Madsen M-1904

     Notes:  The “Madsen Muskette” is considered a remarkable weapon; some say the most remarkable thing about it was that it worked at all. It was probably the first light machinegun ever produced in quantity, and the same weapon continued to be built, with only minor variations, for over 50 years.  It was never officially adopted by the military, police, or paramilitary forces of any country – yet there isn’t a corner of the world where is did not serve or in some cases, still serves.  The Madsen used an extremely complicated operation, an automatic form of the Peabody-Martini hinged-block action.  Nonetheless, the design not only works, but works well; a Madsen 1904 built in 1904 is likely to still work today after some cleanup and a minimum of care. This is great for bolt-action rifles, but in a machinegun, requires a separate rammer and a very powerful extractor; a lot can go wrong, and even loading a magazine into the M-1904 can produce a cascade of rounds that spring out of the magazine while you’re trying to insert it.  The operation was, in essence, partially long recoil and partially short recoil.  The 24-inch barrel has a reinforced ring around the muzzle where the front sight is mounted. The magazine is curved and top-loading, making the 1904 look somewhat like a Bren. It also has a feature that would later become almost standard among small arms – to clean it, one opens it on pins at the rear of the receiver, and it opens like a clamshell. It was, in spite of itself, very successful, the Madsen being produced in at least 34 countries and used in close to 100 conflicts worldwide.  It was even captured from Viet Cong troops during the American involvement in Vietnam as late as the 1970s. 

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Madsen

6.5mm Arisaka

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$1928

Madsen

7mm Mauser

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2291

Madsen

7.65mm Mauser

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2475

Madsen

.303 British

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2570

Madsen

7.62mm Nagant

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2477

Madsen

.30-06 Springfield

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2754

Madsen

8mm Mauser

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2740

Madsen

8mm Danish Krag

9.07 kg

25, 30, 40

$2761

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Madsen (6.5mm)

5

3

2-Nil

7

3

7

70

Madsen (6.5mm, Bipod)

5

3

2-Nil

7

1

3

91

Madsen (6.5mm, Tripod)

5

3

2-Nil

7

1

2

140

Madsen (7mm)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

68

Madsen (7mm, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

88

Madsen (7mm, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

2

136

Madsen (7.65mm)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

77

Madsen (7.65mm, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

100

Madsen (7.65mm, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

2

153

Madsen (.303)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

76

Madsen (.303, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

98

Madsen (.303, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

2

151

Madsen (7.62mm)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

77

Madsen (7.62mm, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

99

Madsen (7.62mm, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

1

153

Madsen (.30-06)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

67

Madsen (.30-06, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

86

Madsen (.30-06, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

1

133

Madsen (8mm Mauser)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

77

Madsen (8mm Mauser, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

100

Madsen (8mm Mauser, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

2

154

Madsen (8mm Krag)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

3

7

76

Madsen (8mm Krag, Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

3

99

Madsen (8mm Krag, Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

7

1

1

152