MG 34/ MAG 58 gun ring alternative.

[Jericho]

Recently aquired a mg 34/mag 58 gun ring, Its in great shape and complete except for the mount legs. With the cost of M 66 rings continuing to climb and supplies dwindleing I looked at the M g 34 ring as a reasonably priced substitute . I plan a custom install in the factory location, i'll fabricate the legs and cab attachements from mild steel and plan to use it for an M 1919 mount platform. WW2 A4 that I restored a few winters ago . It will include ammo box, mount , straps, pads, legs and barrel travel locks . It will add an element to the parade circuit. I m retired but work full time (go figure) so it may be a slow process, I do all of my own fab work and will figure out the roof / gunner pads, straps as I go along., so it may take a while, For those looking for a more affordable solution , Ill offer one solution, and suggestions are appreciated Let me warn you , I am not a purist, I modify anything I can to improve performance , lower cost , increase servicibility. I have no problem mixing models , series and branchs. In the AF we seldom bought the kit items other than the basic truck and we modified everything on tactical vehicles to suit our needs , So it doesn't bother me to use a Heckler and Koch manufactured ring on my truck , Thanks , Andy

 

[bigmike]

Are you talking about the MG3 ring? If so, I'm working on a Pintel for a 1919 by modifying the existing Pintel that came with the ring.

 

[Clay James]

If it's an MG3 ring you mean they work great on a deuce. The smaller guns don't really need the big heavy M66 mount. I have one on my deuce on some legs I slapped together before a camping trip. Had the MG42 in all its glory up there the whole time in the Black Rock Desert

 

[Jericho]

Yes, yes and yes, the Mg 34, 43 and mag 58 are all from the same liniage, I really like the classic German engineering the ring has, cost is great, quality is high and it simply weighs "lighter on the scale" the recoil apparatus seems totally sufficient for my 1919. And yes I plan to adapter the standard 1919 pintle to fit neatly on to the rings existing recoil suppressor ,perhaps a "slip fit" with pip pins, Will get to that when the legs are done and get some machine work time, First choice is to make the legs of "box steel" or to go the angle iron direction. next to fad a one piece mount adapter circle to bolt up to the entire circumference of the ring mount or to do a three individual piece flange that still catches all the flange holes. after that its a question of cab reinforcement, don't need any where as much as the Ma Duece throw weight , but I will do something to tie it all together .

 

[Jericho]

Raining hard all day here , classic hard cold fall rain, 3 to 5 inches of snow tonight, Ordered a cab reinforcement kit , Cost was ok $45 ,00 us , shipping was equal to the kit. I work at the Post Office , rate is inflated to cover the low "hook you "price, just the price one pays I guess, Have secured a spare leg mount clamp assembly like the one on the passengers door. Plan to install it on the drivers side and run a piece of 2 inch sched 40 mild steel pipe with gentle bends to roughly follow the roof line across the front, it will also likely mount a LED light and perhaps other items. Cut out the steel for the back of the cab to use as the mount flanges for the rear legs ,plan to tie it in across the back with some square stock. . should have gone to the shop and started the pintle adapter, but thought the rain was going to stop, it has not! . have the initial pictures , will have to figure out how to post them soon. Have the ammo can, Holder, and pintle to be modified on hand. Cant find a water jet locally so my brackets will likely be done old school, torch wrench (OXY ACTYLENE) and "grind to the line" Not so bad, just takes more time