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right at the start as a young man studying the various belt fed weapons it became obvious that the load placed on the parts from a full belt was hard on them and anything that reduced it was a big plus. the main problem with lube is it will pick up anything it contacts. my father kept a can of Johnsons floor wax in the gun room and anytime we went hunting in the high country he covered the entire weapon for protection from rain and snow.. when it dry's the haze has no adhesive traits and is quite slick and it worked on belts and links from the start so this is what i came up with. after I wash loose links I place them on a cookie sheet and hit them with a spray auto wax any brand will work but you want a "haze" when it dry's. I put JOHNSONS floor wax on loaded belts but only just b-4 I load them in the gun. I keep a fleece auto detail mitt in a 50 cal can saturated with wax, add some new and pull the belt through the mitt getting both sides with one pull. also, I make sure the each belt has a blank round at the end to correct bolt to barrel contact. I find that fired blanks do just as well as a new one so all those cases are saved for future use. I'm sure there are several methods that will do the job so feel free to add your own tricks, just remember to share them with others . CHEERS MIKE
dont do any alterations until you are positive what is going on. i would suggest you pm BRMCII and try for a live chat with him.
its not just a question of good ammo, but the proper pressure curve! that is the key and its almost impossible to obtain without lab grade equipment to track. also once THATS pinned down, then you need to find the right case lube. the germans had a major problem with all 3 and consider the assets available too them. the johnsons paste wax is a must for all my belt feds it reduces the strain as things move. the worst trait i found was with all the same components, one time was good another no way.
to this day I cant hardly resist the attraction and beauty of a clean MG-34. fact is few weapons exhibit such an obvious level of perfection and even folks with zero gun interest realize they are actually a work of art I got my first one in 1963/64 and was never without at least 2 in the collection. at first all you needed was to match a good bolt to the right barrel. make sure all the springs were right and a decent supply of "good ammo" others claimed different , but for me it was only brass cased WW II German or that outstanding CANADIAN boxer primed for the CHINESE contracts. the first few lots of PORTUGUESE FNM 67-71 was almost as good, but could be "testy" at times. when the GERMAN brass cased disappeared it was all over for me! I tried many times off and on but it was always the same, run perfect one day, next time out same stuff and 3 to 12 rnd bursts was it? by that time the M- 60's landed and the 34's stayed home. in the late 60's i snagged 5 nos DANISH GOVT 7.62 conversions and they just sat untested. the guns sat unused , 1 -decent , 1 choice and 1-100% matching and UNFIRED (all transferable) I had gathered more than 100 bolts, many NOS and well over 100 barrels over the years along with the LAFETTE mounts and several hundred pounds of small support parts feeding my madness for 50 +years. when I came to TEXAS in 2010, I signed my entire estate over to a younger person and combined the 2 collections. in 2016, the lack of room forced the decision to weed out troublesome or difficult to maintain designs and create more of a "shooting collection" and I attempted to sell many here on STURM and word of mouth, and add more examples of the favorite's. in a moment of weakness, it was decided to give the 7.62 conversion a chance , but 2 months of hard work ended in the same disappointment. as I said all 3 or the 34's got great response from all the picture collectors and data gladiators, but no real decent cash offers were even made. when I decide to move something, I am DONE with it! period. too little time left to get this finished, so i kept rolling the price down until all left, but at times like this the pain returns. matching /unfired less than $40k ? who would have dreamed? I still have maybe 10 mint matching as new pre 1942 parts kits and they will stay home for a while. the last of the parts and mounts left this month so its all over now. when the possibility of a day of trouble free operation went away, I advised folks I felt they were great collectables and had their place but in a low count shooting collection a poor choice to buy for use and my position remains. if you can own and use premay samples. BUY SEVERAL ! nothing else on the planet will give you as much joy for less than $9k and there are many out there.
