle slings. 

https://www.mooremilitaria.com/m79-sling.html

From the ad

OD Cotton M79 Grenade Launcher Sling. This is the correct, "as issued" sling for the M79 Grenade Launcher. Technically, these slings were originally procured as Bazooka slings and then repurposed for the M-79. You can tell them apart from rifle slings by several key features: they are wider (they measure 1 3/8" wide), they are shorter (total length is 38", but folded back to buckle, their max length is about 36") and the webbing is much thinner than the standard M1 sling. These have always been tough to find over the years as they were recycled surplus even during the 60's.

[Rekraps]

Many thanks.  Any chance you want to sell the extra one you have?

[Rekraps]

This pic matches the illustration in the M79 TM. 

[Frank I.]

On 7/2/2024 at 9:29 AM, Rekraps said:

Many thanks.  Any chance you want to sell the extra one you have?

No, sorry 🤨

[Rekraps]

On 7/2/2024 at 7:00 PM, Rekraps said:

This pic matches the illustration in the M79 TM. 

Got the sling in and it matches exactly the pic above. Good snag on my part. 

Edited January 27 by Rekraps

[Rekraps]

On 7/1/2024 at 11:18 AM, Frank Iannamico said:

I think my other one on my M79, had same packaging, dated 1952.

As I recall the slings are not only wider, they are shorter than rifle slings. 

https://www.mooremilitaria.com/m79-sling.html

From the ad

OD Cotton M79 Grenade Launcher Sling. This is the correct, "as issued" sling for the M79 Grenade Launcher. Technically, these slings were originally procured as Bazooka slings and then repurposed for the M-79. You can tell them apart from rifle slings by several key features: they are wider (they measure 1 3/8" wide), they are shorter (total length is 38", but folded back to buckle, their max length is about 36") and the webbing is much thinner than the standard M1 sling. These have always been tough to find over the years as they were recycled surplus even during the 60's.

A bit more information on the sling discussion. Frank, you are correct in that the original M79 slings were a bit wider, repurposed Bazooka units. A second generation M79 sling was manufactured specific to the M79 (basically a shortened M14 sling). I purchased the second generation sling from Autoweapons.com (I find them a bit expensive, but excellent quality and no fakes). When on their website yesterday, they listed one of your first generation slings, along side the replacement. 

[Rekraps]

And now I own a first (call it a fat boy) and a second generation M79 sling. Tough finding those!

[Rekraps]

I am so disappointed that there is not more interest in the m79 on this forum! Probably the least expensive NFA item out there and so much fun!

[Rekraps]

Bump

[Rekraps]

Well, it matters not to me. I'll fully enjoy shooting this DD in my back yard! Repacking my own M781 shells has lowered the cost of each firing to about $1.50 or $2.00. As long as I recover the pusher all is well. My recovery rate is about 75% (goodness knows where those things go!). The recovery rate for the sponge tip rounds is even less as they bounce all over the place. 

My backstop is a super thick plastic "v" sign that I found on the side of the road. When the round hits,  a nice plume of chalk puffs out and if I pay close attention, I can see the general direction that the pusher bounces to. Usually, the pusher flies off about 10 yards or so.  Shooting distance is about 75 yards, with heavy trees behind in case of a miss. 

[ChevTec]

I think it's mostly just this forum rek. It's a slower forum as is, then add in the more rarity of DDs and you just don't have that much traffic. 

If you ever want to get a very interested audience, check out the r/40_mm sub-reddit. 

Reddit sucks and is a cesspool of liberals, so you need to just focus on the sub-reddits that interest you and avoid anything on the homepage

[Rekraps]

11 hours ago, ChevTec said:

I think it's mostly just this forum rek. It's a slower forum as is, then add in the more rarity of DDs and you just don't have that much traffic. 

If you ever want to get a very interested audience, check out the r/40_mm sub-reddit. 

Reddit sucks and is a cesspool of liberals, so you need to just focus on the sub-reddits that interest you and avoid anything on the homepage

Thanks!