MG34

Hey guys,

Sorry no posts lately but I had a BLAST this weekend and just pulled in from O-town on Tuesday...Shot in two competitions on Saturday, but I'll talk more about that in another post.

I gotta mention first and foremost that I was lucky enough to get a chance to take a spin on a German MG34.

For those of ya who aren't familiar with it, the MG34 was the first modern universal machine gun. At 12kg, it was much lighter than most other MGs around the world, and could be used for virtually any role.

Nazi Germany began producing them in 1934, and it was used from a bipod, as this one was, in the light machine gun role, with a tripod for a general purpose machine gun, and also in tanks and aircraft.

It had a blistering rate of fire, although not as high as the later MG-42, and fired the powerful 8mm Mauser round. Typically a 199 grain bullet at 2600 feet per second.

It operates by the recoil of the barrel being blown straight back and pushing the bolt to the rear with a massive recoil spring in the buttstock bringing the bolt back into battery. The nose cap at the muzzle end of the rifle uses the gas from firing to assist in this.

It is effective to 1200 yards at least in aimed fire and 2000 yards or more in the indirect fire role, to simply batter an area with ammo.

Recoil was very mild, although this version was only semi automatic, it was quite accurate. Hitting a 10" target with slow fire was a breeze. When you really open her up as fast as you can fire her though, it tends to spray an area. Doesn't kick hard, but you can't keep the sights on target very well either. It pelts the immediate area with ammo. You should see this thing chew up a berm. It's unreal. 8 men firing rifles at the same time was the only thing that even came close to how much damage this thing was doing.

I can say this...our boys who charged these guns in places like Juno beach had some big, BIG brass ones!

Here's me giving it a go.

Pictures for Red Collar

Now we all know our bro Red Collar is a huge fan of M14 rifles. I've talked with him a lot about how they work inside, etc so I figured I'd post some pics to show him exactly what the heck is going on.

So..Here's a course on the inner workings of an M14 or M1A rifle!



First picture: Here's the M14 stripped down for cleaning in the field. Not a detailed clean, but just what ya have to worry about. On top is the rifle, removed from it's wood stock by unlatching the trigger guard and pulling out the firing mechanism. Underneath the rifle is the operating rod (Op Rod), the op rod spring, and spring guide. When assembled, the end of the spring pointed left goes over the guide, and the end to the right goes inside the op rod tube.


Second picture: Slightly right of the middle of this picture is the gas cylinder, underneath the barrel. If you look closely, you'll see the gas piston sticking out a few inches to the rear of the gas cylinder. Normally it is inside, and it is only exposed about .25 of an inch. On the bottom left is the front of the op rod. When assembled, it sits almost flushly against the gas cylinder, resting on that .25 inch of gas piston.

On firing the rifle, hot gas from the propellant race down the barrel and some are diverted into the gas cylinder. They hit the gas cylinder and force it rearward into the exposed position above with great force. The gas piston in turn smacks the op rod on the face, driving the op rod back, and compressing the op rod spring. The op rod takes the bolt with it all the way to the rear of the receiver, which ejects the empty casing. As it hits the end of it's travel, the op rod spring pulls the op rod and bolt forward again, chambering a fresh cartridge and cocking the hammer of the rifle. The gas piston is smacked by the op rod and driven back into hiding inside the gas cylinder.


Third picture: Here is the assembled rifle. You can see the face of the op rod is against the gas piston, which is back inside the gas cylinder where it belongs, and that the op rod spring is in position, with most of it actually inserted into the op rod. The firing controls are also shown. They are the trigger, hammer, and safety of the rifle. You can also see the trigger guard has been pulled open. That's all that is neccessary to remove the rifle from the stock. No screws, no tools.


Fourth picture: Here's the top of the rifle. You can see here where the front of the bolt's bottom lug (right hand actually) fits into the op rod to link the bolt and op rod together. When the gas piston slams the op rod rearward, it brings the bolt with it, camming and tilting the two locking lugs out of their grooves in the receiver and unlocking and opening the action when gas and pressure levels are safe.

Well, there's a basic course on the internal parts and operation of the M14...Hope it wasn't too boring!

If anyone wants more detailed explaination or to see more pics, just let me know!

M14 Rifle

Hey all,

Just came home from a session with the M14! I was finally able to pick her up from the shop on Thursday night, but today was my first day off from work.

Overall, I gotta say...this is a CRAZY deal for $499. A real 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifle, available in Canada, even for shooters on a budget. Or even cheap bastards like me. What's not to love?

