So this year is pretty good for me bonus wise, so I'm seriously considering buying an MG rather than using the money for practical shit that I'll forget about.  If you had a 15K budget, what MG would you buy and why?  I've got a trio of SBR's - all AR-15's, and all with binary triggers.  I'm looking for something I can shoot a little, have fun with, but not break the bank if I need to replace some parts.  So far, to me my options look like M2 carbines, Uzi's, or Sten guns.  If I get a Mac10 or Mac11, will the Lage stuff work with a non SWD Mac?

$15k might still get you into an RLL.

I was just is similar situation. I got an m11, lage max11/15 upper, and lage max11/sk upper...lots of extra parts, shockwave zmags, mac jack, lage stock, ammo, a suppressor...I'll have 3 different shooting uppers in 2 calibers including 5.56, lots of options and ways to switch around set ups and  total spent under 15k....to me this was the most options and bang for my buck.  

I had a mini uzi and an m2. Uzi was far more fun.

I sold the m2 and upgraded to a m16. Later I sold the mini uzi, so I'm down to one.

Nice thing about the m16is everything is cheap. Mags, barrels, etc. it's also easy to do caliber changes. I have uppers in in 223, 9, 22 and 300.

I do still miss my uzi.

If your budget is firm on 15k, the best bang for the buck will be a full size uzi in my opinion.
A Mac may be the cheapest FA to get, no matter how you configure them, they will always be a little ghetto.
Stens are crude, like a Mac except they don't chew through the ammo as fast and they don't have the ability to be reconfigured or adapted like the Mac can.
15k can get you into a sterling, if you hunt a bit, but it's pretty much fixed in it's original configuration. A mini uzi looks sexy but it has a high rate of fire and unless you're into that, it's not ideal when ammo is expensive. And there's no rimfire conversion (that I know of) that's available for the mini. And unless you're lucky, I don't think a mini is going to fall into your $15k budget range either.
You can get a full size uzi for around $13k and it can be customized a bit with optic ready top covers, 3 lug barrels for easy suppressor attachment, folding or quick detach stocks, vertical foregrips, .22 and 45 caliber conversions and you can add rubber buffers in different thicknesses to tailor the ROF to your taste. As well, if you get a RR uzi that has been brought up to SMG spec, you can take advantage of the large amount of spare parts that are available cheaply for it. And magazines are cheap as well with surplus 32 round ones running around $10 a pop. Plus it's hard to beat the '80 action movie appeal of the UZI.
Just make sure you get a RR one with the blocking bar removed as part of the original conversion. You don't want to be stuck with a slotted bolt that's married to the receiver because the original converter was too lazy to remove it.

These are the transferrable ones I can think of at the moment.

Mac 11 for lot less than 15k.. use the spare money to buy different Lage upper for it. Pretty ingenous to use the Mac lower as a trigger pack..
Thompson 1928/M1 West Hurley Note some WH have issues due poor QA. Have them send you a video of it function in full auto and possible a photo of the blish lock to see if it is eating itself apart.
M16 variant.. like a Sentra, Olympia, Colt SP1.. The 15k is getting close to the price of getting one of these.
Reising 50
Uzi

I’d get a mp40 , lanchester or a Hotchkiss 1914 if I had 15k to spend but I like old stuff. There is a beautiful hotchkiss on sturm right now. It kind of makes me regret blowing my load on the sten and nambu last year !

Where? I’ll buy one today lol.


OP the only real answer is an M11/9 with Lage 11k and 11/15 uppers. After optics and stocks and mags and all that you will still be less than $15k into it and have a 9mm and 5.56 MG with quality red dots and suppressors.

All the other $15k MGs are gonna be older stamped sheet metal guns that don’t accept optics, have magazines that are hard to find, or an uzi which can not also fire 5.56.

For $15k  M11/9 is your best bet
You can buy all the lage accessories you want and still have money for ammo.
You can get the 11/9 for around 8-9.5  cheaper if you're patient, but for how long, who knows.
Lage uppers are fun and not as ghetto as an earlier poster said.

Uzi is a great gun but it is only an Uzi
Mac can be converted to 5.56, .22, 9mm drum, slow fire, or simply the MAC.

I have both an would rather have the Mac with accessories

The BRP’s are nice guns for less than 15k. I have a U9. It’s a great gun. Feeds everything and is reliable. For me subguns are way more fun to shoot F/A than rifle calibers but that’s merely personal preference.

I have a BRP and an HK sear. I may pick up a cheaper M16 later this year to complete my FA collection but the truth is I almost never shoot anything other than pistol caliber anyway. Can’t remember the last time I shot any AR whatsoever but I shoot PCCs all the time.

Too bad you didn't buy it when they were $5k.. Who knew they would be triple or more the amount!

I enjoy shooting pistol calibers more than rifle rounds.. Only exception is belt fed mount.

Either an M11/9 with multiple Lage uppers or stretch a bit and get a good deal on an M16 RR. Both are versatile, reliable choices. No way I’d go RLL for your first.

OP, I've posted this before to other people and I still think it is great advice

go to a Machine Gun shoot I don't care if you have to drive 200 miles go to one. Bring ammo bring cash and bring a smile.

Walk up and down the line start talking to people and bullshitting and see what you can shoot for free. MG guys love to show what their MGs can do.

shoot everything you can even guns that are a little over your price range and ask people if they know of any deals for sale. Network




then simply go to bed that night and with your mind clear your dream of the gun that you want to get and when you wake up in the morning you'll know the model. then Google the ever living shit out of it and become a subject matter expert on that particular Machine Gun, and then once you have all the knowledge of Alexandria. Start your Purchasing search

This is the best advice in this thread. An MG, especially if it might be your only one, is a big investment in cash and time. Make sure the one you get is the one you want the most because if you settle for something lesser, you'll never stop thinking "if only I would have saved up one more paycheck, I could have bought the one I really want".
It happens more often than you might think. Like with all the guys who wanted an M16 and ended up with a SP1 conversion.
Sure, an SP1 conversion goes pew pew pew. And a fake Rolex tells the time. Neither is quite the same as having the real thing.

I've gone through a number of MG's and although the macs with Lage uppers are fun, I wouldn't bet my life on one. I like weapons that are battle proven, so when the zombie apocalypse comes, I'm good to go. If there is any way to get enough cash to get an M16 conversion, that's the way to go. It is the most versatile, can be changed to just about any caliber available, and is battle proven. If there's no way to swing that, get an Uzi. Uzi's are like cockroaches...when the cloud form the nuclear blast fades, the only things left that will be functional are cockroaches and Uzi's.

All this!

Personally, I would go with a Powder Springs MAC M10 and multiple Lage Uppers for it https://www.max-11.com/M10.php#MAX1045Upper and a bunch of mags and other goodies.

UZI, or AC556 which is basically a full-auto Mini-14

UZI for one and done.  Although you can get .22 and .45 conversions.  Will never go out of style.  

M11 for adding 5.56 in a sort of useable configuration.  


If/when an approved UZI rifle caliber conversion comes out (if ever) UZI prices will rise.  Until the the M11 wins the modularity game.