i HAVE HAD IT UP TO ? AND TIRED OF ALL THE B/S. I would like to buy at least one, maybe more, class room size heavy cloth FLAGS OF DIXIE. will also consider some of the less known variations produced over the years. the ONLY flags of ANY TYPE I can find are thin wispy trash. under 48" would be a plus. will pay an honest price, not looking to steal anything. I do intend to use one for my "last celebration" so gimme some help here guys! time is running out ! a good one might make it a tad easier to pry some of these special goodies I have been hoarding out of me cheers and thanx! mike
THANX GUYS ! hope it was serious I like to give folks the benefit of doubt and assume it was , but one can never tell these days. I am always willing to share the details but lack the ability to do much short version stuff. retelling history is just like a lab experiment , leave one detail out and the results have no meaning. I was always self employed and answered only to myself so time was no problem. during my 180 heydays a few years myself and another used to go to the WICKENBURG AZ area every monday , wednesday and friday .it was apprx a 1 hr drive from work. leave at 3pm and we would shoot until 7-8am then go to the shop. I had VOLKSWAGEN THINGS we used. that area is flat as a plate with very few washes or changes and you could just work the gas. no need for wheel attention. we would fold the windshield down and pursue KANGAROO RATS in the short ground cover. when you fired at one, many others would "pop up" like pop corn and they made fantastic targets that ran randomly sometimes straight at the car. a hit was the least desire, just chasing those fast movers with a long burst never got old. almost all firing was done just sitting in the seat so the gun was just above your thighs. when a case seperation happened the brass went straight down the bottom and jeans offered no protection. the first time it happened, we went straight to the emergency room for treatment and the DR said removing the case would cause more damage than the case did and leaving it would be ok so we never went back after that. I tried a welders leather apron and it did the job , but it was always so hot outside they often were left off. there were a LOT of those explosions ! every trip I started with 12 drums and sometimes they were loaded again at least twice a nite that means up to 12k rnds a trip 3 times a week, most trips at least 2 guns each were used. one year at the end of SEPT we came across several RV's with jeeps parked in a group and all had CAL plates the RV's seemed to stay and the jeeps would come and go. a short quick stop and we learned they set up a quail hunting camp with 40 or so people that ran back and forth as they could to hunt. one trip a BLACK HAWK HELO was sitting in camp and no way was that going to be un answered. we learned they were all members of a seal rapid deployment group that was always on call. what a great bunch of guys! after that we never failed to stop and check in. they were shocked to learn we had no interest in the quail and chased RATS with machine guns. they brought out many exotic weapons and gave us lots of unobtainium ammo just in friendship and common interest after many refusals 2 opted to come along and give it a try. the first guest laughed so hard he wet his pants after a full drum chase across the plain. then disaster ! one charged the rig and the shooter focused so hard, his burst cut across the front putting several rounds in the hood, the front mounted spare and the folded windshield in his excitement . I'M talking about a fully trained long serving, active duty seal that served on many classified hush hush missions. ! of course at the time I had no idea those things were protected, but more just got scared than killed so I dont think any long term harm was done. books and biography have come up a few times with a couple attempts making print. I even agreed to do a multi issue article for MACHINE GUN NEWS, and two articles were printed no matter what is agreed on someone in the chain cant avoid making changes for some reason that alters the facts . be it politically correct or some feared legal action it happens and after the 2nd issue I refused to do any more. after DAVID made the changes here on STURM, I actually managed to post a couple adds that didnt get ZAPPED because i forgot a period and decided to attempt to share some thoughts. my main goal is to see that every post gets some type of positive response, and make sure all the new people feel welcome.
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few people know how much attention the 180 got in the market place. most folks know about all the issues the early guns had and many faults were traced to the ammunition. there were however a LOT of feed tray problems. while they were still in the shadows and only rumors too most people, the guns endured a lot of unusual trials. only after the ATTICA prison riots did much get printed. the govt had them on the missle silo's near TUCSON AZ. in multiple mounts set up as unmanned perimeter protection! 4 guns on one mount all motion activated in one case. we used timed lapse photo equip and found as the length of the burst increased, the rate of fire increased and the bullets became closer together leaving the muzzle , this explained why so many had bulged barrels with no other obvious cause. there were many receivers produced with NO MARKINGS WHAT EVER! all serial numbers, MFG'r ID were on the barrels only. I have no idea how many producers there were but some made as few as 10 examples. after hands on well over 100 actual guns I did find the units that the feed tray has no pins to secure it run the best. the tray is an interference fit at the front and held down by the top cover on the receiver. this was a very late improvement in the design and a good one to look for. they usually have a much larger "nut" to secure the barrel. when VAL bought the design and all the works, it was every night in the shop until daylight most days side by side trouble shooting and sorting all these things out gimmee a break on the description this all was more than 40 years and millions of rounds ago. very often i will get an itch from one of the .22 case's still buried in my thigh that still remains from those days
as I said in my first response I have used them all on the 180. my fav is a AWC can for an UZI in 45 cal. a full day of shooting shows a lot of crud. one mag of 45 ball down the tube and its ready for more. with 3 people standing with their back turned no one could pick out the .22 cal can or ID the 9mm and 45 cans in a short burst. in actual use several people challenged the statement but all the tests proved it so. one round is easy to spot but a warm can in a burst they all sound so close, one cant tell. I do the same thing with YHM tit cans on a M-16 in .223 no one has ever called it right with a 30 CAL can or a .223 can on the gun.
