Why doesn't anyone make a semiautomatic Sturmgewehr 44?

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Ragsdale0509

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Why doesn't anyone make a semiautomatic Sturmgewehr 44? The important historical value of this rifle in the evolution of military small arms is undeniable. Is it the ammo it fires, which is difficult to buy in the US? Is it the Nazi connection?

I would like to own one that isn't a .22 Long Rifle toy or a uber expensive NFA machine gun. Actually, I would like to own an NFA machine gun, I just cannot afford one :D
 
Production for that kind of gun is difficult on a small scale and very expensive to set up on a large scale, so they'd need to sell LOTS of them to turn a profit.

7.92x33 ammo is nonexistent, pretty much, so someone would have to set up an ammo production line just to make ammo for these guns that a manufacturer hopes to sell. (Well, and to sell to the few NFA collectors who own originals.)

The gun would have to be redesigned to escape US NFA classifications, so it wouldn't just be a matter of working off the old blueprints.

And, then there's the sales question: What's it for? Who's really going to buy one? A handful of military collectors? A very small number of general interest shooters? None of the modern tactical types are going to be interested in that as the tech is old enough to have lots of drawbacks compared to a modern-ified AR (or even AK). (And won't have the billions of mags, and thousands of bolt-on do-dads to make it more go-fast-friendly, and all the product and inertia that support the AR and AK in American shooting culture.)

So you've got 100s of millions of $$$ to set up and build them (and mags for them and ammo JUST for them), with a legitimate potential to sell a few thousand rifles. Probably never more than 30,000 would ever be sold. (Admittedly, a guess.)

There's just no return in that investment.
 
The basic reason is cost and economy of scale. You won't sell 20,000 of them, which means that the price is going to be pretty high. Not many people willing to step up and invest the money up front for all the stamping dies and other tooling for a risky project like that.

As for ammo, it's available - Prvi makes it.

The PTR-44 would have been a much better seller if it weren't for a bunch of fighting back and forth between the German manufacturer and the US importer. Problems blamed by both sides on QC, payment, and other stuff. The gun was supposed to be about half of what it wound up costing, and that basically made PTR decide to not try another batch of them.

FWIW, the guys in Germany making them do plan to bring them in again through another importer, along with some other semiauto stuff - FG42s (their price will likely be in the $9k-$12k range for those), MP38s, and others.

Could wind up being vaporware though, given the nature of importation. If you want a great exotic repro German rifle, I would highly recommend SMG's semiauto FG42. They're really sweet. :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jN4lvZbAe04
 
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The StG44 was designed to be cheaply made and not require any high alloy steel in its manufacture.

Stamping is cheap when you're talking about 100,000 units a month. For a small run the dies are much too expensive. You'd also need to manufacture the internal components and accessories like magazines and optics rails. None of this would be cheap.

Another problem is what version are you going to make? The late war stripped down and simplified version? The MP43 early war variant?

The basic design is good (bit heavy at 11.3lbs loaded) but the world is awash with cheapish AKs (8.3lbs loaded) and ARs that fill the same role but have 60 years of further development.

BSW
 
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Production for that kind of gun is difficult on a small scale and very expensive to set up on a large scale, so they'd need to sell LOTS of them to turn a profit.

7.92x33 ammo is nonexistent, pretty much, so someone would have to set up an ammo production line just to make ammo for these guns that a manufacturer hopes to sell. (Well, and to sell to the few NFA collectors who own originals.)

The gun would have to be redesigned to escape US NFA classifications, so it wouldn't just be a matter of working off the old blueprints.

And, then there's the sales question: What's it for? Who's really going to buy one? A handful of military collectors? A very small number of general interest shooters? None of the modern tactical types are going to be interested in that as the tech is old enough to have lots of drawbacks compared to a modern-ified AR (or even AK). (And won't have the billions of mags, and thousands of bolt-on do-dads to make it more go-fast-friendly, and all the product and inertia that support the AR and AK in American shooting culture.)

So you've got 100s of millions of $$$ to set up and build them (and mags for them and ammo JUST for them), with a legitimate potential to sell a few thousand rifles. Probably never more than 30,000 would ever be sold. (Admittedly, a guess.)

There's just no return in that investment.

Prvi Partizan manufactures it.
 
I'll play the devil's advocate here and ask what makes the AK, which was developed not long after the STG, so much superior (the weapon itself, not the aftermarket)? I've never had the chance to handle one let alone shoot one so I'm curious to hear from someone whose actually gotten to shoot one.
 
I'd love an STG44, love that rifle. Yes, it is heavier than an AK, it shoots a caliber that has to be special ordered, (I reload, just another challenge...getting NOE to make a cast bullet mold for the caliber!), it has some controls that are poorly placed, etc. I don't care - I want one. I won't ever HAVE one, not even the cheapie, (relatively) 22lr version due to finances, but I would love to see someone make one. Someone out there can make these things - doesn't HK have a US plant? Wouldn't they be the logical ones for this idea?
 
I shot one a few times at the range, so I know they're out there. It felt like a heavier AK. Recoil was minimal due to the weight. And IIRC it seemed thinner in profile.
 
The StG. 44 really is a heavy and awkward rifle, a lot more so than an AK-47. As for importation of a clone, the answer is quick and dirty. It ain't going to happen, at least not with an anti-gun president who, IMHO, would totally disarm the American people if he could do it. If M1 rifles are not "suitable for sporting purposes" a newly made StG.44 clone certainly would not be.

Jim
 
I'll play the devil's advocate here and ask what makes the AK, which was developed not long after the STG, so much superior (the weapon itself, not the aftermarket)? I've never had the chance to handle one let alone shoot one so I'm curious to hear from someone whose actually gotten to shoot one.

The AK is both lighter (by a bit more than 3 pounds) and handier than the StG. The AK cartridge is better, because it's both a bit more potent and smaller in diameter, which allows shorter magazines (StG mags are really long). In practical terms, the AK mag is also a lot more reliable, although that's mostly due to the age of the existing StG mags, and their rather hurried manufacture. The AK also has a wooden handguard that insulates you from the gun, whereas the StG uses a metal one. The handguard heats up fast on the StG.

The StG does have the advantage of being lighter shooting, thanks to its weight and cartridge. They really are quite nice to shoot recreationally, but it would take very little thought for me to choose an AK instead if I was going into some sort of combat environment (better yet would be a vz.58).
 
I'd love an STG44, love that rifle. Yes, it is heavier than an AK, it shoots a caliber that has to be special ordered, (I reload, just another challenge...getting NOE to make a cast bullet mold for the caliber!), it has some controls that are poorly placed, etc. I don't care - I want one. I won't ever HAVE one, not even the cheapie, (relatively) 22lr version due to finances, but I would love to see someone make one. Someone out there can make these things - doesn't HK have a US plant? Wouldn't they be the logical ones for this idea?
On that, I wonder how hard it would be to make a VZ.58 in 8mm since it was the chamber in mind during inception. Or an AK? I think it would be more if a novelty but easier than getting a StG44.
 
All things considered, I will be quite satisfied with my .22 LR "toy". Of course I do have access to time behind the real thing.
 
I do have the "toy" and find it great fun...pretty accurate as well...and darn heavy.

Seems to be built very well...I have a few GSG products and find them all to be just good guns.
 
Couple weeks ago I saw one sitting under glass at a LGS, about two and a half grand ($Cdn) or so. Quite a striking rifle. Thought they were all sold out, but guess not. Still prefer its (much lighter and cheaper) offsping, the SA vz.58.

Ammo made in Czech Republic.
 
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