Valkyrie Arms was formed in 1993 to produce semiautomatic copies of classic military machine guns, and in 2004 they introduced a semiauto M3A1 “Grease Gun”. The M3 and M3A1 are particularly rare guns as registered full autos, and no other semiauto copy has been made, as parts kits are also quite rare, and the stamped construction does not lend itself to economical small-scale production. Valkyrie’s solution to this was to not copy the original production methods, and instead build the guns from a tube and a milled aluminum lower block. This lower blocks contains an AR15 trigger assembly, and the finished gun is closed-bolt and hammer fired. A few original parts were sourced for the project; the magazine release, ejection port cover (modified), and stocks – as well as using standard original magazines.
Sold for $2,875 at the December 2019 RIA Premier auction.
Okay, here is a case of well-done crafting for the niche market. Can it be stowed in vehicles for emergency use, or is that a bad idea?
If they’re as rugged as the original M3 you can beat it with a hammer and it’ll still fire; it’s about as accurate as a pitched baseball, but it was designed for close quarters. However, I don’t recommend leaving weapons in vehicles, more guns are stolen out of cars than homes.
With such long barrel, its obviously a terrible idea.
Okay, you got me. So much for the idea of stashing it in a truck given the static stock, long barrel, and all that. Anyone got ideas for proper reenactment usage?
Since this fires from a closed bolt (which doubtless is a concession to the hoplophobes who fear it could be converted to full auto) it should be more accurate but since it’s not entirely an M3 I doubt it will be as rugged.
It would make a perfectly decent truck gun, particularly if SBR’d – but for the money, there are many better substitute truck guns, particularly when you can build an AR for $300, and the Kel-Tec SUB-2000 folds up to 16″.
Ian mentioned that some customer service issues occurred with the Valkyrie Arms M3 Grease Gun replica. I personally know of one sad story. A friend of mine put a deposit on one shortly after they were introduced. He never received it, or any notice of what happened. Apparently the owner became ill and production was stopped for a while. The gun was advertised again later, and my friend put down a second deposit. He also never received a gun after that second order. In all I believe he spent at least $600, received nothing, and could get no information on what happened. He was an Army veteran, and recently died from complications related to Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, his dream of owning an M3 replica was never realized. At least he had an opportunity to shoot an original on two occasions at the Knob Creek shoot. The recently announced Legends M3 replica has come too late, but perhaps I will get one to honor his memory.