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there has been little reliable data on transferable 34's in the market lately. I sold my 3 in 2018 and 2019 and was forced to let them go well under what i thought was the legit market. all were proven C&R guns. first example was an amnesty gun marked with a small AUSTRIAN shops name on the rear all mixed parts at $20. 2nd was a late CZECH DOT 45 IZZY return with little wear at $23.5 . the big disappointment was my 1943 100% matching unfired tank gun complete with ground kit and absolute perfect . best i could get after a year was $35k ? lots of trades offered but no money ? I think all the huge collections released those years cobbled up all the loose change available. its hard to believe any transferable failed to bring more than $30k but those numbers are a fact.
sorry , I dropped the ball and failed to get back to you on this. all my data lacks any info on these head stamps. this is something that has been a problem recently. It seems there are too many small producers or name changes going on in the industry and no body is trying to keep up. I have a lot of both 7.62 and .556 I cant pin down lately one would think with the net it would be better . maybe the interest is just not there anymore. i just got in 30k+ rounds of .303 and there are 4 lots unknown in it.
FRANK, please feel free to "hi jack" any of my posts, you certainly dont need any ref's to make me bow or ceed the floor. actually i didnt go too deep with the sten issue on purpose , because i lack all the backup info. I found some surplus mags with a polished and plated follower and the body exhibits a better mfg'ing process and they perform perfect in my LANCHESTER so i would assume work fine in the sten. BRP had them at the creek and i bought all he had at the time
also DONT BABY THE TRIGGER ! get on it and off it firmly. it will stop any useless wear or breakage. not so much these days but almost all the thompsons we got in had bad sear and disconnect springs.
one major reason I use the larger cans for rimfire MG'S is the ammo is dirty and the bigger cans just shoot clean and there is never a problem with all those long dumps. it takes a decimeter to find the difference in many cases. we fired full auto rated 22 cans next to the 45 can with RF and after the first couple rounds you cant tell which one is running. a typical day with the 180 was 4-5 k rounds and one mag of 45 acp blows the can clean.
almost all my rimfire use was long b-4 all these great dedicated uppers hit the streets. i used the ATKINSON conversion with those converted PHILLIPNE curved mags . I had several and MOST ran trouble free, but were ammo choosy and CCI mini mags or REM gold bullet was flawless in both gears. at one time the barrel had lead "stringers" at the muzzle more than 5" long b-4 i noticed them. of course no attempt at accuracy was attempted or desired. I still have 5-6 conversions but its been more than 4 years since I have used them. they never needed any adjustment or special lower parts, i just kept switching parts until one ran and didn't have much trouble or I would have canned the whole mess. this was long b-4 CIENER got the design, but now a few of the parts might be his. next was the dedicated belt fed upper. I got tired of it REAL FAST ! sent it back several times then shelved it. i have owned 180's since day one and still carry 3 case heads in my thigh's from case explosions , but suffered way more than 3 of those. I have never sought perfection with most of my "general " use cans . i use a 45 can for all calibers in my UZI and have a barrel that mounts a can just in front of the drum for the 180. I never use sub sonic for any MG's but do use it in all the handguns if I want at times so how it runs in anything I cant say. the 180 is a lot of fun and other than the head seperations not much trouble. the case head issue never showed until the ammo mfg'rs started catering to the big box stores , not sure why it just happened ? I had the best results and fewer problems with BLAZER and MINI MAGS. anything FEDERAL was a disaster I stay away from all the "HYPER VELOCITY " rounds in the MG'S also.
I am also a unbridled member of the grand old lady's cult and always hungry for the smallest detail. WARNING ! b-4 you open the site to consider the options, make sure your mind is totally clear , because it wont be after the first few options offered. I was so lost, I don't think confused will work to describe it.
these days it seems any complete CORRECT COLT 21 AC has no problem pushing $40k and some a tad over. YES the engraving can be an issue along with any other faults . this year POULIN had 2 examples that had a hard time just over $20k the lowest had SAVAGE wartime internals and the other a replacement barrel . BOTH SERIOUS FAULTS. THE HOT TICKET IS THE NO COMP 21-A . very hard to find in decent condition.
for years i was live on the phone for every lot every day at ROCK ISLAND and managed to snag enough to make it well worth my time. when doing auctions, its very important to be able to hear the auctioneer directly. its a sad fact they often will claim an increase and no one has bid in order to get things near the level they know it will sell. when they DO get an actual bid , its pretty easy to tell due to the excitement in his voice and the speed he calls. the main thing you cant deal with is bidders that forget all the adders after the hammer falls. recently ROCK ISLAND started charging sales tax on all invoices without a legit exemption certificate on file. that can mean a 25% addition with the buyers premium. ego can be another issue from bidders. all that said and done a few good buys did occur. on another note the MORPHYS auction (no sales tax! ) had several very good buys with no surprises at the end. some of the lots at first glance appeared to be junk but if you had the time and skills plenty of room. that butchered BROWNING .30 MARANA GUN at just over $10k was an easy fix.
