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Not a 1919A4, but a little older Browning Belt Fed design

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gulf state gaurd

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#2 ·
Nice score. Congrats.
 
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anna

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#3 ·
Yes i must agree ,, A very nice score.. If you find yourself with to many projects and need some funds Please keep me in mind That is if you would want to let it go,, We have quite a digger collection.. Very Nice
 
IMBLITZVT

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#6 ·
I have wanted a Digger for a good while. I bid on the last digger they had up for auction but did not want a 303 gun... not that there is anything wrong with that. Not to bad of a price. I imagine parts will be hard. I would love to see some more detailed pictures of a dewat. I got the sense that these guns were underwater for a bit.

The MG08/15 with battle damage was interesting... with no papers as far as I could tell.

I ended up with two of the parts lots. Both had some Digger parts in them. I got the T-Gewehr bolt lot and the lot that had all the rifle barrel bands. I had hoped to get a few more of the parts lots but the prices were pretty high.

That said the deal of the auction seemed to be the BAR.
 
Grease Gunner

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
Parts won’t be too bad as I have a couple local sources for them. My plan is to install a .30-06 barrel on it. I haven’t found if Colt made them in 30 caliber but I know Marlin-Rockwell did. I’d consider 7.62-54R but I’m not sure how hard it would be to find the bold head and feel where (I know where a barrel is sitting)
 
IMBLITZVT

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#9 ·
Grease Gunner said:
Parts won’t be too bad as I have a couple local sources for them. My plan is to install a .30-06 barrel on it. I haven’t found if Colt made them in 30 caliber but I know Marlin-Rockwell did. I’d consider 7.62-54R but I’m not sure how hard it would be to find the bold head and feel where (I know where a barrel is sitting)
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That was my thoughts initially. However its my understanding that this will not work. Different receiver, shorter ejection port...etc. I would love to know more on this subject as I can find little info on the topic. Let me know what you find!
 
Abominog

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#11 ·
Correct me if I’m wrong- even as a dewat this is still a class 3 subject to all the paperwork and nine month delay one would suffer with a functioning auto? And as such, though nonfunctional, still can’t be owned in a bunch of states??
 
IMBLITZVT

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#12 ·
Grease Gunner said:
Diggers were made in 54R for the Russians and I know where there is a barrel but not the rest of the pasts I’d need for the conversion. Belts would be the biggest issue.
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Yes, for sure they were made in 54r, 30-06 and obviously 303. I think its obvious that feeding parts on the spindle would need to change for the calibers. Maybe the sideplates. However I actually emailed Bob Naess about this exact idea before the auction. I don't want to speak for him but I pretty much gave up on this idea. I think you may find that switching calibers is not going to be a good option but again I don't really understand all the details as I am not very familiar with the guns. I can see where if the ejection port/bolt (not just bolt face)/receiver is different... you might be stuck in 303.

Abominog said:
Correct me if I’m wrong- even as a dewat this is still a class 3 subject to all the paperwork and nine month delay one would suffer with a functioning auto? And as such, though nonfunctional, still can’t be owned in a bunch of states??
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Yes dewats are registered on a NFA form 5 (tax free transfer). You can then file a Form 1 (or 2 for SOT) to re-activate them. Hopefully the 9 month delay is coming back down to where it was before. That is correct, several states will still not allow it.
 
anna

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#13 ·
Matt, I totally agree,, Stay with the Caliber it was designed for as the Diggers are Milled in tight tolerances and would be a shame to Retro fit Original parts. There is a lot of 303 out there.. FWIW
 
C

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#15 ·
i looked at some parts lots, but they went pretty high, even though they got interesting parts in them. they will also charge thru the nose for shipping, but thats nothing compare to the prices these went for. on the other thought - someone must've needed them really bad.

im building up a digger kit from parts that i have, anyone has spares? like grip, cut receiver, barrels? and whatever internals they came with?
 
IMBLITZVT

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#17 ·
anna said:
Matt, I totally agree,, Stay with the Caliber it was designed for as the Diggers are Milled in tight tolerances and would be a shame to Retro fit Original parts. There is a lot of 303 out there.. FWIW
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Really, I don't see a lot of 303 parts but maybe I am not looking hard enough. I would really like a Digger but I am not paying in the $teens for one.

