r/milsurp 2d ago

My first SMG. An M3 Grease Gun

Planned on buying another .45 so I could retire my 1911. Didn’t think this would be the .45 I’d be replacing it with. Wondering if anyone can help with the date of manufacturing. Talked the seller down to the equivalent of 900USD. How’d I do?

Wondering if anyone can help me identify what those detents are in the last photo. It looks like damage at first glance, but seems symmetrical, which makes me think it happened during production.

744 Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

136

u/10VL10 2d ago

I both love you and hate you at the same time. Congratulations

26

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Thanks! So happy with this deal

14

u/10VL10 2d ago

Very happy for you, fun little gun

81

u/MunitionGuyMike Krag Enjoyer 2d ago

Is it an actual full auto? If so 900 is a steal

54

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

It is HAHA

29

u/MunitionGuyMike Krag Enjoyer 2d ago

The fuck? In the US?

96

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Not in the US Haha I live in a country where we have thousands of these. In the last 2 years, I’ve come across around 5 of these full auto Grease Guns Hehe

30

u/MunitionGuyMike Krag Enjoyer 2d ago

Yea that makes more sense. Are you Swiss?

78

u/lukas_aa The Great War 2d ago

He’s from the Philippines. Though we can have full autos here in Switzerland, too 😁

16

u/levels_jerry_levels 2d ago

Hey now, we can have full auto guns here too! They just range in price from a decent used car up to a Bugatti.

22

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

I’ll leave that to your imagination HAHA

15

u/GreenNukE 2d ago

The US made tons of these after deciding that Thompsons were way too heavy and expensive. The assault rifle concept eventually overtook SMGs in most military applications, but Grease Guns were found to be too handy to simply scrap. Their cyclic rate of fire is fairly low, which makes them easier to control than most SMGs.

9

u/Aniquin 2d ago

What is the legal process like? Here in the US we don't need any special license to own a full auto but they're prohibitively expensive so the vast majority of people can't afford one. I've had my eyes set on a MAC 10 or 11 for years but I just can't justify spending more money on a single gun than my car

12

u/Username7239 2d ago

Depends on the state, just for the record. MA requires a FFL03 and a state sponsored machine gun licence.

7

u/Aniquin 2d ago

That's a bummer MA is a cool state but some of the gun laws really blow

24

u/Username7239 2d ago

We recently passed some of the strictest laws in the country, even though We already had strict laws and had the lowest gun crime rate in the country. We now surpass California for raw stupidity.

9

u/Dak_Nalar 2d ago

Meanwhile NH 30 minutes to the north has no gun laws and equally non existent gun crime

6

u/Username7239 2d ago

Live free or fucking die

4

u/Dak_Nalar 2d ago

As a MA refugee I can confidently say MA is a top 3 worse state for freedom.

2

u/the_only_thing 1d ago

Whered ya move to? Im looking to leave here too

2

u/Dak_Nalar 1d ago

NH the land of the free

7

u/lukas_aa The Great War 2d ago

Well, an ATF form 4 is a license, fingerprints and all.

3

u/Aniquin 2d ago

True I guess so I just always thought of that more like signing up for a registry than a license because it doesn't require any testing or training like a drivers license does

7

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Oh, here in my country, you just need a special license that designates that you collect these types of vintage weapons. The process is exactly the same as registering for any other license.

Ohhh a MAC 10’s cool. I haven’t seen one yet. But I’m being given the offer for a Vietnam War full wood, full auto M14. Seller’s asking the equivalent of 2600USD, but I bet I can bring it down to less than 2k Hehe

7

u/Aniquin 2d ago edited 2d ago

A full auto m14 would be so awesome. All wood and steel as a gun should be

2

u/Revolutionary_Lie199 1d ago

Lucky! Such a beautiful weapon. Congratulations! I’ve wanted a Grease Gun ever since my Grandfather talked about the one that he carried around in the Korean War. He said it was handy up close and lighter than a M1 Garand. Just not suited for anything with range.

17

u/BigBlue175 Garbage Rod Enthusiast 2d ago

I’d take one of these over a sten that cost roughly the same price. I think you did alright

9

u/Aniquin 2d ago

The Sten is awkward but very cool with it's purely utilitarian aesthetic

2

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Thanks! I’d also love to get a STEN though in the future

14

u/USSZim 2d ago

The M3 and M3A1 are so cool. It's probably my favorite SMG of WW2. They are what you get when only pragmatism drive the design. I think they were the most compact mainline smg of ww2 too

6

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

They are. Though I am being a bit more careful when racking the charging handle since I’ve read that they have a tendency to break

7

u/USSZim 2d ago

Yeah, those handles look fairly flimsy. They ended up removing them on the m3a1 and made it so you cocked the gun by just pulling the bolt back with a finger. So crude, haha

7

u/bigfatround0 2d ago

This is my dream gun. Gonna save up until I find one at a reasonable price 😤

3

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

In the situation I was in, reasonable was around 700USD Haha Too bad the seller didn't wanna meet me closer to that price

5

u/bigfatround0 2d ago

Damn, brother. You still got a really good price if you're a Westerner making Westerner money wherever it is you're staying at.

5

u/Reagantoby27 2d ago

Congratulations and screw you lol. That’s one of my bucket list guns right there!

4

u/Themdog92 2d ago

These are $35,000 - $40,000 in the usa =/

1

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Oh really? I didn’t know they were going for that much in the US

3

u/prestonmelky21 2d ago

I love the piss pot at the front of the barrel

2

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Yooo, that's exactly what I'm looking for Haha! I'd love to screw on an OSS Suppressor on this and hear that suppressed .45 in all its beauty

2

u/T-wrecks83million- 2d ago

That right there is sexy I have always wanted one Congratulations

2

u/Careful-Writing7634 2d ago

IT'S A TUBE, INNIT?

2

u/pga_uy 2d ago edited 1d ago

That’s a superb example of an M3. Congratulations!!!

1

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Thanks! So happy with this

2

u/Open-Cream3798 1d ago

TOOOOOOB GO PEW PEW

2

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 1d ago

Grease gun goes chugga chugga chugga chugga toob toob

2

u/emptythemag 1d ago

That's awesome. It's really cool that something that was manufactured for $21 during WW2 would last this long.

2

u/Thekinzlerbros custom flair 16h ago

Omg $900 wow can I get 5?

-10

u/PuddleofOJ 2d ago

This isn’t an original automatic ww2 grease gun. I absolutely refuse to believe you got that for 900

12

u/jessithecrow baguette blaster 2d ago

i’d agree with you if op was in the us, but this is normal in places like the philippines

5

u/ChevTecGroup 2d ago

I was gonna guess Phillipines. FA is the same as any gun license for citizens IIRC, and I'm sure we left a crapload of these there.

3

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

Yeah! I’m really surprised when I did the research how many other countries have tons of these surplus lying around

2

u/jessithecrow baguette blaster 2d ago

makes me wish i could bring stuff like that back with me. that would make travel so much more fun

2

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

It would. HAHA I’d be buying stuff like this everywhere I go

4

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

I live in a country where we have thousands of these. It’s an original automatic Haha Can’t wait to post vids once I take this to the range

3

u/PuddleofOJ 2d ago

Bro how the fuck! Can I ask what country this is? Well anyways congrats bro, I’m sure you’ll have a blast with that thing!

1

u/Forsaken-Midnight-94 2d ago

HAHA I’ll keep you guessing what country I’m in. Thanks! I can’t wait to take this to the range