DBH, WELCOME! certainly no shortage of those that lurk in these parts, but who knows, one day you might have the key to another's well being locked in your head and will want to share? with all the post sample 240's would you have any of those small parts seldom offered by others. IE ; pins , clips, springs . I need a bunch and cant seem to find them.
ALMOST everything from the REISING 50/55 SUB GUNS will be the same for the model 60, except the selector/ fire/control parts and many of those can be altered to work in a pinch. I bought my first model 60 in 1965 and never been without at least 2 along with the 50/55 guns. EXCEPT for NUMERICH , I have never seen a single model 60 part offered for sale . that may help your search a bit.
WHEN, MIKE first started the "EVERGREEN COLLECTION", fellow collectors knowing I owned EVERGREEN HARDWARE thought we were connected and underground "chatter" was abundant about the 2 of us and why we would do such a thing. at first he bought ANYTHING and a lot of collectors dumped slow movers / incomplete NFA. he cleaned DOLPH out/among many others. there were more than 12 of the South American contract 1910's missing bi-pods or many internals that had just been laying around as all spares had disappeared long ago. they were from the last imported batch which was really a cleanup of all the items passed by while good stuff was still available to be imported. he finally started getting choosey and wanted to see only higher grade goods. we ended up meeting and he bought a couple thou $k guns from CURTS inventory. several years later when the collection was broke up, the james julia auction house got most of the better examples. POULINS which was almost next door, did most of the parts /ammo and odd items that did not fit JULIA's style sold them in a couple following large sales. being the excellent low cost shooter's they are I was always drawn to them and any other odd design like the JAP type II etc. when in order, they are fun to fiddle with, break things down range and just do something a little different .
if anyone ever makes a real magazine for the STEN, I might consider another one. I have owned 2, the first was a like new original WW II Mk 2 the second, I made myself in .45 acp it used Grease mags and I regret selling it other wise note in my world.
DEAN , its important that he had the actual barrels your using when setting up the receiver. there is so much variation in rim thickness it cant be avoided. even when perfect the gun will have ammo it prefers. I knew VAL long b-4 he even dreamed of a 180 and he has always been a straight shooter. we have done countless transactions since then and after he bought all the 180 stuff i never touch mine , just have him deal with it.
I LOVE IT ! if nothing else it shows your desire and will to adapt. wish I had your skills to get things on paper. all my life it was straight to the machine from my head and that created a ton of chips and failed parts . to the eye it looks like it should all do as planned 3 cheers for you
I have several of those early SOUTH AMERICAN contract 1910 guns. i have opened up the bolt face on a .303 portive bolt so the 54r. Russian rnd will fit and with lebel strips it feeds and ejects , BUT i have not tried to fire it yet , so only time will tell . IMA still has a few "PORTIVE KITS" so he should have no problem getting all the parts he needs. many of the guns that came in were missing the bipods like the "morphy gun" . if you use the top yoke from that little tripod for the "portive" its easy to add a block and put it on a VICKERS tripod and save a lot of work. GREAT GUNS when complete and darned near impossible to break anything other than a fire pin. when I test fire this gun, I plan to try the 7x57 using the altered bolt. my BREN shooter runs 8x57-.308 and 54r with the same BOLT! and has never failed SO?
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Thermal Rifle Scopes? Thoughts?
in General Firearms Discussion
Posted
LANE, I tried like you to find reasonable information about thermal night vison and just night vison in general. the problem is those knuckleheads hired the same people to prepare the tech info that do most electronics, because every brand details diff specs so you cant compare them! I spent 2 years and just gave up and was quite willing to spend up to $12k for the right unit. a close friend has more than $20k invested in night vison and constantly raves about how great it all is. I invited him to the ranch for a hog hunt and a demo. after 4+ hours he wan not able to get ne of the 3 systems functioning. the ONLY unit we could operate? his low end $800. hand held monocular viewer. I think this is much like finding a car salesman you are comfortable with . good luck!