Yesterday's fun with a belt-fed M1919A6

[ptrthgr8]

I'm going to start this off by asking that if you don't like guns or think they're somehow evil or that the people who do enjoy the responsible use of firearms are off their rocker, etc.... please just stop now. Move on to another thread. I recognize and appreciate that not every country or culture has the same traditions or appreciation of firearms as we have here in the US and I understand that not everyone on this international forum (or even in the US) will share these traditions or appreciation. But I know there are plenty of firearms enthusiasts on these forums and the Watering Hole is open for any discussion, so please don't jump into this thread simply to make derisive comments that will only serve to cause ill will. Please. For the love of all things holy. Let's just all be cool and tolerant. And if you can't be cool, please just be tolerant. That's all I'm asking. Please.

With that said...

Yesterday I was able to take my recently acquired M1919A6 out for her maiden voyage. (With me anyhow.) Her name is Betty. Betty is from the Korean War-era. She's a classic. Betty likes to eat 250-round belts of M2 ball (.30-06) ammo. Her appetite is significant and she does a marvelous job of tearing up targets down range. They're hard to see in the video, but there are two semi-large pallets down range about 100 yards or so with fun little life-size turkey targets stapled to them. The turkey targets were shredded and the pallets were pretty much turned into tooth picks. It was a good day! Here's the video:

It was pretty hot and humid for North Dakota yesterday – 93 degrees and 72% humidity where we were – so after that first belt we took a break to enjoy some beverages and cigars. I lit up a nice RA Extra to celebrate this milestone (a belt-fed MG has been one of my dreams for over 20 years). It was one of the best cigars I’ve ever had.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[Wicky]

What explains the gaps in fireing?

[mbrody]

I would very much like to fire a MG one day. Congrats and be safe...

[ptrthgr8]

What explains the gaps in fireing?

There were a couple of potential issues - the headspacing and timing were properly set per USGI specs, but I may needed to have let the headspacing out another click or two since this ammo was 50's surplus. Part of the feeding problem may also have been due to feeding directly out of the can without someone helping. This was intended to be a crew served weapon, so one person would be firing while another was helping to feed the belts. The feed pawl may also need to be adjusted. There are a few things that could have contributed to those issues, so it means I'll need to do some additional testing to determine the culprit. And I don't mind this sort of testing at all.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[ptrthgr8]

I would very much like to fire a MG one day. Congrats and be safe...

Come to North Dakota and I can make that happen. I'm always safe. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[Colt45]

I'm going to start this off by asking that if you don't like guns or think they're somehow evil or that the people who do enjoy the responsible use of firearms are off their rocker, etc.... please just stop now. Move on to another thread.

That's not how it works here at FOH. When we initiate a discussion, we're opening the discussion to all. That said, we should all do our best

to keep the discussions civil regardless of personal perspective.

[vanbellc]

That thing will cost you more to feed than a Cuban Cigar habit!! Well worth it and thanks for sharing the video.

[Wicky]

There were a couple of potential issues - the headspacing and timing were properly set per USGI specs, but I may needed to have let the headspacing out another click or two since this ammo was 50's surplus. Part of the feeding problem may also have been due to feeding directly out of the can without someone helping. This was intended to be a crew served weapon, so one person would be firing while another was helping to feed the belts. The feed pawl may also need to be adjusted. There are a few things that could have contributed to those issues, so it means I'll need to do some additional testing to determine the culprit. And I don't mind this sort of testing at all.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

That makes sense, The drag probably threw it off. Enjoy!

[ptrthgr8]

That's not how it works here at FOH. When we initiate a discussion, we're opening the discussion to all. That said, we should all do our best

to keep the discussions civil regardless of personal perspective.

Agreed, of course. I don't expect that we'll all agree 100% of the time, but I would certainly hope that any discussion would remain civil and polite. That's not been the case with some other threads related to firearms in the past, so I was simply hoping to avoid those issues this time around.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[ptrthgr8]

That thing will cost you more to feed than a Cuban Cigar habit!! Well worth it and thanks for sharing the video.

Ain't that the truth! As if the cost of the NFA weapon wasn't enough (hence the 20 years it took to get one!), keeping Betty well fed will certainly rival the CC habit. Luckily, though, my wife tolerates both passions, so I don't have to worry about that angle.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[mbrody]

Come to North Dakota and I can make that happen. I'm always safe. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

If you can allow my two buddies to come join me, I'll bring the smokes, front the food and beverages. Just need a cabin or some place to stay!

[ptrthgr8]

I don't know anything about guns so I must ask: is this accurate? Is there a way to see the target?

It's accurate to a point. It's not a match rifle or anything like that at all so she won't win any marksmanship competitions. But this weapon wasn't designed for that sort of performance at all; most light MGs like this are meant more for area suppression than anything else - they provide a cone of fire. The tripod I was using has a T/E (traverse/elevation) mechanism that allows the weapon to be pretty much locked in position so the cone of fire is pretty much limited. The greater the distance the greater the spread of the impacts through the cone, but at 100 yards or less it's pretty well confined to a space no more than a couple of feet square. At that distance I'd call that a well saturated target zone.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[PigFish]

Great thread mate!!!

