Rekraps Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Hello! This topic has come up before and there seems to be lots of information floating around regarding the non-C&R (tube) Swedish K M45 guns out there. So, I decided to contact two individuals who are in the know about these units, Jerry Prasser of ReconOrdnance and John Andrewski whom we all know. Here is what I have been told, by the individuals who bought the tubes, built the guns and repaired others. I tried to take notes, but of course there was so much information that while most of this will be correct, I may be off on a small point or two. Let's start with the Wilson "L" series guns. ReconOrdnance bought 200 of the tubes (just the upper receiver) from Wilson Arms Company. 100 of those, along with Port Said kits were shipped to Andrewski for him and his dad to assemble/build. The assembly process mated the Port Said lower receiver, FCG, trunnion shroud and other parts to the Wilson tube. About 60 or so of the 100 were finished in Parkerized while the remainder were painted green over Park. The guns Andrewski built were not necessarily sequentially SN ordered. John's comments about the "L" series uppers (tubes) was that they were excellent in initial quality and required almost no fit and finish work to mate with the Port Said kits. Very high quality and the finished products were, and are still great pieces. John and his dad also assembled many more "L" series guns that came to them from individuals or collectors who bought the uppers directly from ReconOrdnance. These guns were likewise excellent in quality and finish. Wilson also produced about 200 of the "MB" series receivers. These differed from the "L" series in that they had a Wilson manufactured lower welded to the upper (tube) and were sold in that configuration. John and his dad did not receive a batch of these "MB" series guns to assemble, so that work (building the guns) was done by other gunsmiths. What John and his dad did do was fix or repair MANY of the "MB" series guns. The issue was that the lower receiver was not manufactured to "good" tolerances and there were issues with weld beads, sear height, pin alignment and what John called, "overall out of spec" manufacturing. Significant work was required to be performed on the guns they took in in order to make them fit and function like a "L" series. John and his dad took in quite a few (according to John) and early in the process (mid-1990's or so) when prices were still in the $500 range for the guns, owners would not spend the money to completely overhaul the guns, so repairs were made to make the guns work, but not necessarily to look and feel (appearance) like the "L" series. Later, as prices of the guns rose to the mid-$5000's, owners would pay to have the full suite of refurbishment/repairs done. Not all "MB" series guns were bad from the start, but there were significant numbers that were. By now, John feels that most of the guns have been reworked by him or some other gunsmith. The guns John and his dad overhauled are of the same quality in form, appearance and function as the "L" series, and Andrewski stands behind all of his work 100%. Wilson also produced some of the "L" series that had a different roll stamp. The ones Andrewski built are all "Wilson Arms Company", Brunswick GA, L-xxx. The others are "WAC", Brunswick GA, L-xxx. Some guns were produced by Pearl and John's comments on these guns was that given the choice, the "L" and "MB" series are a better choice. He did not elaborate. Finally, John and his dad produced around 12 - 15 M45B "select fire" guns for owners who had M45B kits and wanted this to be done. Those guns are custom built to order and in collections somewhere. The gun John just built for me (I own two of his) is a M45C. This gun is a "MB" series, built on a Crown kit, completely reworked by John that includes the M45B end cap, the M45C shroud (with bayonet lug), all new welds and 100% correct alignment/fit/finish of the mechanicals. The gun is finished in Swedish Green, blued rivets and folding stock trunnion, blued barrel and bolt/sights. Many hours of hand work were involved in the build. I'll post pics when I get them. The gun is on the way on form 3. The other one I own is a "L" series M45 kpist, finished in Park. Beautiful gun. So that's the story for now, if you have any questions ask. If I can find the answers, I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 John said the reason the Port Said kits were used in the initial batch was that they only cost $40 at the time! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 One final note, when speaking with John, I asked his opinion on what the next "K" gun would be with respect to increasing demand and price. Without hesitation, he said the Smith & Wesson M76. Just like we said! These guns are all C&R and a super value for the current market price of ~$15K or so. Plus, more spare parts are being manufactured. About 6000 were made, all of them were "U" series SN, with many being destroyed in the WTC collapse. If you see one, buy it was John's advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper28 Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Excellent information Rekraps. It clears up all of the questions about the L and MB series as the info comes right from the builder. Great work! Now lets get that Swedish K forum. I have had L-15x for many years with the Parkerized finish and love it. It was built by the Andrewski's on a Port Said receiver, looks great, is accurate and 100% reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 4 hours ago, Chopper28 said: Excellent information Rekraps. It clears up all of the questions about the L and MB series as the info comes right from the builder. Great work! Now lets get that Swedish K forum. I have had L-15x for many years with the Parkerized finish and love it. It was built by the Andrewski's on a Port Said receiver, looks great, is accurate and 100% reliable. Hey Chopper, why don't you amend the Topic title to the Swedish K forum post to include the S&W M76! I bet we'd get more support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 I can tell you that my real Swedish K is one of the most favorite guns I own but hardly shoot. I have a post sample K that I beat on instead of shooting the real one. That is an interesting story for sure and it’s nice to know the history behind them. While I would love a transferable one, I can’t justify the money they go for now. I’ll settle for what I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 53 minutes ago, Got Uzi said: I can tell you that my real Swedish K is one of the most favorite guns I own but hardly shoot. I have a post sample K that I beat on instead of shooting the real one. That is an interesting story for sure and it’s nice to know the history behind them. While I would love a transferable one, I can’t justify the money they go for now. I’ll settle for what I have now. Everyone loves the "K"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 I was never into them until I got my hands on one and then when I did….it was all over. The K is one of the best kept secrets in the NFA world, those that know, they know. Those that don’t know a thing about the K live in ignorant bliss LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 30 Author Report Share Posted January 30 On 1/25/2023 at 6:26 PM, Got Uzi said: I was never into them until I got my hands on one and then when I did….it was all over. The K is one of the best kept secrets in the NFA world, those that know, they know. Those that don’t know a thing about the K live in ignorant bliss LOL Word is getting out... prices are going nuts. I paid $16K two years ago for a very nice one and now.... high $20's, low $30's. Plus the gun is a great shooter and quite the looker. It looks like a SMG should look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 Nothing more needs to be said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted May 17 Author Report Share Posted May 17 Wanted to bring this to the top of the forum for those of you who had an interest in how many transferrable "K" s there were (round abouts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 So..why are some called "L" and some "MB?" Is it just the S/N prefix or something else? BTW, I bought a Port Said kit way back when, don't remember how much I paid but it probably wasn't much over $75-80. Those were the days. I do remember when I sold it I thought I'd robbed the buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted May 19 Author Report Share Posted May 19 On 5/17/2023 at 9:28 PM, BillinBama said: So..why are some called "L" and some "MB?" Is it just the S/N prefix or something else? BTW, I bought a Port Said kit way back when, don't remember how much I paid but it probably wasn't much over $75-80. Those were the days. I do remember when I sold it I thought I'd robbed the buyer. That's a great question. I'll ask Andrewski next week when he's back from vacation. I sold a K kit about a year ago for $1650 and thought likewise... now they are over $2K! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 Yes, its the serial number prefix. I still have a Port Said kit as my spares for my K. I think I paid less than $100 for it. I had the barrel threaded unfortunately, wish I had another spare barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewisfan Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 Nah. I sold this one with all extras shown. Nice package. Had a factory pre-sample years ago. Should've kept that one too. Oh well. Glad that I've had a chance to play with some VERY nice and rare guns over the years. Wish that I could've kept more of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewisfan Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 Oops. This was supposed to go in another thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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