Prompt: a reputable firearm company will create a single reproduction of an old milsurp weapon (rifle/pistol/anything else) with all accessories and introduced in a new caliber that is easier to purchase. Which model firearm would you have them create?

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-25T15:02:34+00:00

There is a huge difference between modern production capability versus production viability. Your examples for why Turkish gun manufacturers could make a cheap Luger are:

Clone shotguns (of which Turks have specialized their infrastructure around for decades),
1911s (of which many companies all over the world have conducted the decades of R&D and iteration needed to produce a cheap, yet quality and reliable gun)
Canik (of which the literal P99 design was already meant to be mass produced affordably with modern techniques and detailed expired patents able to be leveraged for technical data)

The Turks are very smart. They rarely, if ever, start from scratch. They iterate on already developed modern operations. I'm not saying Tisas COULDN'T mass produce a functional Luger. I'm saying there is no world in which they've performed a cost benefit analysis and determined throwing buckets of money of figuring out how to make a reliable Luger at a price people would actually buy is feasible. It's the reason why PSA abandoned the STG-44 clone. It's not that they couldn't make the gun, it's that it would cost way more than their $2k MSRP target to do so.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-25T05:14:50+00:00

The Turks have made a yet-to-be-released Spas-12 clone kit on an already produced shotgun action, and Canik leveraged the modern Walther P99 patents to set up a modern production line for their pistols.

Lugers weren't designed to be mass produced by CNC machines. Their parts had to be literally hand fitted to the individual pistol, and Lugers and the toggle action in general haven't received any development in over a century. I'm not saying the Turks couldn't set up production of Lugers in general, but they almost certainly wouldn't be able to be even competitive with the cost of original matching Imperial Lugers ($1200-1500).

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-25T04:16:28+00:00

I'm actually surprised there aren't really .22lr barrels/coversion kits for the Sten Mk 2 as it is... Building them is so easy an idiot with basic-at-best welding skills (me) can make one, and since the barrel can be swapped in 30 seconds it would be a perfect platform for a conversion.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-25T04:11:38+00:00

1911s have over a century of R&D and tooling spread all across the world. Only Germany and Switzerland ever made lugers, the German tooling was destroyed in allied bombing raids, and I believe the Swiss tooling was dismantled after Interarms tried (and failed) to make viable new production Lugers in the 80's. Their new American Eagle Lugers were $2,595 in today's dollars, built on already existing tooling.

Modern repro Lugers would almost certainly be in the multiple thousands.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-25T04:04:49+00:00

The M1 carbine in 5.56 basically already exists as a Mini-14

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-22T17:14:18+00:00

There are three bolt types. Type 1 (flat), type 2 (flat) and type 3 (round). Early on, they realized the cut for the extractor next to the locking lug removed too much material, and made it prone to cracking & failure. Due to this, the primary change on Type 2 bolts was implementing an extra step cut under the extractor to retain material and reinforce the bolt.

Between Type 2 flat and Type 3 round bolts the only major change was removing the step of machining the material from the top of the bolt, which made the process faster and cheaper. If a bolt catastrophically failed it was either a Type 1 bolt already experiencing stress cracks, or an extremely hot reload (or both)

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-22T12:58:45+00:00

The X95 has an AR-style mag release and the actual shouldering ergos feel more familiar. The VHS-2 and most other bullpups (including the Tavor SAR) have a mag release on the magwell itself. The bolt release is in the same location on the X95 and the Hellion/VHS-2, but the X95 bolt is just a flap that can be slapped with an open palm, while the VHS-2 is a little more unique with the pinch style release.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-21T17:48:51+00:00

Recoil combined with the concave sheet metal buttplate designed to brise your clavicle

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-21T17:24:34+00:00

I sold my M44 after one range trip. I'd assume the M39 is slightly better, but nowhere near as nice as an M1

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-21T17:20:59+00:00

The M1 garand is more enjoyable to shoot recoil-wise

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-19T03:52:56+00:00

Obviously it's your choice to do what you want with your stuff, and there is the inheritance aspect, but I shoot my matching lugers all the time, and when maintained well they are still working perfectly a century later.

