Stock questions you may have but never bothered to ask.

Michael J

Michael J

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 75%
3   1   0
Location
Vancouver
Stock questions you may have but never bothered to ask is what this thread is about. Just why did the germans, english, US, canadians, whatever make their stocks like they did back in ww1, ww2, or any early time period? Was it purely cosmetic, did they think it had a good feel to it, weight limitations, etc?
If your computer abilities allow you to do so, please keep picture sizes reasonable!

How about your old milsurps, anything odd that's ever bothered you?

I'll start us off:

P1010060-1.jpg

Why the heck does my stock have that bump on it, i cannot for the life of me figure out a use for it! (For mg42 yugo "clone")
 
Michael J said:
Stock questions you may have but never bothered to ask is what this thread is about. Just why did the germans, english, US, canadians, whatever make their stocks like they did back in ww1, ww2, or any early time period? Was it purely cosmetic, did they think it had a good feel to it, weight limitations, etc?
If your computer abilities allow you to do so, please keep picture sizes reasonable!

How about your old milsurps, anything odd that's ever bothered you?

I'll start us off:

P1010060-1.jpg

Why the heck does my stock have that bump on it, i cannot for the life of me figure out a use for it! (For mg42 yugo "clone")
Click to expand...

Just throwing this out there, cause I don't have a lot of milsurp experience, but is it there possibly for the melee attack?
 
Thanks for the replies guys, may i also add this is a questions thread. Feel free to chime in if you are curious about anything :D!

If nobody has anything better to add, may i also ask, what caused the change in rifle grips from back then to now. Did that old english style grip serve better for the purpose of a rifle back then, than perhaps a pistol grip rifle might have had?
 
I've got one - just how short were people back then? I am 5'-9" with fairly long arms and I could use another 3/8" or more LOP on my Yugo M-48. I am waiting on the weather and a range card to get out with it this spring, but I can seriously see my thumb hitting my nose during prone firing. Why so short??

Mark
 
"...could use another 3/8" or more LOP..." Go buy a slip on recoil pad. Adds an inch, won't cost a fortune and won't need any holes drilled or other cutting. Pachmayr makes one. You'll likely have to slit the bottom to get it past the aft sling swivel though.
"...what caused the change in rifle grips from back then to now..." Ergonomics weren't a consideration. Wasn't even studied. That and most modern battle rifles started out as select fire weapons. A pistol grip makes FA fire easier to control.
 
Yes, people were smaller in teh 40's, look at authentic uniforms and vintage clothes from the era, they're all to small for most people to wear today.


mmattockx said:
I've got one - just how short were people back then? I am 5'-9" with fairly long arms and I could use another 3/8" or more LOP on my Yugo M-48. I am waiting on the weather and a range card to get out with it this spring, but I can seriously see my thumb hitting my nose during prone firing. Why so short??

Mark
Click to expand...
 
Length of Pull

The Brits were the only ones that recognized the fact that soldiers came in different sizes, it seems. As far back as the 1853 rifle-musket they had short and long butt stocks, and this carried through to the Lee Enfield which had four lengths to choose from. If you joined the US army and were issued an '03, and you were taller than five feet, you were SOL. One thing I've always wondered about is why the Germans used that corny sling slot in the K98. It isn't comfortable to shoot with the sling on your cheek, and the sling is too narrow for comfortable carrying.:confused:
 
remember that we are mostly full grown men (physically at least;)

I'd bet that most of you were smaller in your late teens and early twenties, like most combatants in the first and second world wars.
 
BUSHMAN79 said:
One thing I've always wondered about is why the Germans used that corny sling slot in the K98. It isn't comfortable to shoot with the sling on your cheek, and the sling is too narrow for comfortable carrying.:confused:
Click to expand...

They must have thought it was tacti-cool back at the time ;).
 
BUSHMAN79 said:
One thing I've always wondered about is why the Germans used that corny sling slot in the K98. It isn't comfortable to shoot with the sling on your cheek, and the sling is too narrow for comfortable carrying.:confused:
Click to expand...

KOMFORT? YOU VANT KOMFORT!!?

The sling slot didn't require any extra metal, so it would have been a bit cheaper I imagine. It also looked nicer on parade to have it tucked neatly by the side of the rifle.

You should loosen the sling before shooting your K98. No soldier would have chosen to fire it with the sling tightened.
 
Actually average age of soldiers in the first and second war were much older than in modern armies, or even the vietnamese war era.

Anyway its not a war history issue, its sociology or something like that, people were much smaller at that time.


ollie said:
remember that we are mostly full grown men (physically at least;)

I'd bet that most of you were smaller in your late teens and early twenties, like most combatants in the first and second world wars.
Click to expand...
 
john@ said:
Anyway its not a war history issue, its sociology or something like that, people were much smaller at that time.
Click to expand...

Anthropology. Although I'm sure there were social implications! It would suck to be me in the trenches with my head sticking up over the parapet even when I ducked.

71009MP40.jpg


What about that strange bakelite, aluminum, or steel piece under the MP40's barrel?

This was designed as a way to rest the submachinegun over the rim of openings on an APC to facilitate firing out of a vehicle. I didn't know this until I specifically searched for the information. I guess it's not to make it look more bad-ass after all.
 
mmattockx said:
I've got one - just how short were people back then? I am 5'-9" with fairly long arms and I could use another 3/8" or more LOP on my Yugo M-48. I am waiting on the weather and a range card to get out with it this spring, but I can seriously see my thumb hitting my nose during prone firing. Why so short??
Mark
Click to expand...

Food.
We eat a lot better today.
Used to be that meat was hard to come by, and people really believed that bread was the staff of life, so they ate lots of it. And other veggies.
If Old Fort York, built in 1815 (present Toronto) is still standing you can see the common soldiers' quarters, where all the bunks are 5' long, while the officers' quarters have beds same length as modern. The officers were always sons of the ruling class, who ate almost all the meat.

Veggies make people mean. If married men could put their wives on a zero carbohydrate (high fat!) diet, they would be amazed and overjoyed at how easy a woman can be live with. And the wife would lose weight without cravings.
 
I'm surprised no one seems to have mentioned the difference between thicker winter clothes and lighter summer uniforms. A stock length comfortable for the summer would be too long with a winter jacket and layered clothing underneath. The default for most cold cold winter countries would be the shorter length.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom