The MP-34 was made by Steyr-Solothurn in four different calibers – 9×19 for the Germany army, 9×25 for the Austrian army, 9×23 for the Austrian police, and .45 ACP for the export market. This is one of the .45 caliber examples, of which only about 500 were made, all for South American countries (including El Salvador, Chile, Bolivia, and Uruguay). The gun shares most of its parts with the 9mm versions, with the exception of the magazine housing, rear sight mounting, bolt, and barrel. The receiver and magazine housing are the same length as the standard pattern, which much simplified production; it just has a wider housing to fit the double-stack 20-round .45 caliber magazine. In addition, because of the lack of common .45 ACP stripper clips, the clip-loading feature of the MP-34 mag housing was left off the .45 caliber model.
Semiauto Rifles
German Troop Trials “Push-Button” Gewehr 41(W)
When the German Army wanted a new semiauto service rifle in 1941, it received submissions from two companies; Walther and Mauser. Walther’s design didn’t strictly meet the criteria set forth, but it was clearly the […]
Prototype
Detailed Photos: Walther A115 No. 3
I did a video on this very interesting German prototype semiauto rifle a few weeks ago, and took one or two photographs at the same time. The genesis of the Gewehr 41 gas system is […]
Semiauto Rifles
StG45 at an IPSC 3-Gun Match (Video)
The Sturmgewehr 45 (aka Gerat 06H) was the first functional roller-delayed blowback rifle developed, and it was slated to replace the StG44 as Germany’s primary combat rifle when WWII ended. We have a reproduction of […]
I was just about to post a comment wondering about how it would handle compared to a Thompson when the end of the video came, and I got my wish. Looking forward to seeing that.
I think I’d take one of these over a Thompson any day of the week.
Iain is the best!
Very interesting and informative.
Small clarification.
The spring in the bolt is not a buffer.
It is necessary to create a support for the movable striker sufficient for breaking the primer.
There, the API blowback is organized in this way.
Perhaps Stange was fighting striker breakdowns in this way. But along the way, we got an API.
I wonder, Schmeisser had questions for Stange with to use his ignition system?
Considering that .45 ACP isn’t something you’d find loaded by stripper clip anyway (unless you’re in China), I suppose the standard practice was to use a dedicated magazine loading tool at HQ. So far as I’m concerned, loading individual cartridges by hand into a self-loading long-arm’s magazine (assuming high capacity and that the magazine is detachable and interchangeable with other magazines for reloading’s sake) is mostly an exercise in frustration. Of course, it is necessary to have good loading tools crafted beforehand…
Mag with exit in two rows.
No loading tool needed.
The maximum you need, is a piece of wooden board.
“Mag with exit in two rows.”
It is not possible to tell with being 100% sure without actually trying loading it to full capacity, but taking in account capacity (20) and above mentioned feature I suspect it might similar in regard of loading to Thompson XX magazine.
According to http://www.indaginibalistiche.it/utlities/manuali/thompson_1927_EN.pdf
Box Magazines(…)The cartridges feed into the magazine with case and without binding. If for any reason excessive force is required to feed the cartridges out of the magazine, the energy of the bolt is taxed to such an extent that a misfire may result
“(…)high capacity(…)frustration(…)necessary to have good loading tools crafted beforehand(…)”
No, the high capacity per se does not imply painful loading. Take for example PPSh magazine, you can load it without tools and using excessive force as long as you have piece of flat area to lay magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6iW-NIkLJQ
On the other Lahti/Saloranta featuring magazine with moderate capacity (20) https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/LMG1.htm
without loading tool filling the magazines of this weapon even close to full capacity is notably difficult because of really strong magazine springs.
If your fingers are so weak that they hurt from filling the mag…
do not put them there. 😉
The cartridges are placed on the board and the magazine is “put” on top of them.