Gave in and picked up a M11/9 today! The price was just too good to pass up.
Had been in the market for a second MG for awhile and this was the only entry level priced MG I really any interested in owning.
I'm going to rebuild it with all Lage parts and a CF-W slow fire bolt, but I could use some advice from current mac owners.

Would it be best to get the regular MAX-11 k with integral vertical grip or the Mod 1 which has a picatinney rail and get the detachable grip? Either way I think I would use the vertical grip, just didnt know if it was ever nice to remove the vertical grip.

Which stock do you prefer? Im leaning towards the Collapsible or Folding "k" stock.

Im considering purchasing the following accessories:
Lage "k" Grip
Lage "k" Folding Stock or Collapsible Stock
Lage "k" Rails
Lage Grip w/ Magazine Release
Lage Select Fire Trigger
Lage Extended Safety

What other accessories would you recommend or are any of these a waste of money?

Thanks!

Pic just for fun
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MAX-31 and lay in a supply of SOUMI coffin & drum mags.

I have the K with the grip installed. I'll never shoot it without the grip so no biggie to me. Plus the mod 1 was not available at the time. The mod 1 lets you choose the grip of your choice. The K folding stock looks nice but I have the Grey Ghost upper, CF-W bolt, and the Uzi folding stock from Practical Solutions. It makes for the most compact package.  If you like mag dumps you need a 31 upper and some Suomi drums. It's a fun gun with all of the options. Oh and you will need a dedicated .22 upper also.

Happy trails.

Congrats, great pick up! Just curious, what's a too-good-to-pass-up price? My last was "too good" was $5.5k.

The Max-11K is legit, especially suppressed. Either K version will be good to go. The folding K stock is nice but I prefer my fixed Lage prototype because the back of the stock is a little wider and therefore sits on my shoulder a little better during extended fire.

Would also recommend the Lage FA-only competition trigger which removes the trip. Very reliable, nice pull. You won't need or miss the semi (and can always load one round for new shooters/sight-in). Of course, YMMV.

Congrats!

I too am interested in a "impulse" price. Current prices have made it out of reach for me...

Glad I bought mine when they were still cheap. I started looking when they were still NIB for 1300 and planned to buy three. I dicked around a couple years and ended up with only one and a suppressor for 2700.

Still glad I bought it.

I support your decision.  
But beat you to it.  
Bought mine on the 4th.  Figured buying my first MG was the most American thing I could.

I was in the Army so have shot FA but had never even held a M11/9 till I wrote the check for mine.  Only know of one person in my area with MG's and he's a rich old guy with M16's.

So just going off my research I'm going with the 8 3/8" barrel Lage upper over the K version.  

I did order a Octane 9 too.  

I had been researching it for a while and with the then pending now approved Lage 11/15 upper I didn't want to once again be wishing I could go back in time.  

Yes there were 17k M11/9's alone made but as the wealthy buy them up and add them to their extensive collections they might as well be unobtainable.  
And that goes for all MG's.  We all remember the pics of Charleston Hestons vault.  How many dz transferables were in there? I'm pulling this outta my ass but I bet $5 they are all in a museum right now.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  But it means our kids won't have the chance to shoot them.

Congratulations on your purchase.

As for accessories, I'd say to evaluate what sort of shooting you intend to do, then try out any accessory that you think you may want before you buy it.  Because the market for virtually all of the accessories is so small, the capital and logistic costs are high on a per item basis; hence the high price to the customer.  Also, a number of the accessories are made for competitive shooters who are generally willing to pay for any competitive advantage they can get.

For example, I personally know three other MAC pattern machine gun owners, none are competitive shooters - recreational use only.  In addition to standard stick magazines, the only other accessory owned and used by any of them is one has a barrel extension that he holds with the non-trigger hand, and another has a suppressor that he likewise holds with the non-trigger hand.  No upgraded stocks, no drum uppers, no reduced or increased rate of fire devices of any kind, no changes to the magwell grip, no VFG, no uppers with rails, etc., none of the pricey stuff that would be wasted on simple, recreational shooting.

As it will be a long time before the gun is "yours", I'd also take the time to see if any of the items that you decide truly fit your shooting desires can be found used.

Best of luck, and enjoy.

MHO, YMMV, etc.

^great advice from above spartikis.

I think I remember you saying that there are very few if any other MG shooters near you, based on that I would guess that there aren't any subgun matches close by either....
A lot of the add ons are helpful for competition, but are not necessarily needed just to have fun with a mac at the range.


Great to add another MG to the collection though!

Two questions I have to ask.....because I'm sure the price you got this for is ballpark to a shrike upper....why did you choose the m11/9 over a shrike for the m16?
And, do you have a 9mm upper for the m16?

I paid $6,000 for it, not a steal but def the low end of their price range. I've been bidding and calling around on various M11/9s for a few months now and the lowest I came across was one for $5.5k and another for $5.9k both sold shortly after listing. Just about everything else has been in the $6-7k range so when frank listed two for sale I figured I needed to jump on it otherwise I would be making this post a year from now telling everyone about the good deal I found for $7k or $8k

As for why I went with the M11 instead of the shrike. I love the concept of the shrike and still want a belt fed LMG some day but when I priced out my ideal shrike build with a spare barrel, optic, bipod, links, custom ammo boxes, and a handful of other accessories it was pushing $10k!! just didn't make sense to put that kind of money into a upper that will at best hold its value (like drop a little especially in this slow gun market) when I can buy a MG and get 10% per year.

