Introducing the BD-38: A New Production Copy of the German MP-38
Forgotten Weapons
•
22m
There has never been a proper semiauto version of the MP40 available in the US, until now. SSD (Sport-Systeme Dittrich) is a German company that has been making semiauto copies of German WW2 small arms for quite some time, and they now have a US partner in the DK Production Group. They plan to release a variety of different rifles here, and chose to begin with the MP-38.
The MP-38 was the initial production version of what became the MP-40. It had a few distinctive differences from the much more common later model, notably the fluted lightening cuts on the receiver and the lack of a proper safety mechanism. Only about 42,000 MP-38s were made before production changed to the improved MP-40, and original configuration ones are extremely rare today.
The semiauto BD-38 is an extremely good copy of the MP-38. Despite being redesigned a bit internally to use a hammer and fire from a closed bolt, it matches the handling and feel of the original very well. It is chambered for 9x19, of course, and uses the original MP38/MP40 magazine (and DK Production makes and sells new magazines). I got mine SBR'd immediately upon receipt so that I could install a proper stock on it, but it is sold in pistol configuration so that one does not need to go through the NFA process. Mine has been reliable - which is really should be, considering the remarkably high price - and fills a long-standing hole in available WW2 small arms. I'm looking forward to seeing future releases from DK as well!
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Yugoslav M57: Tito's Tokarev
Yugoslavia purchased both 1895 Nagant revolvers and TT33 Tokarev form the Soviet Union after World War Two, but this was only a holdover until domestic pistol production could begin. While Yugoslavia was formally communist, Tito was not a puppet of Moscow, and Yugoslavia did their own development...
-
MSBS "Grot" Ceremonial Parade Rifle (...
The first version of the new MSBS "Grot" rifle purchased by the Polish government was actually a special version for ceremonial parade use. In order to make the gun suitable to that role, a surprising number of changes were made to it - almost every element is different than the standard service ...
-
The Rasheed: Egypt's Semiauto Battle ...
Egypt purchased tooling for the Swedish AG-42 Ljungman in 1952, and adapted it to their 8mm Mauser caliber as the Hakim rifle. Later, they scaled the rifle down to 7.62x39mm as the Rasheed, and manufactured about 7,300 of them between 1966 and 1968. These rifles were issued to the District Ward R...