I used to enjoy watching a video from Dillion Precision called "Machine Gun Magic." Of course you need to be in the reloading business to privately shoot a GE Minigun!

I would hate to feed that thing! 50's era ammo must be corrosive, must take you a day to clean that bugger!

Tech question? You mention headspace. Since the '06 spaces off the shoulder does that mean that the chamber is not fully supported and the bolt stops some distance from, not contacting or locking to the breach of the chamber? Consistently excessive head space should balloon your cartridges or blow your primers. Do you simply thread the barrel in or out to adjust? Just curious.

Cheers. -Piggy

[ptrthgr8]

If you can allow my two buddies to come join me, I'll bring the smokes, front the food and beverages. Just need a cabin or some place to stay!

The more the merrier! We were using my friend's property for the shoot. It's about 15 miles outside of town. There's really no spare room at my house, unless you want to pitch a tent in our backyard. There are plenty of hotels in town, though, so lodging would not be an issue. Let me know if you and your buds plan to make a trip to North Dakota and I can make the trigger time on a few MGs happen.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[ptrthgr8]

Do you simply thread the barrel in or out to adjust?

That's exactly how it works. The 1919 design essentially fires out of battery - the firing pin is actually released by the sear before the bolt is fully locked into place. It's designed to happen in a very controlled manner, of course. Headspacing is adjusted simply by adjusting the ring on the barrel assembly. This can be done while the weapon is fully assembled by opening the top latch cover and using the special tool to adjust the ring or it can be done with the barrel assembly removed from the body of the weapon. One of my friends made a handy little video showing how headspacing is done without the tool:

If you're really into the mechanics of it all, you can also check out the timing video he made here:

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[mbrody]

The more the merrier! We were using my friend's property for the shoot. It's about 15 miles outside of town. There's really no spare room at my house, unless you want to pitch a tent in our backyard. There are plenty of hotels in town, though, so lodging would not be an issue. Let me know if you and your buds plan to make a trip to North Dakota and I can make the trigger time on a few MGs happen.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

I= will talk to my pals and see if we can get something together for the Fall...Fall is probably the best time for getting a little weekend trip set up...

[ptrthgr8]

I= will talk to my pals and see if we can get something together for the Fall...Fall is probably the best time for getting a little weekend trip set up...

Right on. Early fall works well here, too - the North Dakota winter doesn't really start to set in until late October/early November. Shoot me a PM when you get a better idea of a date. There are many MG owners/collectors around these parts, so it's entirely possible we can set up a full-on MG shoot of some sort. That would be even more fun.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[gersonmorelli]

Congrats on how you posted the thread Greg. Not a huge fan of guns myself (always curious though) but had to congratulate you on your good attitude (i.e. sub-title) and how you dealt with it after recent discussions!

[CanadianKodiak]

250 round belts of 30-06 ammo? Arrr! Arrr! Arrr! That rocks! Man, how I would love to shoot that baby! Crazy cool fun, brutha. Enjoy

[Fuzz]

Part of the feeding problem may also have been due to feeding directly out of the can without someone helping. This was intended to be a crew served weapon, so one person would be firing while another was helping to feed the belts. The feed pawl may also need to be adjusted. There are a few things that could have contributed to those issues, so it means I'll need to do some additional testing to determine the culprit. And I don't mind this sort of testing at all.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

I may be talking out of my @$$ here, but I read somewhere that you can stick a soup can under the feed tray to give the belt a smoother surface and stop it catching. Then you can have the ammo box just beneath. Course, that was about an M60, but the principle is the same.

[canadianbeaver]

Have no idea what you are talking about, but Matthew and I would love to join a gun club in the country near our cottage and go target shooting. There are different ways to get a license here in Ontario and it seems to take a whole weekend, and only at certain times of the year.

Hey we already shocked friends with our cigar smoking so why not go all the way?

Note, why did this forum *** the word Ske#t? Is there a meaning to this word I don't know about?

[riazp]

I would love to start shooting guns but the last thing I need right now is another expensive hobby LOL! the owners of the local cigar bar in montreal, Stogies, are all gun nuts. They are even licensed to carry in the US! I do enjoy talking and learning about guns with them...just dont have the funds to start this hobby.

[Puros Y Vino]

That is very cool. I should bring down my vintage Panzerfaust. We can go squirrel hunting. In all seriousness though. Thanks for sharing the video. We dont have much access to firearms up here. That one would surely put our politicians in a tizzy.

[CaptainQuintero]

Note, why did this forum *** the word Ske#t? Is there a meaning to this word I don't know about?

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

That's made my day!

[Fuzz]

Note, why did this forum *** the word Ske#t? Is there a meaning to this word I don't know about?

Yeah, it does have another meaning.It's slang for the act of, well...uhm... ah.... lets just say the the Monty Python gang sang a song about it being sacred...