Spring 2026 Premier Firearms & Militaria Auction
February 26th, February 27th, February 28th, and March 1st, 2026
This auction will feature an outstanding collection of items spanning multiple categories including Modern, Military, Sporting, & Antique firearms & militaria! Below is just a small grouping of select highlights from the massive offering to be featured in this upcoming sale!
FULLY TRANSFERABLE RARE FIRST YEAR MG-42 MACHINE GUN WITH SLAB SIDE CHARGING HANDLE
03-2009 | Cal. 8mm (8mm Mauser). | S# 9827. | Bbl. 20″.
Early pattern sights with windage-adjustable front. Of all the WW2 German machine guns, none is more iconic and well-known than the German MG-42. Known as Hitler’s buzz saw for its high rate of fire, the gun saw service throughout WW2 and beyond. This example is the earliest this cataloger has ever seen, and amazingly, it retains an original slab sided cocking handle & early matching numbered top cover. This slab side charging handle was nearly always retrofitted in favor of the later vertical style cocking handle. It was previously believed these early slab-side guns were used by the Afrika Korps, and thus surviving examples were bring-backs from that theater of war. This cataloger ran across a photo of the 6th Fallschirmjäger regiment using an early slab-side gun during the Normandy campaign, so the early style guns were undoubtedly used throughout the war, albeit in very limited numbers. There are four total known slab-side guns to this cataloger, and this is the only 1942 gun known to him that didn’t get updated. This is a great opportunity for the advanced German or machine gun collector to acquire such a rare piece that is likely a “Holy Grail.” Registration paperwork lists mfr. as “Germany” & caliber as “8mm.” The balance of the gun is matching, with an unnumbered bbl., mismatched feed tray, external part of booster and bolt, likely replaced during years of hard service in WW2. A few parts appear to be period-renumbered to match by a German armorer, such as the trigger group. Of note, the charging handle, top cover, flash hider, and part of the booster are matching. Left side of the receiver has “cra” code for Maget with some old white highlight making the markings stand out. The gun is equipped with an early pattern MG34/42 bipod with locking legs that clip on the bbl. jacket. German Bakelite buttstock marked “mag” These stocks are very hard to find, as most didn’t stand up to combat usage and were often replaced with wooden stocks. NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT MG REQUIRING BATF TRANSFER BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION. FULLY TRANSFERABLE. STATUS: CURIO, CLASS III.
