Original Item: Only One Available. This is an incredible inert non-firing Turkish M1922 Hotchkiss display dummy machine gun, only the second example that we have ever had! It was constructed using all original parts on an original BATF compliant 3D Printed Resin non-firing display receiver, making this a 100% legal display machine gun. As the receiver is completely inert and can never be made into a functional component, that makes this display gun totally legal to own without a license of any kind.

Many of the original parts of the gun were used in the construction of the display gun, including some internal components. We checked the barrel, and it has not been deactivated, with an intact chamber and a great bore with clear lands and grooves. The feed tray and pawl still function properly, but you are unable to “rack” or cycle the components in any way. The feed tray can be opened, however it can fall out of the receiver, as the mounting point at the front cracked due to the plastic being brittle.

Condition-wise, it is one of the best we have seen, and there are even replicated Arabic markings on the left side of the plastic receiver, with French maker markings on the right. There are not many other markings we can see, however the front of the feed tray under the top cover is marked with the Eastern Arabic numerals ٢٩٣٨ (2938). The numerals on the rear sight are also still present and correct. It comes with the correct bipod, carry handle, and even the rarely seen fore grip under the front of the receiver, which are often lost or broken.

The metal finish and overall condition on the original is excellent, and it will make a fantastic addition to any Machine Gun Collection. This is truly a masterpiece of a weapon and comes ready for research and display!

The Hotchkiss M1922 was passed over by the French military in favor of the Chatellerault 24/29, and it was not adopted in large numbers by any other major military forces. Several smaller nations did purchase quantities of the gun, and this led to a lot of variations of it being made. Hotchkiss had a long history of exporting weapons, so they knew that flexibility was key to getting small contracts. The M1922 (also referred to as the M1924 and M1926) was available in virtually any rifle caliber a potential client might want, as well as with a variety of barrel types, front grips or handguards, bipods, and even with the option of being fed by strips or box magazines.

The rigid metal feed strip was obsolete by the 1920s, but not everyone realized this, or cared. It was originally used with the M1914 Hotchkiss heavy MG, and also on the Portative, so it was natural that Hotchkiss would continue to use it. Obsolete or not, it was a proven system that people were familiar with. The short strips would hold 15 rounds, and longer ones held either 24 or 30, depending on the type of cartridge (cartridges like the 8mm Lebel with a rim and large taper were limited to 24 rounds, while more rimless and less tapered ones like the 7mm Mauser would hold 30 in approximately the same length of strip). The strip would be inserted cartridge-side-down into the right side of the gun, and was cycled through the action by an arm connected to the bolt (basically the same mechanism as a belt-fed weapon uses).

Guns set up for strip feed (which appears to have been the majority of these guns sold by Hotchkiss) has a flip-up top cover like a belt-fed gun, allowing access to the feed mechanism.

More than a few countries used the M1922 Hotchkiss, although it did not see much service in major wars. Still, it was used in many more local conflicts, and appears to have been a reliable and well-liked gun. Purchasers included:

Greece – strip-fed in 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer and 8mm Mauser
China – strip-fed in 8mm Mauser
Czechoslovakia – strip-fed in 8mm Mauser
Spain – mag-fed in 7mm Mauser
Turkey – strip-fed in 8mm Mauser
United Kingdom – strip-fed and mag-fed in .303 British
France (small numbers) – strip-fed in 7.5 French