Translated by John Baum
82 pages
Price $35 which includes U.S. postage
Available from:
John A. Baum
5678 State Rt.45
Lisbon, Ohio 44432
The blueprints of a gun tell a story and give insight that you cannot get elsewhere. For a gunsmith they are priceless as he may be required to make a duplicate of missing or broken parts.
In addition to the original guns brought in and registered under the NFA there are now semi-auto versions being made and sold of this gun. Some people may question the nomenclature of MP44 but this was the correct nomenclature when these prints were drawn which was before the name was changed to StG44.
The MP44 is possibly the most accurate pointing production rifle of all time, and in its earlier open bolt firing forms it was also the most controllable assault rifle ever fielded for it had Schmeisser’s constant recoil system which converted the recoil impulses of full auto firing into one steady push on the shoulder enabling total control of the weapon in full auto fire. Later versions stupidly sacrificed this feature by going to closed bolt firing for the small gain in precision accuracy.
The earlier open bolt versions are not only the first true assault rifles mass produced they remain the most effective ever made. Quite an accomplishment for the gun’s designer, Hugo Schmeisser, one of the all-time great machinegun designers. If ever there was a gun worth further in depth study this is it.
For those unfamiliar with open bolt firing, it cancels out half the recoil while causing a slight delay between the pulling of the trigger and the bolt traveling forward to fire. This can best be compared to the delay encountered in shooting a flintlock when the priming powder in the pan goes off an instant before the main charge ignites. You have to learn to keep on target during this and it can be done effectively.
John Baum has taken the best blueprints available, cleaned them up, and reproduced them. There is a lot to be learned about this design from studying them.—Jim Dickson