Like I said in the first post I considered all of the entry level SMGs and the Mac + Lage upper was the one I kept coming back too, guess I'm just a fan of modern firearms.

I don't have a 9mm upper for my M16. paranoid of possibly damaging the lower and don't feel like dealing with the hassle of switching everything up at the range, the shrike has the same issue, you have to swap the buffer, spring, mag block and you have to use one of those funky bolt catches. when I take friends and family it would be nice to just have a second MG rather than another upper so someone can be shooting the M16 while someone is shooting the Mac. Also Every rifle I own is some sort of M16/Ar15/AR10/etc...looking to brand out and do something out of my comfort zone

Fwiw I did build a heavy barrel upper with optic, bipod and beta mag out of some spare parts, Kind of gives that LMG feel and it cost me a couple hundred instead of $5k for a shrike.

This.

And metal mags if you stick with MAX-11 or factory upper. The factory mags suck even with feed lips upgrade.

why do people insist on holding the barrel of a MAC with their weak hand?

I know they show it in movies that way, but the gun us just a large pistol, not that much bigger than a 44 mag smith

if you put the stock in your shoulder and hold the grip with both hands like you're shooting a magnum pistol, you will shoot it way way better than pretending that it's a UZI and trying to make a foregrip out of the barrel stub

not to mention the danger involved in placing your hand a couple inches from the muzzle

with the suppressor, it's a different story, the MAC becomes a baby carbine, go ahead and put your weak hand on the suppressor.  keeps it from unscrewing anyway with that coarse thread

it's natural that as the prices rise, the MGs are going to wind up in the hands of collectors instead of shooters

same with musclecars, hot rod hank isn't going to pay $200k for a 1970 hemi but a collector will.

collectors form a emotional attachment with their stuff, almost like a hoarder.

so don't be surprised when these MGs continue to dry up as they disappear into collections

if you think they're hard to find now, just wait until the Julia's Auction crowd are buying them all.

Thanks for the explanation spartikis.  Makes absolute sense about the shrike vs a whole new MG.  Good luck with the new one!

I really like the MAX-11k but I'm going to try and sell it and get the version with the rail.

You do realize Lage is making a M11/15 556 rifle caliber

They also announced plans to make versions for the Mac10 and M11a1
http://www.uzitalk.com/forums/showthread.php?84842-M11-15-Prototype/page47

Probably gonna see prices on the Macs climb to 10k soon

Yeah that's a really cool prototype they have, it looks a little blocky and ghetto right now but I'm sure they will refine it and to the same level of detail and craftsmanship seen on their 9mm uppers.

I think it will be popular even despite the fact that it requires you to drill a hole in the rear of the lower as macs are the most common transferable MG and hold no historic value. You might even see lowers with the hole drilled become more desirable, kind of like a SP1 lower having its large front pin hole converted to a small pin makes it more valuable.

I Personally won't buy it as I already own an M16 and bought an M11 for use as a dedicated SMG, but there are a lot of people out there who I'm sure are super excited to finally have rifle caliber option.

Now if they come up with a 308 belt fed upper I would be all about that!

I shipped my Max-11k to Lage today to be converted into a Max-11k Mod 1. They are charging a small fee for the conversion but it includes return shipment. Contact Jackie to set it up.

Sweet. I didn't know they would do that. Thanks!

I wish I had the money to impulse buy a MAC. If I did I'm pretty sure my wife would impulse divorce me.

Try the FM-9 for a well made, inexpensive belt fed option that is safe for your lower. I bought one a few months ago and it's a lot of fun. I got the minimalist with the 6" barrel and mounted a rail on the bottom of the grip. And congratulations on your purchase. I am of the belief you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly it's approved.

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Congrats, i found is if you buy somthing in the 30k range its hard not to buy macs, i really blew it when i passes on an fnc sear for 3k.So i jumped on a m-10 .45.

Even with all the option for a m11. i still went m-10 i,t was unfired below market price.im not sure if ill even fire it.

I get the love for the FM9 its cheap and uses cheap ammo and if you can own a suppressor its pretty cool if its your first beltfed. The shrike is a way better choice without assesories it can be had new for 4k. If your smarter than me and just  an optic and dont buy handles and front sights barrels are $580 which feel like half price compare to what it costs with those two assesories.

The shrike wont hurt your lower if you follow the advice all over this forum, your more likely to damage it swapping the bolt catch.

I'd add Shockwave mags and a Lage sear to your list, assuming your gun still has the stock sear. Basically all of the stock internals are junk and should be replaced. Lage also has buffers that let you change the rate of fire.

Nice.  I have two M10/9s.  One has the Gen2 Lage upper and I have a MAX 10/31 on preorder.

Definitely

I'm going to go eat my peanut butter and jealousy sandwich in the corner now

I might try it anyway after the next deployment, when ever that happens. "Dat deployment money tho" I think a few people here will know what I mean.

Buying a MG with your deployment money is probably a much better financial decision than what most make. I had a buddy drop $2k in a single weekend at the bars when he came back from deployment. And that was back when $2k could have bought a Mac or other entry level MG, worst part is he doesn't even remember those two nights at the bar

 
last deployment I bought my AR18 and MAc11a1.
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