What is the going price on a transferable .30 belt fed? like an M60 or similar?

Starting price 105K

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/977120059

$50-60K

I think I have seen some M1919s recently around $20-30k.

M60 vary widely in cost depending upon receiver manufacturer, upgrades, condition, etc.

The most expensive being original factory Maremont /SACO guns that have been upgraded to E4 or E6 specs are now pushing $90,000+.   The lowest cost guns are original "Vietnam" configuration that were made by random builders using a mix of demilled and/or home-brewed parts.  

These random parts built guns probably start in the $55K range for the most well worn and challenged guns that may need thousands in repairs/upgrades and can easily head into the $60K  depending upon the quality of the parts used, the reputation of the builder, and overall condition.  

In the middle of the M60 price range are going to be factory Rock Island Armory (RIA) guns that have been upgraded to E4 or E6 spec or original Maremont/SACO guns that are still in their original Vietnam era config both of which usually fall in the $70K to $80K range.  

There are a ton of variables when it comes to M60 pricing but the wide spread is probably $55K on the very lowest end to $100K on the high end with the majority of M60s being in the $70K to $85K range.

I am not 100% sure what "or similar" necessarily means to you but other common transferable air-cooled 30 cal. belt fed machineguns pricing.

M1919 = $20K to $25K
RR HK21 = $30K to $35K
MG34= $35K to $45K
RR German HK21E = $50K to $65K  (There are also semi auto German E and US Clone E's that can be run with a registered HK sear or box)
MG42 = $55K to $70K
M240B = $300K+

Either way you cut it you are in for a significant 5 digit price-tag for a transferable 30 cal. belt fed.

Hope this helps

If it doesn’t have to be a .30 cal, an M16 with a Fightlite upper is a portable beltfed combo with a lot more versatility than an M60.

I want an HK21; thats really my goal. I just thought I'd be paying $40K for a sear and $50K for a host. How do I get a complete HK21E transferable gun for $50-$60K?

buy a sear and a MM21 and 23

then a MP5

All of the transferable registered receiver HK E machineguns (either 21E or 23E depending upon how the host is kitted) are made from German HK91 / G3 transferable registered machinegun receivers.

So you have two high level options:

Option 1:  Acquire a suitable transferable HK 91/G3 registered receiver machinegun for ~$20K, a demilled HK E parts kits (21 or 23) for ~$25K, and pay one of the few builders out there ~$5K to ~$10K for the labor involved to cut up the Hk91/G3 and graft all of the HK E weldments (trunnion, rails, shroud, etc.) to make a E gun out of the HK91/G3.   This route will require time and patience as demilled HK21E parts kits are challenging to find and the count on one hand number of HK gunsmiths who do this work have very long lead times.  

Overall I suspect you could still build an all German HK21E for less than $60K if you work good deals on the RR G3 donor and E parts kit.  It could be a lot less than $60K if you are willing to use some US parts in your HK21E RR build.  i.e. buy one of those demilled German HK11 kits on Sturm and use a US made feed mech, BCG, and barrel.

Option 2: Buy a transferable registered receiver HK21E that is already done.  All German guns will be more expensive and mixed pedigree guns will be cheaper.  I have also seen a German receiver RR HK21E  built out with all US E parts for less than $40K in the past year.


These RR HK21E/23E guns don't really seem to break much above $60K and Vito from onlythebest.com had two registered receiver HK E guns (single caliber) for sale earlier this year for under $60K.  (I think one was $55k and the other $59K)

Here was another one earlier this year listed for $67K with all German 21E parts on a G3 RR and probably $11k to $13K worth of other parts between the mixed pedigree 23E kit BCG and feedmech ($7K) , two MM23E barrel ($3K),  the spare 308 FMP  barrel ($1K), the HK11E mag adapter ($1K), plus the spare SEF pack and Misc spare parts ($1K).  This gun would probably net you around $55K for just the HK21E if you subtracted the value of the conversion kit and other spare parts.

https://www.sturmgewehr.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29815-wts-hk21ehk23e-rr-machine-gun-sold/

If you go with a sear you also don't have to buy an all German HK21E host.  Personally, I would just get a MM or BPP clone for~ $15K and use it as a blaster with a sear given the mods you have to make to the original German E parts to make an E gun run with a sear.  With a RR you can use all factory unmodified German E parts.  Even if you do go with a German semi-auto Hk21E gun as a host they are not $50K, they are more like $35K to $40K tops.

