Buying American Guns inquiry

[charwo]

This is for an AH project but I'm inquiring into the real laws of the pre-war era. I got this General, Becker, and he's setting up his own personal fighting fighting force, essentially like the Wagner Group in Russia, government backed but technically independent (closer to the Patriot PMC in operation). This is primarily for fighting in Spain with plausible deniability. And this guy is a HUGE fan of John Browning. Said in jest that he 'wasn't saying John Browning was a better firearm designer than himself, but he was saying John Browning did steal all of his best ideas, most of them before he was even born. But that's the world we live in and we must make the most of it.'

He's not really interested in making his own firearms, he'd just prefer to buy used kit on the open market and refurbish as needed. So he's looking to get, cheap, loads of 1897 shotguns, trench if possible, but not needed (he's a Prussian nobleman so understands the value of a shotgun, put WWI CCC experience), Thompson submachine guns, namely the failed 1923 .45 Remington–Thompson variant if he can get the license cheaply enough, surplus BARs, and Ma Dues either from American manufacturers or under license, and of course Browning High Powers. The issue is dirt cheap, reliable, off the shelf. Which Browning is in all cases two of the three, and most of these I imagine would be the same, barring the Thompson which was barely legal and expensive.

However, I also have questions regarding two close copies of American rifles. By early 1933, he'd gotten a hold of an M1 Garand that "fell off a truck" to show to Hitler who took to it immediately and it became the basis for something I call the K35 'Pinger' (from the sound of the ejecting clip) Obviously even if the gun is only made for the German army inside of Germany, there's gonna be legal battles unless they can make it just dissimilar enough to avoid lawsuit territory.

The same is true for a gun of Becker's called the Behag (BEcker HalbAutomatisch Gewehr, or Becker Semi-automatic rifle), German for Comfortable, based on this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNpuc7TiGU0&t=182s

It's a smaller, service rifle variant of the BAR, using as much of Browning's internals as he can legally get away with for reliability, except that it can except a 30 round banana mag and a 50 round drum, as well as a variant that is partially disassembled called the Behags (BEcker HalbAutomatisch Gewehr System), or Comfortably, so that Paratroopers can keep their rifles on them while jumping and don't have to retrieve them from canisters while might be lethally too far away.

I'm not so much into gun porn as much as I'm trying to understand roughly the difference between market purchase, manufacturing under license and second hand market in terms of price and reliability, especially in stockpiling cheap cheap cheap civilian ammunition, another reason to use American firearms given the vastness of that market. And being able to pass the smell test of not getting sued into oblivion would be very helpful.



)

[LineDoggie]

This is for an AH project but I'm inquiring into the real laws of the pre-war era. I got this General, Becker, and he's setting up his own personal fighting fighting force, essentially like the Wagner Group in Russia, government backed but technically independent (closer to the Patriot PMC in operation). This is primarily for fighting in Spain with plausible deniability. And this guy is a HUGE fan of John Browning. Said in jest that he 'wasn't saying John Browning was a better firearm designer than himself, but he was saying John Browning did steal all of his best ideas, most of them before he was even born. But that's the world we live in and we must make the most of it.'

He's not really interested in making his own firearms, he'd just prefer to buy used kit on the open market and refurbish as needed. So he's looking to get, cheap, loads of 1897 shotguns, trench if possible, but not needed (he's a Prussian nobleman so understands the value of a shotgun, put WWI CCC experience), Thompson submachine guns, namely the failed 1923 .45 Remington–Thompson variant if he can get the license cheaply enough, surplus BARs, and Ma Dues either from American manufacturers or under license, and of course Browning High Powers. The issue is dirt cheap, reliable, off the shelf. Which Browning is in all cases two of the three, and most of these I imagine would be the same, barring the Thompson which was barely legal and expensive.

Well, for one thing the .50 Browning was in very short supply in the 30's as massive production had not geared up and most went straight to the US Military. However FN of Belgium did produce a version for European sales in 12.7 & 13mm (Some Belgian Hawker Hurricanes had the guns).

As to the rest it would be better to use firearms chambered to readily available Spanish Ammo, the 7x57mm Mauser to ease the logistical nightmare

Recommend ZB26's in that chambering would be a excellent choice for Section LMG

ERMA SMG's as well