PTR44 Semi-Auto MP44

Model said:
Yes My pictures, the trials and tribulations of getting that damn rifle to function. The final configuration was an original NAZI oprod/carrier & Bolt. (fitted by Shortfal) the Replacement recon bolt was (for me) worthless.





The more original MP44 parts one can have fitted to the PTR44 the better.:thumbsup:
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Can you elaborate on what was wrong with the replacement recon ord bolt?
 
ncreptile said:
Thanks,

I believe it is OEM. The seller has fired it some and said it was OK to shoot other than one magazine constantly jammed(we can guess who made that magazine :googlie ).
Came with a repro mount and zf4 scope along with several hundred rounds of ammo and some spare parts. I couldn't say no.

I certainly was not going to wait around for the HMG gun anymore.
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Where in NC are you? Send me a PM if you don't want to publicly state where
 
ncreptile said:
I sure don't want one.
Thats why my new PTR44 is arriving tomorrow. :laugh: Can't wait.
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Congrats! I love mine and went with the new Dingo supplied op rod with original WW2 bolt. Works fab so far and will ship to shortfal if the dreaded jam develops...
 
Great post, Wilhelm. I've heard about making 7.92x33 brass from 30.06 of which, I just happen to have, 100s of empty brass as 30.06 is my favorite hunting cal. My bro offered to make bullets from my 30.06 brass but, to me, why bother as long as the PPU brass works. Besides, I doubt I'll ever get to shoot all 3000 PPU and reload them all for another go in my life time ... although that would be nice. My bud builds my Kurz ammo for me and I bought the RCBS dies, case holder, 100s of primers, 10 lbs. of powder, and 100s of bullets (from Buffalo Arms 4-5 years ago). He builds me 100-200 rounds at a time. I know he uses Hornady reloading data. Whatever the difference, his ammo functions better in my PTR (and is more accurate by 1"-2" at 100 yards) than PPU. He says the reloading data is very similar between Hornady and PPU, although he thinks PPU is slightly underpowered? We'll chrono the ammo when we get time.

To all the PTR44 Club members ... I get basically the same functioning results using a WW2 op rod or WW2 bolt with a PTR op rod or bolt. I've also used a WW2 extractor, Recon extractor and the PTR44 extractor. Both of the Recon extractors I bought broke, so those are junk, IMO. The WW2 and PTR44 extractors work good and neither have broke. I only used the Recon ones as a post back on the old Gk43 forum said a "better" extractor might help with FTE issues. The WW2 disconnector that Shortfal installed for my broken PTR dsconnector (which could have been a 922r part) works great now as well as the WW2 safety. So Model is right ... use as many WW2 parts as you can in your PTR44 rifle. Based on my experience, they seem to be the best choice for the weapon.

I haven't shot my PTR44 in a while, but ever since I got it back from Shortfal I only recall a couple of FTE or FTFs and I blame most of that on mags. I only have 1 WW2 "STG44" marked mag. to use and that one seems to be the best. Shortfal fixed my repro mags., including my "BD44" marked mag. (provided by our good buddy from across the pond) by placing some material in the mag. well slot of each repro. mag. They all fit nice and flush now in the mag. well ... but, of course, that doesn't solve the follower issue on the repro mags., so occasionally I get the typical FTF or FTE B.S. Seems like all the mags. work best with 10 rounds or less in ea. mag. I've never got the rifle to shoot a whole 30 round mag. without at least 1-2 FTF or FTE no matter what mag. I used or how it was configured.

Welcome to the PTR44 Club !!! It's an exclusive club ... and membership is simple !!! By an overpriced rifle - spend $1,000s to "fix it" when its brand new - and never shoot it for fear of breaking it. Done - you are a member.

Dog
 
You are welcome. They ain't pretty as I took them in a hurry but they are readable. They are in the other thread now.
 
Wilhelm said:
It came with a manual. I'll take some pictures and put them in my PTR44 thread for you sir.
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Much appreciated.. I asked months ago and no replies so it's greatly appreciated. With a lot of secondary owners coming into these without manuals, a reproduction would be a great idea.
 
Winchester Cowboy said:
No replies yet whether or not a booklet or manual came with a new SSD BD-44 or PTR44.
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The Manual is a joke, very little information.













For me the Shotgun news issue with the PTR44 on the cover is far and away more valuable to have. I also have the original Shotgun news ad for the PTR44 for $4290.00. 7 days later the price went up tp $4500.
 
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Intruder196 said:
Can you elaborate on what was wrong with the replacement recon ord bolt?
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It's out of spec, Shortfall was unable to properly fit it in my Gun. That Fu**ing thing cost me $500.00!! The only good thing about was I was able to sell it off for $300.00 so I'm only out $200.00. Still to this day it bothers Me that I was told this was combatable with my PTR44. I did have it (somewhat) running in the Gun however it was completely unreliable.
 