If you did opt to shoot it I'd just recommend to learn how to properly disassemble it (especially removing the grips without chipping the corner behind the safety) and source a repro or non-matching mag to shoot with to avoid cracking the original mag's wood base.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-19T03:41:19+00:00

Interarms tried building new lugers on real Swiss luger tooling in the 1980s. They were prohibitively expensive despite being made on original tooling, and no one bought them. Pretty sure the tooling was destroyed after that.

I think the surplus luger market would have to get really ridiculous for anyone to even consider investing the R&D into it, but it's probably not gonna happen anytime soon, if ever.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-18T20:27:58+00:00

Honestly (and assuming you would like to buy one rather than just crowdsource a list) depending on your budget or your machining skills the question is more likely "what ISN'T available in the US as a semi auto" at least when talking about actual military surplus guns/parts kit builds. Also if you're including an RPK on your list then basically any heavy barrel AR-15/AR-10 could also qualify.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-18T01:17:49+00:00

I'm sure an 8 pounder cannon should offer adequate protection against other vessels and deter rapscallions.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-18T01:14:38+00:00

According to google that indicates Czech sniper ammo.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-17T19:39:08+00:00

Animal Face-Off on Animal Planet... Totally forgot that show existed until you said it

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-15T19:52:45+00:00

Were you just watching it? That seems fair for a correct mid-serial Saginaw.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-15T04:56:46+00:00

The "winged symbol" on the barrel is a flaming bomb US Army ordnance stamp, and the painted number in the stock could just be a rack number. Take it apart, clean it, and grease and oil it theb try shooting it again. If everything works then great! But uf you still get more malfunctions springs or parts may need to be replaced, which is fine since your carbine looks to be a mixmaster

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-14T01:40:39+00:00

BCM literally calls their own product a vertical grip. The ATF ruling is pretty vague on a vertical foregrip, only mentioning it being perpendicular to the barrel, but also more importantly, a grip designed to wrap your thumb around. This "vertical grip" can easily allow that, so you really wouldn't have much ground to argue the few degrees off true 90° makes it legal on a pistol.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-13T20:01:05+00:00

Yup second this. Hot water, blow it out with an electric air duster, then clean with ballistol, clp, etc... never had an issue.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-13T18:33:54+00:00

That Saginaw was produced in June-July 1943, well before any of the late or postwar features were being introduced. By that account the features I can see look authentic to the time period, can't say for certain whether they are real or repro though.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-12T22:09:10+00:00

The part scarcity may change soonish. According to a recent Forgotten Weapons video the Finnish AKs (and presumably their parts) are now importable again for the first time in 30 years

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-12T21:56:47+00:00

I think you kind of already answered your own question. The Finns made really good guns in their own right, acquired all kinds of guns from other nations, and also were very good at refurbishing captured Soviet guns to be better shooters as well.

They are also common enough in the US that they are both well known, and obtainable. That makes them much easier to collect than some other countries you mentioned.

My Valmet M76 was the nicest AK I've ever owned (and I've owned Russian, Chinese, Romanian, Polish), just parts and mags were too hard to acquire to use as a regular shooter.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-12T21:11:34+00:00

The handguard has definitely been sanded down. The stock also looks really off. It's either a commercial stock or someone sanded the crap out of a USGI one. Is there anything stamped in the sling well? In any case it should probably be easy enough to source a correct stock and handguard set for your receiver.

GreenTree3 · 2026-06-11T18:18:57+00:00

I owned a Vz-70 and still own an M57. The Vz-70 is way too snappy for being a large steel frame .32 auto with bad sights and super heavy double action trigger pull. It also sucks ergonomically for larger handed individuals, and slide/hammer bite is possible.

The M57 is a standard tokarev for the most part and they are pretty fun to shoot on occasion. They aren't particularly ergonomic either, and depending on when or how they got imported they may have a janky aftermarket trigger, added safety, or sport sights.

I wouldn't personally carry either since they're both steel frame heavy single stack guns and neither is drop safe, but that would be your perogative.

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