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Any completed Gatling guns?

Cbcues

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Hey guys. I have the plans from rg&g and d&e for a 22 Gatling. I'm leaning twards the rg&g plans. I've seen the bolt modifications using ruger extractors, coning the barrels, ect..
Has anyone completed one and got it to function reliably? What if any mods did you have to make to get it shooting?
It seems a lot of the builds I've followed in the past on the GG forum looked awesome but were very finicky to get them working.
 
I saw one south of Denver years ago guy said it worked only with Winchester ammo. Fellow here started project here made a lot of parts some multiples but quit before finishing. The stuff has been on my shelf long time but I have no idea how to do the extractor so would be interested in the Ruger mod if you have more info or link
 
I built one from the original RG&G plans about 18 years ago. It became obvious that the cartridge feed design and the extractors were some of the weak points. I modified the feed block to use a modified Bruce feed with a weight on top of the cartridge column to try to make sure it fed properly. 22LR cartridges are too light to rely on a gravity feed only. The extractors will work but are iffy at best. Ejection was also a problem, but I finally got it to work fairly well with several mods. What I ended up with didn't look too much like the original feed design. It would shoot but with probably 15% stoppages. The original design suffers because it tries to look and work like the original guns in 45-70. Those big, heavy cartridges were much easier for the mechanism to handle, feed and eject than little 22RF. Tolerance stacking is a problem. The built-up bolt design is also poor, IMHO. The cocking cam needs to be hardened for smooth operation. Bolt removal and replacement is a huge PIA. Anyway, I got tired of fooling with it and ignored it for a few years. I finally gave it to a buddy several years ago. He won't ever try to shoot it and that is a good thing.

RWO
 
I will try to find the link to them. There is a guy who came up with the modified bolts who also sold them completed from time to time. If I have some extra cash when he has some I may order a set. I'm all for tinkering but I want to be able to shoot the thing when it's done without constant jams which, unfortunately seem to be the norm.
 
I've had the pleasure of shooting an original gun at one of our local machine gun shoots. It had a very smooth action to it. If I remember correctly it was the 7th gun purchased by one of the branches of our military. I can't remember which one. It was worth more than my house.
That started my love affair with that gun. I would like to do one in 38/357 or something of that size however, I haven't found any plans anywhere for something of that size.
 
For that matter, since it's not considered a Machine gun you could make it in 45-70 if you wanted, pressure not high, large cartridges as noted above. I suppose even reloading it would be expensive to feed, which is part of the allure of 22 LR.
 
I realize this is an older thread, I would stay AWAY from the R G & G!

I bought the plans many years ago and they are written foolishly and you do NOT have the ability to contact the maker.

He leaves a number and never returns a call, I did see many years later that since there were so many complaints that he modified the plans and "became" more accessible???

I seen the D&E and it was much more "buildable" with good directions. I believe he has passed away and his wife still sells the plans on Flea-bay.

Good Luck

Mick

PS, The actual rules are that it does not become a machine gun unless it can fire by merely holding the trigger in the rearward position, such as an electric motor.... I have the BATF letter telling me that since you have to crank it by hand it is merely a single shot weapon. You may give it to your children but NO ONE else. No Stamp Necessary!
 
I worked in a gun shop in 1979, One of the customers brought in the cam for one he was building, using an Atlas 6x18 lathe. It was going to be a .22LR. He was using drawings from a book that were for one of the early 45-70 versions. No idea what the book was or if he completed it.
 
I did stumble on a gatling builder's group.

Gatlinggunforum

I had the plans once, lost in the fog methinks. As long as one is building one it may as well be scaled up to fire 38 Super or 10MM mag. I say one of the rimless higher powered pistol rounds because the Gatling originally wasn't strong enough for higher pressures, and the rimless cases would feed a lot better than 45 long Colt for instance. I'm sure plans for 45-70 chamber GG's are around, huh?
A lot of work, and the thing about projects that take a lot of work is that one has to really screw up the ambition to keep working on it for a long time.
OTH if it's just the FA thing, and you don't have the money for a Thompson (Drool) most AR's can give FA with a $99 Bumpfire.
 
More into the aesthetics than an actual MG.

I legally owned a few and I can tell you that they are in fact a waste of time, money, and more importantly ammo. Great for the movies.

I now own suppressors and no MG's.

Would not go backwards, Kind to my own ears and others. A pleasure to shoot and other than the extra 8 inches of tube.... It is great. I made mistakes in the beginning by having a dedicated suppressed weapon, Now I just buy different pistons and use the same suppressor on multiple weapons. Live and learn.

Maybe you can benefit from my mistakes.

Mick
 
One other thing to consider is if you want to make more of an authentic model, I believe the D & E is the way to go. I opted for the RG&G because at the time I had seen some comments saying it would be easier to get working.

I bought plans about 10 years ago, and there were plenty of errors to work through. Here is a link to a list of known errors:

Some known Rgg drawing errors - General - Gatlinggunforum

My build stalled out when I had to adjust about 1/4" more than expected to get proper headspacing, making me think there is an critical error in the length of my frame, or cam housing. Also on the test fire, the firing pins would not fire the round.

So after ~ 700 hours of work I have this sitting on my bench, and I have not touched it in a year:
20170130_193647.jpg
 
What a shame! Such a beautiful piece of work.

Yes, I was going to suggest either making the cam housing, frame or bolts anew, but obviously Agger has considered that at length. Maybe our glowing remarks will enthuse him again to solve the problems.
 
I suspect that if made to shoot BP as in the originals, which used steel cartridge loaded with a cap inset into the back, these would be a non gun to the BATF. In fact I did see a replica done like that for sale once, and they made that a point.
Then again, since there is no serial number how would they know who made it or when, or if there was a manufacturers license, or which state line it crossed. None of those restrictions existed nor were they predicted by the founding fathers, nor should they have been expected from an honest government.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I have been lurking on the Gatling gun forum for a few years. It definitely seems most projects never reach completion. There is one member who has completed several and builds parts like bolts with modern extractors. I have been following some of his posts and the plans corrections threads. I'm not too hung up on looking 100% authentic, just similar is good for me. I actually plan on using it a lot if I'm going to commit all the time building it.
I have had a few class 3 weapons and have had my fill of just blasting ammo at a rapid pace. I still enjoy shooting them but do it way less often now due to the ammo cost.
 
I do my tracers for the machinegun shoots on a progressive. For blasting I just get cheap steel case ammo. When I first started shooting them wolf 7.62-39 was $70 for a 1000rd case. 9mm was $99.
It was fun blasting away all weekend. Now I would just be thinking of what I could be buying with all the money I'm wasting. However shooting the RC planes down with the M4 is still a lot of fun. There is a shoot coming up in Cheyenne wells Colorado next month if anyone wants to come blow some stuff up.
 








 
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