Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "BM59: The Italian M14" video.

  1. It only applies to 9mm Luger. 7.62 NATO and 5.56 NATO are allowed.
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  2. The cool thing of the tri-compensator is that the muzzle brake's holes are asymmetrical, so to reduce the spin on the rifle given by the bullets engaging in the rifling, that contributes to make the recoil less predictable and so less controllable. It's obviously not perfect, but it was probably the best that could be obtained in the 60's with a full blown cartridge.
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  3.  @FeatheredDino  The BM59 solved the two problems that made so that none of the US conversion was deemed viable. 1) It didn't use the BAR magazines. For the Americans it was too much of a temptation to use the same magazines of the BAR, but they were pretty shitty, and only worked well in the BAR due to the high inertia forces involved in that action. 2) It replaced the bent op-rod of the M1 with a straight one. In bursts the bent op-rod of the M1 acted as a spring causing jams. Other than that, it had a very effective muzzle-brake / compensator that, added to the grenade sight and bipod (that purposedly made the weapon point-heavy) kept bursts under control.
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  4. MAB-38, Breda 37, Breda 38, Breda 20/65 M35...
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  5. Mind that the BM59 was not the only option. The alternative was the Franchi LF59 (you can google it, it's actually a very nice looking battle rifle), that used a STG44-esque action (long stroke, tilting bolt, gas action), coupled with a very clean telescopic "MP40 style" recoil spring placed behind the gas piston, like in a AK (so that it could have a collapsible stock). The LF59 was prefectly serviceable, but the BM59 won because its price couldn't be beaten.
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  6. The BM59 is a lot more similar. Actually BM stands for "Beretta Modifica" (Beretta modification, of the original M1). It reused M1's receiver, trigger group, stock and rear sight, only sligtly modifying them. So much it was a modification that several BM59 issued to the Italian troops had been done using original US made M1 receivers, and still had the original Springfield or Winchester markings on them. http://www.collezionareexordinanza.it/uploads/source/IMG_6484_1.jpg
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  7. A nice addition Beretta made to avoid the Garand thumb.
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  8. BM stands for "Beretta Modifica", a modification of an existing model. So much it was a modification that many BM59 issued to the Italian troops had been done using original US made M1 receivers, and still had the original Springfield or Winchester markings on them. http://www.collezionareexordinanza.it/uploads/source/IMG_6484_1.jpg
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  9. And more controllability than the M14, and a selector permantently attached, and a bipod permanently attached, and a grenade cutoff and sights permanently attached, and winter trigger...
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  10. Several BM59 issued to the Italian troops had been done using not only Beretta made, but original US made M1 receivers, and still had the original Springfield or Winchester markings on them. http://www.collezionareexordinanza.it/uploads/source/IMG_6484_1.jpg
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  11. Mind that the most famous automatic rifle until the Belgian FAL and the Italian FAL (that were about the same weight) was the 20 pounds BAR.
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  12. It works perfectly fine.
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  13. Not only the tooling, but even the existing parts. The BM59 receiver, stock, rear sight and trigger group were the original M1's slightly modified, and often they retain their original Winchester and Springfield markings.
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  14. Actually it was nearly identical to the US M1 Carbine bayonet, only the muzzle ring diameter differs. The Italians retained the same bayonet with the AR70/90 too.
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  15. What really helped was the straight op-rod (M1's bent one, in full auto, became a spring whose armonics interfered with the burst, jamming the action) and to get rid of BAR's magazines, that were pretty bad, and were reliable only if helped by the inertia of the heavy bolt of the BAR).
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  16.  @andrewstein2226  The front part of the BM59'a op rod is a short and straight cylinder. That of the M1 is longer and slightly bent (WWII's GIs had to be specifically instructed to not straighten it, since it could seem it had been bent by chance during use). The elasticity of the long and bent op rod easen extraction, but it interferes with an eventual burst.
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  17. No BM59 had been made converting a rifle. After the war Beretta received the Wincester tooling for the production of the M1 rifle (they were worn out and unusable, but good to see what the production stages were and build new tooling) along with a ton of spare parts never assembled. That's why many BM59 have the original Winchester and Springfield markings on the receiver. That's also why the Danish soldiers preferred the Breda made M1 to the Beretta ones. Breda rifles were all made with new parts, while the Beretta ones could have receivers made during the war with old tooling, that had a rougher surfaces.
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  18. Not an original BM59. But you can modify a Garand to resemble a BM59 while retaining the caliber. And someone surely did.
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  19. An Hotchkiss Portative.
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