just momentarily to play devil's advocate:
I don't think these european collector's firearms were ever designed to shoot the volume of ammo and blanks that us shooters put through them.
This is not a defense, just an alternative point of view.
A semi automatic large bore military style rifle is a difficult thing to shoot cheaply in most of europe - you're not going to put thousands of rounds through it - we american's love to shoot the hell out of our firearms as if they were all ak47's -
these replicas were never intended as real combat weapons, they're a hand made, short run, collector's replicas, what did you expect?
It's like wondering why a replica car isn't handling or lasting as well as the original 60's model.
(a vague reference but ya get's my point.)
almost half of the $5k price tag is a reflection of how much it cost to get the rifle into the country - not a sign of it's extended development process or sturdiness.
The smg '42 to rick's credit, has had the hell beat out of it, in anticipation of the us market - and if you want to shoot like a madman, is certainly a wiser place to put your money.
You make good points. Reminds me of some of the aftermarket parts we are more or less forced to use on customers cars when the insurance co. Is paying the bill.
I look at and or try to fit some of them and think "while they were at it why did they not make them exactly like the originals?"
ptr parts heat treated, but too hard or too soft. Magwells sloppy fore and aft, leading to misfeeds. Sheet metal stamped fairly decent, but not as crisp, as my original mp's. Crappy pins in both the rear sight and the disconnector/sear joint. Then there is the weld on that block at the rear of the upper rec. Looks like some
inept flunky was practice welding on it.
Had one in the shop that had the hole in the rec. Where the bolt runs not concentric with the barrel hole causing the recess in the bolt face shaving brass off the case rim. Gun worked but it was not really right. No easy fix either!
All quality control problems that more attention to detail would have cost little if any $$ to have prevented.
Glad they made them though. Some are ok without problems.
Pete
we have a ptr44 in the armory, and it has shot perfectly with blanks and live every time - but it's not even into 3 figures, yet, lol.