MG42 (some assembly required)

[Anzac15]

Ok, well its a Yugoslavian M53. I bought this pile of parts at a gun show over the weekend..it was cheap, and I really have no idea why I dragged this home, ha ha.
So here's the thing. Judging by what you see here, would you build a dummy gun, a semi auto, or fling it into the fires of Mount Doom? Right off the bat, I can see the barrel and bipod is missing.
Just looking for some opinions here. If nothing else, its a pretty good learning tool. Looks pretty neat just sitting where it is now.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[mmppres]

Well depends on how much you want to put out money wise. to me a simi would be a nice build. unless you can afford a dull auto build. There is some good parts there for resell too.

[RCS]

I have a German marked spare barrel carrier for the MG 42 barrel, I believe both single and double carriers were produced. There are still some mounts around too for a nice displayAttachment 97444Attachment 97442Attachment 97443 also you can find a repro winter trigger too

[Vincent]

Judging by what you see here, would you build a dummy gun, a semi auto, or fling it into the fires of Mount Doom?

I’d soak it in oil for a while. Then clean the surface rust off. Take some good pictures and put it on GunBroker.

You could build a semi or dummy. But it will take a lot of time and $$.

Hitler’s zipper was a badass gun. In its day it was a lean clean killing machine.

[browningautorifle]

I see lots missing, the greatest part of it. That's going to cost lots to restore to FA, Semi...if you get a dummy receiver you might not spend as much. A barrel can be made from round stock then.

[Anzac15]

I'll probably go the dummy route...pretty rough parts, what there is. Good thing is that I got this dirt cheap. Oughta make a nice display piece.

[CINDERS]

Lee Emery called it "Hitlers Buzz Saw" with good effect as I do not think that the allies had a portable MG with the features that gun had nor the cyclic rate of fire that the soldiers that stormed the beaches D-Day would probably never forget that sound nor what it was capable of..
Though some where I read/learnt that General Electric at the very end of WWII were working on an electrically driven minigun on the principle of the gatling type arrangement which morphed into todays mini-gun and bigger derivitives imagine a P-38 with 1 x 50 cal one of those in the nose biggest issue would be carrying enough ammo!

[Anzac15]

I got to fire a genuine '42 about two years ago..it truly was an awesome experience. Couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be on the receiving end.

[dlbard]

I would defiantly build it. All the missing parts are obtainable and in the end you will have something a lot more valuable than the initial cost. Let alone have a serious conversation starter any time the gun is talked about or used. I have 2 of these, one M53 and the other is getting turned into a MG3. The M53 is done, minus the metal finish, and it runs great. On that build I used BRP's receiver halves. Those have gotten pretty pricey, $425 for the one with the ratchet plate. On the MG3 I am using 2x1 modified tubing and a actual MG3 receiver piece for the rear half. That saved a lot of money. Total cost there was around $60.

[Frederick303]

Barrels are the problem.

None area around these days to be had at a reasonable price.