MG42 butt stock , M53 buffer

[Corston]

Morning all,
Hopefully a straight forward one , it would be very long and drawn out if I told you the full story so in a nutshell , will a genuine WW2 butt stock fit on an M 53 buffer
Please ?

[Danmark]

....but I hope someone does

[BlackCat1982]

I haven't tried but I would guess the diameter was the same. However I would say that putting an original MG42 butt stock onto an M53 won't add value. A bit like putting a Rolls Royce radiator onto a Trabant.

[BrodieBartfast]

I recall reading somewhere previously that an MG 42 buttstock won’t fit an M53 buffer, and vice versa, due to slightly different threading. I don’t know whether that means it won’t fit at all, or would be loose and wobbly. It would be a gamble to try it, though finding an original 42 buffer as an alternative isn’t exactly a viable option!

B.B.

[MG42UK]

Given that many MG53s had MG42 parts, and the two are quite interchangable, I would be very surprised if the two parts didn’t fit, although from different models. That being said, I don’t have one in hand to test so can’t guarantee it!

[Corston]

Ok thank you all , I shall explain my reasoning (pull up a chair)
I have an MG42 that was authenticated by bb.
The butt stock is a horrible black painted over green plastic type thing off an MG74 .My aim has been to replace this with a nice original wood stock , I think the wood is a great contrast to the dark metal.
A mate of mine has an M53 , black painted wood stock . “Swap it with mine and strip the paint “
Very kind of my mate and it will satisfy me until an original ww2 version comes along.
But it doesn’t go all the way home it locks on but a few mm short of the buffer.
I saw in a comment from Severin that m53 stocks don’t fit German buffers so I presume that my buffer is German.
So in the meantime if I swap with my mates bufffer , this nice wood stock will fit but then if I got an original stock would it fit the M53 buffer !!!!!!!!!!!!???????
The turmoil of it all.
Well you did ask ,,, erm no you didn’t did you
Thank you and sorry

[BrodieBartfast]

This is a tricky one. You could always reverse the swap once the original stock arrives. That way you don't have to worry about the interchangeability of German and Yugo parts. That's assuming your friend is the patient type, of course!

B.B.

[Corston]

You are a wise old owl bb
Exactly what I was thinking.
He is a good ol boy and I don’t think this will be an issue.
I know you suggested it would be a good idea to keep it post war Austrian authentic
But all I want is ww2 MG42
Thank you
corston

[BrodieBartfast]

You are a wise old owl bb
Exactly what I was thinking.
He is a good ol boy and I don’t think this will be an issue.
I know you suggested it would be a good idea to keep it post war Austrian authentic
But all I want is ww2 MG42
Thank you
corston

It's yours at the end of the day, and yours to do as you like with. Keeping it original or not is down to personal preference. I'll always advocate for keeping things 'as is', but I do love the passion of those willing to put in the time and effort (and money!) to restore something to original condition. Projects like that can have very satisfying end results, I hope it's the case for you.

B.B.