Stimulus Package 1919 Browning M2 Tripod Assembly

I was skeptical but broke. This Tri-pod is great. Pintle was not as nice as the origional that I had but this works perfectly. Solid, stable inexpensive solution. Its not perfect, but it is good.

For a cheap import, the quality was much better than I anticipated. Definitely recommend picking one up for your 1919!

tripod works as it should, the pintle I recieved measure 2.312" my 1919 measures 2.344. It fit in milspec pintles before but not this one. Now I have to either grind it to fit or have it machined to size. A little dissapointing. Now with the repair time and refinishing the pintle I should of almost bought a usgi part.

I have read mixed reviews on this tripod but both the availability and price of original 'pods put them out of reach. With the recent price drop on Sarco's Stimulus Tripod I couldn't resist any longer so I bought one. (For this review please bear in mind that I am not a WWII veteran and I don't play one on TV.) Other reviews on the web had much criticism of a loose fitting pintle, poor paint job, flimsy feet and a poorly made T&E.

The pintle on my pod is not loose, is well finished, and locks in place nicely with very little play. The paint on the pod has both a primer coat and a decent green paint top coat. The feet are sturdy welded affairs that have supporting cross webbing. The T&E is not the material or machine-tool quality that I have seen on surplus Bren or MG53 tripods. However, it seems up to the task.

Cons: The folks who packed the pod did use a bunch of styrofoam peanuts to protect it (Good) but also fastened the pintle and T&E to the pod with wraps of clear packing tape (bad). After ripping off the tape and cleaning off the goopy glue left behind some of the top layer of paint came off. (That's how I discovered the primer coat.) It could have been my fault or maybe the paint wasn't thoroughly cured, dunno. The unpainted portions of the rear legs where the traverse bar slides for folding had some rust spots and paint over spray on them. Some steel wool and oil cleaned that up. The bolts are all loose so I will likely replace them or at least their nuts using new ones with the embedded nylon lock washer.

Bottom Line: This is a structurally solid pod at a great price point.

It does need a little clean up since there seems to be a lack of pride in the final finishing but buying an original will cost you multiple times the $ and you would still have to work to clean up a surplus pod for service anyway.

I feel it was money well spent. I am very happy with it. :-)

I’ve owed several original tripods over the years and sold them off, needed another and figured I’d chance this at 1/4 of the price of an original these days. Couldn’t be more happy! Arrived fast. Bolts were a little loose, but 5 mins and a couple wrenches tightened it up great, steaked then down to make sure they don’t back out. Paints a good color but thin and scratches easy, but I planned on stripping it anyways. For less than $250, you just can’t beat it. This newer batch is head over heals better than previous runs judging by online reviews. Very very pleased.

Great deal