Rory said:
BAR and M2 were ok prices even after the 20% premium.

but wow the 08/15 that sold for $3850 after 20% was a mess. how could anyone justify that price point.
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Yes the BAR looked like an good deal to me. I have wanted a WWI 1918 pattern gun for a long time but the prices of them are double a Group gun. However I am not a big fan of a bipod on this gun and I like the way Browning did it!

Yes the Maxim was crazy. First, I did not see it come with paperwork... and I am going out on a limb here... but I think it almost for sure should have been on paper as there are not exceptions for relics, even if this is a relic... I mean it had cool battle damage but still... I have seen registered 08/15 shells sell for less and not that long ago.

comrade said:
i looked at some parts lots, but they went pretty high, even though they got interesting parts in them. they will also charge thru the nose for shipping, but thats nothing compare to the prices these went for. on the other thought - someone must've needed them really bad.

im building up a digger kit from parts that i have, anyone has spares? like grip, cut receiver, barrels? and whatever internals they came with?
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Some of them did go a bit high. I was really disappointed not to get the auction with the Jap barrel. I have a Type 96 but I wanted to use the parts off it to make a 7.62x39 barrel for my Type 96. https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609801/wwii-machine-gun-barrel-lot-of-5
I don't know what the MG34 tanker jacket in that condition is worth. Also the big barrel at the bottom is a 1895 Digger barrel I think?

This lot had a Jap Type 99 mag in it which was worth the price of the entire lot if you need one. I don't even know the all the rest of the mags but assume they are near worthless it still was not to bad:
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609858/wwii-machine-gun-magazine-lot-of-14

There was a TON of value in this lot. Lots of good parts but none I just had to have. I think I was second high bid here:
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com...ction-machine-gun-parts-lot/?q=&ref=past-bids

This had a few good items in it but again, nothing I had to have:
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609877/firearm-machine-gun-trigger-assembly-and-parts-lot

One of my big complaints is that they mixed the Digger, Hotchkiss, and Jap parts almost equally between the lots!

I thought this was a bit high given the condition of the digger parts:
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609884/wwii-machine-gun-and-other-gun-parts

I bought this one. First that T-Gewehr bolt is worth the price of everything if you ask me. The Digger front end has good value. Hotchkiss, Jap 99 and MP44 bolt carriers are worth a good bit. Sure some AK items stuck in there... I was very happy with this lot for $1200 (out the door)
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609878/wwii-gun-parts-and-accessories

I also bought this one. On the right side is a T-Gewehr Barrel ring/Bipod adapter. Again almost worth the price of the auction if you ask me. Then the digger bolt carrier and bolt I believe on the upper right. Some Jap Type 99 on the bottom left, Tommy bolts and even a Maxim feedblock slide. Plus all the minor stuff... again not a bad deal if you ask me.
https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/lot/45609886/lot-of-wwii-era-firearm-parts-and-accessories

Shipping was $64 insured for my two lots. Not cheap but not out of the world expensive.

You know, I am 36 year old and this stuff is getting harder and harder to find. At this point I am buying parts for guns I don't even own... YET! :) Hotchkiss 1914, Digger, T-gewehr... guns that I plan to add eventually.

That said, if you see a part in either of the ones I bought that you really need, let me know.... fair chance I will sell.


Grease Gunner said:
I feel really good about my Digger after seeing that Maxim mess!!
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Yeah, I can't disagree. If you can find a good 303 kit and get that original barrel out without to much mess, you will have a pretty cheap Digger. I wish it was in 30-06 or 54r as I would have run you up to about $6k or more... :) I just really don't want to get into 303 as I really don't care for British guns for some reason... they are good guns but I just don't really like them that much...
 
C

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#19 ·
seconds on digger parts. btw, in that lot with digger side plates - there was a mint? grenade launcher sight for mauser, i once seen a rusty one went for 200. the launcher itself went for quite a lot..they really did mess these lots up. i bet if the digger or jap parts went together as a lot, they'd fetch more. mg34 jacket - probably around 3-400 in this condition, might be wrong..
 
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