Extremely Well Made German MG08 Maxim machine gun - manufactured in Berlin in 1917. This is an all-original C&R Maxim belt-fed machinegun, and appears to have all matching serial numbers except the feed block, lock and barrel. This is an exceptional example of WWI German Maxim machine gun craftsmanship, and fires the readily available 8mm Mauser ammunition (7.92X57). Mounted on a very clean example of a German WWI sled mount, dated 1918, which includes all the sled-mounted supplementary parts and tools: an extra barrel, two extra Maxim locks, broken shell extractor, cartridge retrieval tongs and chamber cleaning tool, plus the inner armor shield. This MG08 Maxim grouping is a complete set, an outstanding example to be proud of and to enjoy shooting. Yes, it is over one hundred years old. But if it is well cared for, it will still be shooting in another hundred years. Maxim machineguns, unlike modern machineguns, were made to last! Comes with steam hose, original 1916 Water Chest with spout, three Turkish aluminum linked belts (that can be easily filled by hand) and a complete WWI Gurtfuller 16 belt-filling machine with its tools, all fitting in an expertly-made reproduction Kasten wooden chest for the belt-filling machine. Gurtfuller 16s are extremely rare. (I believe this Gurtfuller 16 to be modified by the Turks to load the aluminum ammunition belts, but I have not succeeded in operating it). This Maxim assembly also includes an original WWI German combination hammer/spanner and a water jacket muzzle gland that reduces the Maxim’s rate of fire, making it less than the rate of fire using the Muzzle gland/booster assembly with flash hider, also included. This Maxim comes with an original ZF 12 optical scope in its leather case. Its optics are excellent but the reticle knob is stuck in mid-range position (a useful position for shooting). With this grouping of accessories, this MG08 Maxim is an exceptional set any collector would be proud to display and to shoot. C&R and Fully Transferable. $32,000. Videos available showing it shooting using an original WWI German cloth belt, a Swiss Maxim steel-link belt and a 1919 BROWNING CLOTH BELT!!! YES, the German WWI Maxim works reasonably well using US 1919 cloth belts, which are readily and economically available, and much easier to fill, using their proper US belt loader, than filling a German cloth belt. (Dolf Goldsmith told me he usually used 1919 cloth belts in his Maxims with only occasional ammunition feeding jams. This makes shooting the Maxim ever so much easier, if you have a 1919 cloth belt loader). For the dedicated WWI or German weapons collector, seller will include a set of WWI German Maxim Gunner’s Armor with the gun for an additional $8,000. Photo attached.
sales@fullautoclassics.com or (575) 405-0911. Thank you.
If you’re considering purchasing a Maxim machine gun, make certain you buy Dolf Goldsmith’s remarkable book, The Devil’s Paintbrush - Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun. After reading through this masterful study of the Maxim machinegun, and enjoying its many historic photographs, you will be proud to own a WWI German Maxim machine gun.
There are many reasons for people to be interested in machine guns. But if the guns, themselves, fascinate you, find an opportunity to shoot some of the World War I machine guns. They are utterly intriguing and have so much more personality than modern machineguns, many of which were derived from these century-old designs. The Communist PKM belt-fed machinegun operates with the same ammunition feed system as Maxim and Vickers machine guns . And, contrary to what everybody believes about the World War I French Chauchat machine gun, its bolt is of the same basic design as the M-16! “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Investigate World War I machine guns. You will be fascinated with them as you learn more about how they function, and have more opportunity to interact with them.
The thrill is in shooting a machine gun that is one hundred years old. You don’t just stick in a magazine, cock it and pull the trigger, like it’s an M11-9. You have to know how it works. You have to have studied it, read about it, taken it apart and put it back together. You have to understand that machine gun, that has lasted a century,… waiting for you.