Well...It does have a few shortcomings. The Chu wood stock is not as good looking or durable as US walnut, but you can exchange that for $100. 5 round magazines suck hard, but such is Canadian law. And the sights are not as robust as US models, but you can just drop in a set from a Garand or a US made M1A or M14 rifle, they just fit right in.

Bear in mind a US rifle is $1900 and you can see why there's a couple cut corners here.

Now the good news...its actually closer to the old US Military M14 rifle than the Springfields we buy for $2k dollars! A forged receiver, as opposed to cast, a one piece firing pin, tighter gas system, and flash hiders already bored out to National Match specifications. Can't go wrong.

I'm actually VERY surprised by the accuracy of this rifle. In the last two pictures, you get an idea of the sight picture, and there's a group I shot today. Four rounds into two inches, from standing supported, with Remington hunting ammo. Not too shabby for an eyeball and iron sights huh?

7.62x51mm NATO, which most of us know as 308 Winchester, is a very powerful rifle round. It can shoot accurately from an M14 to 500 meters if the shooter does their part, defeat cover which would laugh at a C-7 or M-16 rifle, and is plenty enough gun for even moose hunting. Cheap surplus ammunition is still available in Canada to shoot holes in targets other than your wallet.

The sights on this rifle (as well as the Garand) have to be the BEST that mankind ever devised. Sharp and crystal clear, easy to see, and fully adjustible.

One click of the dial moves your bullet strike one inch per each one hundred yards you are shooting. Thus:

1 click at 100 yards is one inch
1 click at 200 yards is two inches
1 click at 300 yards is three inches
1 click at 400 yards is four inches

and so on.

So lets say our rifle is zeroed for 200 yards and we want to shoot something 400 yards away. My data book shows a 147 grain FMJ boat tail round dropping 22.3 inches, or almost two feet, at that range. So, one click being four inches at 400 yards, you need simply 6 clicks of elevation to put yourself at 24", and your shot would hit 2 inches high on target.

Pretty simple eh?

Ergonomics are very good. Not AR-15 good, but it's very comfy. Heavier than say, a 30-30 lever action rifle, but no heavier than a scoped bolt action. And the weight does soak up some recoil and allow you to get back on target faster.

Seriously...at this price everyone should buy at least one.

Here's some pics...As usual, click for the big version!

No 1 Mk III* SMLE

Here's the .303 Enfield I was tellin everyone about! A 1942 made Bristish rifle, with an 18" sword style bayonet!

Heavy rifle, but it soaks up the recoil very nicely...and the fastest firing bolt action rifle there ever was. A 10 round detachable magazine helps that out too, and it's decently powerful. The strength is pretty much between 30-30 Winchester and 303 British, so it's a fine hunting rifle aside from all the history of it!

The soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force were able to fire these rifles so quickly and accurately that German soldiers thought they were under machine gun fire.

Sights are very nice for an open notch and post and well protected. It shoots 5 shots into a group slightly less than 4 inches wide in my less than skilled hands.

Which really ain't so bad. Gotta figure then, at 500 meters, that would be an 18" group...well enough to hit a human sized target, which is what it was made to do.

End result? Fine piece of our history...powerful and accurate battle rifle, looks great on display, effective for hunting...And isn't that bayonet awesome?

Sorry no new posts lately

Hey gang,

sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I know you guys are around a lot, but I've been workin 10 hour days at a lumber yard...Suffice to say, a cold beer and sleep are more on my mind than watchin the blog!

Gonna be done soon though until June...So to everyone here, thanks for your continued patience and visiting the site.

In other news....My Tokarev took a dump on me!!!

Turns out when it is actually fired, the magazines fall out. Cause looks like it is the magazine catch. Ain't long enough to actually enter the slot cut out of the magazines. Without it in place, the magazine just kind of rests on it. Nothin makes ya look cool like ammo falling at your feet whenever your pistol is fired!

Marstar's customer service rocks though, I gotta say. Called a tech, explained the problem, and they told me to go right ahead and remove that part from the pistol and mail it in to them. They are gonna replace it for free.

So...Downtime for the pistol until I get my new mag catch. Shame...She was sooo fun to shoot!!

But there's still light at the end of the tunnel. Bright light.

I picked up a WW1 vintage all original 303 British SMLE rifle with bayonet...Pics and update soon! I love the Lee Enfields and that 18" blade is SCARY!

Put a down payment on a Norinco M14 as well...$499 at the local store. Never would have thought I would find one there!

Hopefully that comes home too. I'll have info, pics and review for you all ASAP.

Supposedly, the extra high rings I need to mount my scope on my Mauser Sniper are also in. I am going to snag them this weekend when I go put more money down on my M14...

So...lots to look forward to! Stay tuned.

Until then I stay in the lumber business :(