Aussie SMGs

Deckard

Deckard

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I find these somewhat fascinating. Ugly for sure (Owen), but really novel. Does anyone else like these, or have you shot one? Do you have any pictures to share? Stories?

ozz.jpg
 
heavy, easy to shoot and as legend has it, absolutely reliable and indestructable.

i've fired 2 mags from one. not hard to keep bursts on target at 50m.

jl
 
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... The OWEN was basically, developed in a back-yard, and ended up being the main SMG for Australian troops though WW2, Korea, Malaysia and into the Vietnam fiasco. It may have been ugly, but it had a well earned reputation for reliability and controllability in the worst of conditions. The F1 below, was developed to replace the OWEN , and designed with the vertical magazine at the request of the Troops/Army. Both required "off-set" sights which took a little getting used to, both "pointed" instinctively , from the hip, very well ! The F1, used some parts from the then current L1A1 (Australian manufactured version ) .... with the advent of the M16/ AUG the SMG has largely been superseded in normal Military operations. The MP5 of course, and it's derivatives, includeding silenced versions, are deployed with specialized units/operations . ..... David K.
 
A friend of mine had an Owen off in the distant past. He had 1 mag for it & said it was a great gun, but not so fun with 1 mag.

The ejector being in the mag made converting it (at the time late '60s early '70s) to other mags "unpossible".

After he traded it off, he found 3 more mags....

Owens were quite advanced for their time & had features foreshadowing the future:
~ selector & compact trig group,
~ p-grip at point of balance,
~ angled mag-well (ala Sterling & Madsen)

F1s use Sterling mags & FN P-grips.
 
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buckbrush said:
Now I know why Aussies have such deformed faces, its from trying to see around the owen's magazine! I always assumed they were so ugly becuase of their Botany Bay anncestors, combined with abo humping.
Click to expand...

Beep!Beepbeepbeeeeeeep! Here comes the ban lorry!

I love guns that are functional and simple no matter how ugly or weird they might be. The Owen may look like some drunk Aussie jury rigged some pieces of pipe together in order to keep feral pigs away from his backyard 'still.

But it did the job and it did it well.
 
...The OWEN really handled far better than it's looks would have you believe ! The F1 felt rather "cheap" in comparison, the OWEN was a fairly substantial SMG compared to the nearest rival, the Sten, and even the very early test program models out performed, in dirt/mud etc. both the Sten/Austen and Thompson. Even with the off-set sights, it was surprising how accurate the Owen was, which, combined with it's reliability, ensured it's long service life... David K.
 
but it DOES perpetuate the myth about everything being upside down in austrailia- walking on their hands, that sort of thing-
 
Hi

Read some articles about both guns shown. The owen was a great gun, but the Aussy army brass did not like it because it was not invented in England.:rolleyes:

The Austen (Aussy modified sten gun) was crap, soldiers hated it. One high ranking officer wrote back to his commanders in Australia from the jungle, "send me more Owen SMGs. Don't send me any Austens!":D

Sticker
 
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