If your heart gets thumping around military hardware, then you might need to take a deep breath before watching the above video.
In short, what Larry Vickers documents is incredible.
The proprietor of Vickers Tactical, highlights four late World War II select fire German rifles. In the process, he gives a fairly good glimpse at the foundation of many modern military firearms.
Vickers takes a look at the Sturmgewehr 44 and a few of its competitors – MK42W, Grossfuss’ Sturmgewehr and Mauser’s Sturmgewehr 45M. He also gives a glimpse of a Volksmaschienenpistole (“people’s machine pistol”), the MP 3008.
Even in this cursory exploration of the select-fire rifles, it is easy to pick out different design concepts that are still with us today. But there is another intriguing aspect to the firearms that is not brought up in the video.
The firearms documented are rare, as Vickers points out there are only 2 ½ Grossfuss StGs in existence. In turn, these guns represent nearly priceless collectors’ specimens.
How priceless?
Well, at a recent Rock Island Auction Company event a German Krieghoff FG42 drew an astounding $299,000 winning bid. It’s fair guess that if the Mauser StG 45M or Grossfuss StG ever came up on the block both would have the potential to leave it in the dust.
2015 Standard Catalog of Firearms, 25th Edition
