Valkyrie Arms (VA) is back in business and producing their new M3A1 Grease Gun! I heard of issues with their previous run from several years ago, but being the historical collector/shooter, I was not dissuaded and picked one up a few months ago.  I have not been disappointed by the gun…only the customer service (more on that later).

The VA gun is a SA-only facsimile of the gun that served us from the end of World War II through the Gulf War (the first one).  The BATFE mandated a 16” barrel, so that’s what the carbine has.  It also has a collapsible wire stock.  I understand the earlier run had a fixed wire stock.  There’s also an 8” barrel pistol version without stock or stock attachments.  So I got a carbine with the intent of SBRing it. (13-month turn around on Form 1, I hear). It is pictured here with the 8" Display Barrel.  

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http://http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa386/nkwatanabe/SB2small.jpg" />


A BATFE mandated Safety Selector also detracts slightly from its appearance.  This sits on the left side between the mag well and the trigger.  Safe and Fire.  Engages only when cocked. Farb. So, unlike the original, there’s no safety tab in the ejection port cover, either.  The only other aesthetic downpoint is the wire stock.  It extends and retracts fine, but it is flimsy.  Read that, wobbly.  And although it is sturdy enough to shoot with it does not have the wrench/mag loader on it, either.  Damn!  Even my ARES Airsoft M3 Grease Gun has a better stock (but they’re not interchangeable!)

This thing has got heft.  It is heavy.  I have not weighed it, but when you pick it up, you have confidence in it.  Very businesslike parkerized finish.  Nothing fancy.  It appears true to the original.  It is an M3A1, so you cock it with your finger in a notch in the bolt through the ejection port.  No crank as on the original M3.  It is a very stiff bolt, so you’ll need strong fingers, a short rod or dowel, or maybe even an empty .30-06 shell casing.

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I have heard of people having issues with it.  Not me.  Not much at least.  I’ve put about 200 rounds of 230-grain FMJ .45acp (mostly Winchester or CCI) and only had one double feed.  I’ve been using an assortment of USGI surplus magazines (that I actually bought as props for my airsoft gun!), again with no drama.

Still waiting on my Form 1, I’ve fired it with the 16” barrel. These were not bench tests, but rapid-fire, offhand, at 25 yards.  I’m printing about 12” low, but a fairly good group, for what it is.  (It is NOT an MP5!)  Still, once I can mount that pistol barrel, a file on the front sight should do the trick!  Again, this is a subgun.

http://http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa386/nkwatanabe/Target1small.jpg" />

Overall, a nice experience and a good, solid gun. I don’t know what accounts for my good fortune with this rig while others have had issues, but for what it is, a historical collectible, it’s pretty damn good!  I wouldn’t keep this for the Z-Wars mind you, but then, neither would I use my BAR for that either!

Oh, and about VA customer service.  Valerie is very personable, but they are so back-logged, that processing and shipping is slow.  Painfully slow.  It took me four months to get my dummy (display) barrel.

I like it.
What is the price and how many mags come with it.

That is awesome.  Congrats!

SA/M3-A1 pistol- $1,250 / $1,450 (wholesale / MSRP) plus SHI to dealer.
SA/M3-A1 carbine- $1,350 / $1,550 (wholesale / MSRP) plus SHI to dealer.


http://www.valkyriearms.com/m3a1.html

Not bad I was expecting something like 2K.

Amazing that a gun that was specifically designed to be cheap to produce can be so expensive.  According to Wikipedia they cost $20 to make during their war ($275 in todays dollars).

It was made by the millions to get that kind of low price. The Valkyrie is a boutique semiauto replica and I wiuld be surprised if the made more than 100 a year.


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I bet they could be made for $275 again....just like the man said...order up a million and see what they bid them at!

They probably needed to put a safety on it as the safety on the real M3A1 was the bolt cover. This being a closed bolt gun would have rendered that part moot, unless you want to carry around a closed bolt gun with the bolt open (not too practical in my book) and lift the cover to chamber a round from the magazine. The original had a nice hole through the bolt for charging the gun, where as this one just seems to have the bolt milled out slightly.

The great part is you can simulate full auto fire in semi by pulling the trigger really fast. The real M3A1s had a cyclic rate of about 400 RPMs or less.

is it actually a tube gun now like the originals? the version from several years ago was made to look like the m3, but was actually an upper/ lower type of assembly.

Addendum: It's not a tube gun.  It disassembles into an Upper, a Lower, Barrel and Internals.  I don't think VA is selling it with mags, but I already had mine before they were illegalized by the Potheads here in East CA (Read that CO).

To be sure, VA customer service tried my patience, but so is the BATFE!

Thanks... That just cost me some money!!!

Any more info on this?
What fraud did they commit?