Northern Rockies MG Shoot- my Bren

[TactAdv]

Just got back from the Northern Rockies MG & Cannon Shoot in Casper, Wyoming.

Took my all original Daimler '42 Mk II out to play, along with my PKM, MG-34, RPD, AUG, AK74, Galil SAR, M-249 and Mk I Ultimax 100.

Pretty bad weather on Friday, LOTS of MUD, MUD, and more MUD, but beautiful weather on Saturday-Sunday, so had a great time as usual.

I'm having trouble processing the video I took, so I'll have to post it up later. For now, a couple teaser pictures will have to do.

I put about 1400 rds of new manufacture Privi PPU 174gr FMJ .303 Brit through the Bren, which all ran fine as expected. Gas port setting on 1 for that, which runs it nicely. Just FYI, I never gave it much thought till now, but when I was buying the PPU .303 I inadvertently grabbed three boxes of PPU 150gr soft-point .303 ammo, and just as a data point it fed, fired, and ran the gun just fine. I guess if all you can find is soft-point projos, you're not likely to have an issue from my experience it appears.....probably old news for many of you....

We get to shoot all the way out there....well past 1800yds on the far side if you want, it's really neat to be able to crank the rear sight waaaaaaaay up and watch the bullet fall that far out......

Anyway, a few pictures, then I'll add the videos when I get them done...
-TomH

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[Vincent]

Took my all original Daimler '42 Mk II out to play, along with my PKM, MG-34, RPD, AUG, AK74, Galil SAR, M-249 and Mk I Ultimax 100.

So you have an FFL/SOT?

[TactAdv]

Yes, am Type 07 FFL/C2 SOT. For....EVER. Like, 1981. Why?? ;-))

[Sarge]

I have never heard of this shoot, never saw any info about it on any of the web sites I frequent.
To bad or there would have been a Mk I Bren - among others - there.
How often do they have these?
Where in NE Colo are you? I'm in the Colo Spgs area.
Sarge

[TactAdv]

Well, we've been doing this one for 18yrs.. So far! We also used to put on similar shoots in Fort Morgan and Cheyenne Wells, Colorado for many years.

You can find info on the Casper shoot here:

Wyoming NFA Shooters Club - Wyoming NFA Shooters Club

Follow the links to shoot information pages. Also plenty of videos on YouTube.

I'm outside the People's Republik of Boulder.
-TomH

[Vincent]

Yes, am Type 07 FFL/C2 SOT. For....EVER. Like, 1981. Why?? ;-))

I have been thinking about it myself. Transferable LMGs are too expensive and availability is limited. Also, some semi-auto LMGs now cost a lot more than a post May sample.

[Sarge]

I've been to the shoot in Cheyenne Wells, but never got up to Ft Morgan.

Have to look up the exact dates, but - I got my first class 3 in Missouri in about 1967.
In Colorado in about 1975.
Sarge

[Vincent]

This is the kind of thing I was talking about:

A post dealer sample for $1,825.
Bren MKII Post Dealer Sample : Machine Guns at GunBroker.com


A semi-auto for $3,200.
Historic Arms Bren MkII .303 British : Other Collectible Guns at GunBroker.com


And that’s if you buy the postie. A nice kit runs around $700 if you can build it yourself. Multiplied by…. Oh, let’s say ten LMGs. The savings cover the fees…. or am I missing something?

[TactAdv]

This is the kind of thing I was talking about:

A post dealer sample for $1,825.
Bren MKII Post Dealer Sample : Machine Guns at GunBroker.com


A semi-auto for $3,200.
Historic Arms Bren MkII .303 British : Other Collectible Guns at GunBroker.com


And that’s if you buy the postie. A nice kit runs around $700 if you can build it yourself. Multiplied by…. Oh, let’s say ten LMGs. The savings cover the fees…. or am I missing something?

Vince, my experience with these things is that Post-86DS Bren guns are a crap shoot. Price, by itself, tells you nothing and means little. LOTS of people try to put stuff back together with widely varied results, as you would expect. You need to be able to examine each and every gun individually pretty much to assess the mechanical correctness of the build job. You may be in for a world of hurt in trying to get someone else's mistake to actually run right.....ask me how I know.

OTOH, if you are buying a factory original gun, of any type, it may be a way to go for you. Some things are pretty much not available any other way.

Best advice I can give you is to not go into that decision based solely upon money. You need to be "in the business" with an FFL, and most ESPECIALLY with a Type 07. Do not try to go into this with the idea of JUST acquiring guns, that will get you into trouble. You'll need to explore a lot of things.....zoning, etc. There are few shortcuts anymore. At a bare bones minimum, figure on dropping @$4,000/yr just to hang the paper on your wall. Lots of individual things may drive that number up significantly. If you can figure out a way to make a good business case......cover your costs and expenses......it may be viable. I hold the license as part of a larger more diverse enterprise that, for parts, requires it. Alone, I doubt I could justify it.

-TomH