Swapping PTR parts with MP44 parts wasn't easy with my rifle. Some problems:
1) U-shaped denial piece in the back end of the receiver prevented insertion of original bolt; needed to be removed
2) Charging handle slot too narrow for original MP44 op-rod; root of charging handle needed to be machined down
3) Ejector slot in MP44 bolt not deep enough, causing PTR ejector to press the MP44 bolt against RHS receiver wall --> binding; ejector needed to be filed down
4) Top of MP44 bolt binds up in trunnion right before bolt goes into battery; bolt needs to be shaved (I gave up at this point, what a meritless exercise!)
 
bolt issue

Model said:
It's out of spec, Shortfall was unable to properly fit it in my Gun. That Fu**ing thing cost me $500.00!! The only good thing about was I was able to sell it off for $300.00 so I'm only out $200.00. Still to this day it bothers Me that I was told this was combatable with my PTR44. I did have it (somewhat) running in the Gun however it was completely unreliable.
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I remember that bolt. It was told to me that the Recon bolts were made with the locking surface purposely longer supposedly to help with headspace issues a particular rifle might have. Problem is that if the bolt will not drop down to lock after contacting the barrel face the locking surface must be machined (at the proper angle) until it does. That bolt had suffered an attempt ( by a prior repairer) to reduce that surface but so poorly done that the surface was rounded off and that angle was lost, plus it still would not go into battery unless slammed hard. Add to that the extractor pin holes were not in line such that the pin had to be driven in with a punch and hammer blows. The extractor with the bolt was poorly machined and not an exact duplicate of an original WW2 part.
Maybe Model got a oddball bad one but it was what it was. If I remember right a original bolt went right in and worked fine.
Pete
 
shortfal said:
I remember that bolt. It was told to me that the Recon bolts were made with the locking surface purposely longer supposedly to help with headspace issues a particular rifle might have. Problem is that if the bolt will not drop down to lock after contacting the barrel face the locking surface must be machined (at the proper angle) until it does. That bolt had suffered an attempt ( by a prior repairer) to reduce that surface but so poorly done that the surface was rounded off and that angle was lost, plus it still would not go into battery unless slammed hard. Add to that the extractor pin holes were not in line such that the pin had to be driven in with a punch and hammer blows. The extractor with the bolt was poorly machined and not an exact duplicate of an original WW2 part.
Maybe Model got a oddball bad one but it was what it was. If I remember right a original bolt went right in and worked fine.
Pete
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This is true, you fixed it Pete and that's the bottom line. :thumbsup:

I could go on and wine about other people (two of which were highly recommend to me) who worked on my PTR44 but I won't. It's all water under the bridge now, time to move on.
 
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Miller Time

As in Miller MIG welder...
Steyr MP44 receiver converted to semi auto with ample denial blocks. F/A hook on WW2 op rod eliminated, carbide steel plate welded into receiver to interfere with auto sear hook on original F/A op rods. PTR44 semi auto trigger pack with Recon 922(r) parts. Recon stock, grips, mag follower and mag floor plate. Shortfal trunnion, modified Yugo M76 922(r) barrel. California compliant fixed 10 rd magazine (pain in the a$$ to load).

mp441.JPG mp442.jpg
 
GunKraut said:
As in Miller MIG welder...
Steyr MP44 receiver converted to semi auto with ample denial blocks. F/A hook on WW2 op rod eliminated, carbide steel plate welded into receiver to interfere with auto sear hook on original F/A op rods. PTR44 semi auto trigger pack with Recon 922(r) parts. Recon stock, grips, mag follower and mag floor plate. Shortfal trunnion, modified Yugo M76 922(r) barrel. California compliant fixed 10 rd magazine (pain in the a$$ to load).

View attachment 162413 View attachment 162414
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Nice -

Pretty close to what we did - except, I ended up also putting pins through the barrel - as we only really use it for blanks - don't you love California - ?
 
Is the "buy it now" way out to lunch on this one?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/741113819

I recently got one for well south of this number, and it had the failed bolt parts replaced with WWII components. A little beat up by its former owners, but adds to the charm IMO so it was worth it to me. The fact that WWII parts are listed for ridiculous prices now leads me to believe this one in the GB link is overpriced, despite being pretty on the outside.
 
Sturmgewehr said:
Is the "buy it now" way out to lunch on this one?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/741113819

I recently got one for well south of this number, and it had the failed bolt parts replaced with WWII components. A little beat up by its former owners, but adds to the charm IMO so it was worth it to me. The fact that WWII parts are listed for ridiculous prices now leads me to believe this one in the GB link is overpriced, despite being pretty on the outside.
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I think it is priced about what they are going for these days. Was $5000 new. This one has an original mag instead of a hit and miss repro part.
 
GunKraut said:
I think it is priced about what they are going for these days. Was $5000 new. This one has an original mag instead of a hit and miss repro part.
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Good point. WWII mags are going for $500 a pop on gunporker these days. Demand is way up with the younger generation due to WWII video games and the abortion that HMG is trying to peddle.

If anyone ever succeeds at importing more from SSD, going to have a lot of buyer's remorse among the folks who dropped 7K on a rifle that required another 3K of parts and work to run reliably.
 
Sturmgewehr said:
Good point. WWII mags are going for $500 a pop on gunporker these days. Demand is way up with the younger generation due to WWII video games and the abortion that HMG is trying to peddle.

If anyone ever succeeds at importing more from SSD, going to have a lot of buyer's remorse among the folks who dropped 7K on a rifle that required another 3K of parts and work to run reliably.
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I guess most of us already had buyer's remorse when we witnessed the first catastrophic breakdown. But even at $5000 just for the rifle itself you're already past the point of no return. So you get the spare part, git 'er done and back to the range. After 200 rounds with a big smile on your face you've almost forgotten about the $400 replacement op-rod.

HMG missed out on a great opportunity to drum up extra business. Had they made a faithful receiver flat that not only fits their rifle but could also be used to resurrect cut-up MP44, they could probably have gotten $1K a pop from fools like me. Instead, they're wasting time cobbling together a bastard rifle they're marketing at $1700 while still hoping to make some profit.
 
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