I will hopefully be in a position within 6 months or so, maybe sooner to buy one.  Anything to look for?

If you decide to get one, here is an inspection checklist:  http://www.samachine.com/76%20Inspect.html

Topic Moved

If its an Original S&W 76, you should have no worries.  Every one that I've ever seen + my own runs with no issues.  Its happy being suppressed or un-suppressed.  Now if your looking at a MK760, yes check the list at SamsMachine as linked above.  



The original guns are great.  Its my only NFA weapon that has not required any spare parts after 7 years of shooting.  

A very simple, rugged and reliable subgun.  The only caution I can think of is to use full-powered ammo.  The gun is designed to use NATO-spec ammo and will choke or run away with weaker rounds.

It's not a Swedish K would be the biggest con I can see but they are good subguns and better than may others.

The 76 has a lot of similarity with the MK-760, which is what I had. I found that there are different weight recoil springs that can be used with different ammo. Both guns were designed to be used with subgun ammo which is usually hotter than your off the shelf stuff. Using a lighter recoil spring will allow you you use the readily available 9mm and there will be less wear and tear on your gun.

IIRC the weight of the factory spring was 20#. You can get an 18# spring for the lighter loaded ammo. I've shot several cases of Wolf 9mm through my 760 with the lighter spring and never had any problems. Also, add a buffer and that should help with the constant pounding on the rear of the receiver.

Anyone have experience with a Burgess copy of the 76?

The problem with this gun is usually the extractor. They break pretty regularly. Other than that, the S&W76 is a great gun.

I was wondering the same.

 

The Burgess copy of the 76 is the MK760 that was discussed earlier.  They are not bad guns, the only issues I've heard of is that sometimes they need some TLC (by a good gunsmith), to run reliably.
 

The Burgess gun uses a Stemple tube along with leftover Special Weapons SW760 parts (Some modded and some new as the SW760 was semi auto).  The Burgess gun has a mag well adjusted to use unaltered Suomi mags and a bolt altered to put the extractor at the 2:00 position to match the ejection port.

The MK760 is...well an MK760.  It was made by a different set of companies and is a more true clone of the S&W.

I've read a couple reviews of the Burgess gun that have all been positive.  I have no direct experience.

Buying direct from Jim Burgess?
You are getting what in essence is a brand new SMG built on a virgin tube some 30 years after the registry closed.
Not a bad deal for ~$5300 give or take.

Unaltered Soumi mags is a big plus....
Mine is fun to shoot.
I used it in subgun matches as well as 2-gun action matches....it runs.

The biggest prob is spare parts - do NOT, repeat NOT count of SAMachine.
Too many inconsistencies with delivery of product to be considered reliable.
Go to UZITalk and read the 76 forum.
I myself have not gotten responses to emails I have sent him.

IMHO the weakest link is the extractor....not because it is bad or flawed in any way, but consider it consumable.
I have a friend locally making me spares based on my original one.  He is a CNC machinist and engineer.

But I will repeat, it is a fun gun, especially if the price is right.
Would I go to war with it.....not so sure.  If I had to chose, I would go to war with my Uzi first (as a subgun).

Just my take & worth what you paid for it.

-CG