[GUN] 8mm of gas-operated, semi-auto, magazine fed, Nazi firepower...

[squeeze]

...which by now, some of the more serious gun nuts may be able to ID. If not, I present you with my newest money pit...



A numbers-matching, GI-bringback, 1944 Berliner-Lubecker Machinenfabrik, or BLM Gewehr 43*. An upgrade of an earlier gas-trap design the G.41, the G.43 (later K.43... name changed to Karabiner 43 for PR purposes) was a gas-piston version that was a much improved design and more similiar to its inspiration, the Soviet SVT-38/40. The G/K 43 was a problem-plagued rifle throughout its life. Overly complex in its design (taking this thing apart is an adventure), it wasn't the optimal battle rifle, but finally gave the Wermacht a weapon that was equivalent to the M1 Garand and SVT-38/40 in firepower



Below the rifle in both pictures are the spare firing pin, firing pin extension, and original manual that were all included inside the buttstock.



*Gewehr is German for rifle. German weapon designations were based on the type of weapon it was (G/K/MP/MG/FG/etc..) and the year it was introduced -- different then the arbitrary American method.

 

[AllAmerican75]

That's pretty cool. It looks a lot like an M14.

 

[Fly Navy]

I hate you. It's a jealous hatred.

Beautiful rifle.

 

[Screamtruth]

You suck.

But it is a nice rifle.

My uncle had a GI bring back "Burp" (I suck at attaching the pics to this thing, see above for the type of weapon I am referring to) gun from WWII, which my grandfather had collected after some fighting in France.

You have any contacts on purchasing vintage ammo for German line of fine firearms? It isn't easy finding the ammo for the STG44 (or MP44 to some).

 

[squeeze]

View attachment 2145
You suck.

But it is a nice rifle.

My uncle had a GI bring back "Burp" (I suck at attaching the pics to this thing, see above for the type of weapon I am referring to) gun from WWII, which my grandfather had collected after some fighting in France.

You have any contacts on purchasing vintage ammo for German line of fine firearms? It isn't easy finding the ammo for the STG44 (or MP44 to some).

That's an MP43/44/StG44 (Maschinen Pistole or SturmGewehr) and I would give my left nut for one. Aside from being excrutiatingly rare, they are now banned from import, so you can't even bring one to the US if you found one overseas. There are several pictures floating around of Somalis and Iraqis toting them. Where they find the ammo is beyond me... maybe there is more surplus in the 3rd world since there is so little demand for it over here. They are chambered in 7.92x33 Kurz which essentially forces you to reload if you want to shoot it. Several of the ammo companies make kurz brass, but it's pretty pricey. You can form your own from 308 or 300 Savage with the proper dies and some annealing. Either way, it wouldn't be terribly cheap to shoot, but then again, it wouldn't be a gun you'd want to shoot with any extreme frequency.

As far as other German ammo... there is a TON of surplus 7.92x57mm (8mm Mauser) floating around. The Yugo 1970s and 1950s batches are great lots and absurdly cheap (I paid $86 for 900 rds of the 1954 Yugo 8mm). It's dirty and corrosive, but so long as you clean your rifle well after shooting it, it's not a big deal. You could buy some new manufacture stuff, but you'll pay. Until Wolf gets on the ball and starts cranking out 8mm in their regular line, surplus is the best bet. Other German-weapon calibers (9mm, 32, 38, 7.65, etc..) are relatively easy to find.

ps- a "burp gun" usually refers to a Russian PPSH due to the sound it makes -- a term used commonly in Korea when the North was widely equipped with them.

 

[FlyingBeagle]

I have an 8mm mauser, and bought some surplus ammo from somewhere in south america (chile or argentina, if I remember). I'd say about 1 in 10 rounds would misfire. Real fun to recock the bolt hoping the round is a misfire and not an exceptionally long hangfire (which I never had).
The other thing about that surplus ammo is that it's corrosive and dirty as all hell. It's especially bad cleaning these old rifles that don't have chromed barrels or anything like that. Cleaning is them is a bitch.

 

[Fly Navy]

Actually, "burp gun" usually refers to the MG42 due to the sound it made.

I too would give my left nut for a Stg-44. There are pictures of US soldiers playing with them in Iraq. Lucky bastards.

 

[hump1909]

the previous poster was correct in stating that the commonly referred to burp gun is the Soviet PPsH....

 

[Fly Navy]

Oops you're right, the PPsh is the Burp Gun, I always get that wrong. The MG42 is the "buzzsaw".