Know any good Smiths that know 1919 A4 semi?s ?

[Tim padilla]

I?ve owned a couple 1919a4 semi?s over the last 20 years but I?ve never dove deep into the in?s and out!s of the gun .Digging around I just came across the last one I have in a fitted pelican case with all the goodies.

So my situation with it the last time I took it to the range which was 9 years ago it would not cycle .It was like the feed paw wasn?t grabbing the next link .I honestly don?t know , owning one I should have a armor book and basic knowledge of the Mechanisms but when I look at it my eyes get crossed.. I also noticed that the rear sight forging had a slight cant down so the rear sight was not completely level side to side (don’t no how that happened but it needs addressing)

So if anyone can point me in the right direction I?d love to find a seasoned guy that knows the semi 1919 and go through it , tune it up,fix what needs to be fixed so I can run some belts through this thing like a singer sewing machine with no issues.

In case someone asks I?m running OEM IMI links with this using a belt linker tray from Recon ordnance and shooting ZQI Turkish M80 ball 148 grain FMJ so I don?t feel those are the issues. I?ve shot it off it?s A6 kit and a quality repop tripod with a WW2 issue T&E with sandbags on the feet and the same results are happening.

Thanks for any input Calgunners

[saki302]

In the old 1919a4 days (when kits were $300), a lot of guys ran them.

The links must be fully cleaned, and oiled up, or they don't work well. Most are old/crusty/sandy at this point.

The ones I've seen also seemed to run better with cloth belts.

I remember they sold those stainless feed tray protectors, but I've also seen a couple guns that wouldn't run links at all with them in place.

-Dave

[smle-man]

Just making sure, you are using the proper links, the kind that hold the case at the neck? Generally 1919s won't work with M60 links unless it is a Canadian built gun. You can use m60 links if you use them upside down

[badfish71]

Have you checked the headspace?

[Tim padilla]

I’m using factory 7.52x51 IMI links as sold to me by the distributor that had all the cheap kits back in the day (CenterFire systems or Sarco can’t remember ) I have several thousand and they are all the same non rusty ,ex condition clean links. I have a head space gauge it’s GTG . I haven’t tried lubing the ammo and or links since I figured I’ve never saw guys needing to run there belts “wet” to cycle there guns.

[Batman]

Look at the links. Where the neck goes through, are the walls of the top of the link straight, or are they flared? .308 uses straight links. 30.06 uses flared. If you mix them, you'll have a bad range day!!

[wilit]

John McGuire was THE 1919 guy. He built my 1919A4, but I'm not even sure if he's still alive. Best to check with the guys on the 1919A4 forum.