I personally went with Option 1 maybe 5 years ago.  I got the RR G3 at the time for under 20K, the demilled HK21E parts kit and labor was about $30K,  so all in I was right under $50K.  Granted it took me between 2 to 3 years from start to finish.  I also bought a German 23E kit for $13K as well.

These are my two guns.  The shorty EK is a MM US made gun with a sear and the full size is a full german parts build on a transferable HK G3 RR.

Hope this helps.

Outstanding. Thank you!

And if you could go back and do it all again, would you just get two US made guns to blast with? Or do you like your German build? Is there a difference I. Build quality between the two?

I would definitely do the German RR Hk21E / 23E build again.    However, I totally get it doesn't make sense for most potential owners and a US 21E/23E clone and a sear gets you basically the same shooting experience once you are behind the trigger.  

For me specifically it was a long term project over the past 15-ish years to try and get one German variant of every major roller delayed model HK ever made so the Hk21E/23E was a significant piece of that collection puzzle if that makes sense.  

I could have done a semi-auto German HK21E/23E build (and used one of my sears) like all of the other German host builds but there is so much time & cost in the host E gun build (vs. the simplicity of a HK94 to MP5 SBR sear host) that starting the E build with a G3 registered receiver as strange as it sounds wasn't a huge cost uplift.   At the time a semi HK91 was probably $3K and I think I paid $18K for the HK G3 RR, so only a $15K delta on a ~2.5 year, ~$70K "total project" cost once you factor in the alternate caliber conversion kit, multiple barrels, belt boxes, spare parts, custom case, etc.

For a German semi-auto HK21E you also have to do some significant/permanent mods  to very rare & expensive factory German E parts (specifically the bolt carrier groups) to work with a transferable "friction style" sear.  The original HK21E uses a unique one piece auto-sear that engages a tail on the bolt carrier and the OEM HK21E/23E carrier won't engage a friction sear (transferable or otherwise).  So going with a registered receiver keeps you much more in a factory config vs. any of the other roller delayed mag fed guns or the original 21 where its just a shelf vs. a front pin but mechanically everything else is virtually identical.

As for quality, the MM guns are nice but the German E parts and the base HK91 receiver are of a higher quality.  Does it make a significant functional difference...not really in my experience.   Its sort of like the difference between a PTR91 and an original German HK91.  A PTR91 will go bang with the best of them but the sheet metal stampings are not as nice/crisp, the machining on some of the internal parts like the bolt head isn't the same, the polymer parts are molded a little better, and everything on the German guns feels like the parts all ride on ball bearings etc.  The MM parts are still nice and I run some of the MM US E parts  (bolt heads and barrels) in my German gun to keep wear and tear off of the really high-cost/high-wear German components.

Would I get a German RR HK21E/23E if I didn't own an HK sear? No the flexibility of the sear and the quality of the US E host guns it doesn't make sense IMHO.  However, if you already have a sear or two and you want a really unique/rare piece the German RR 21E/23E machineguns are a really nice add to an HK collection.

Thanks for the write up. I’m waiting on mm to finish both my belt feds. Doing a full German build has been a thought but the cost is obviously a big factor.

No problems, hopefully it was helpful.  I totally get it is a big commitment both in terms of time, cost, patience, etc. if you decide to do a ground up build but if you do you will end up with something pretty rare/unique.  Surprisingly to me the prices are not higher but most HK folks want a sear (or two) first and end up with a US clone E gun as well, so the number of buyers who get to the point that they want an all German RR 21/23E variant seems to be pretty low which in turn holds the price down.

Not that US clone based 21E/23E are all over the place by any stretch but are a lot more common.   I have two local friends I shoot with both have MM built E guns (one guy is having a second made) plus my MM EK gun so just shooters I know locally in town there are 3 soon to be 4 MM US builds.   I can presume there are more MM or BPP guns locally I don't even know about.

In contrast the all German register receiver E builds are really pretty rare.   I don't know how many are out there but I have never come across another one in person.  I have had my gun at one of the largest NFA dealer in Texas (for an insurance appraisal) and they had never seen one in person before,  one of my local ranges is where TPM outfitters shoots and I have had the owners of TPM come by curious and want to check it out,  and have been to large machinegun shoots like Big Sandy and you will get all sort of folks who stop by your line spot to talk about it because they have never seen one live in person before.

In contrast I can have have my M60E4 and a 1919 on  tripods right next to the E gun and maybe get one or two questions on the M60and a 1919A4 won't even get a second glance as they are a essentially a dime a dozen in the transferable world.

Pic from the last spring Big Sandy Shoot with the HK21E the 3rd beltfed from the right.