Beretta 38/42 at the Range
World War 2 SMGs at the Range
•
4m 51s
The pre-war Beretta Model 38A was a magnificent SMG, but it included a fair number of fancy elements that would prove to costly to justify once wartime production needs grew. Beretta would simplify the design progressively over the course of the war. What we have today is a Model 38/42 with a much simpler fixed-firing-pin bolt and a smooth barrel without jacket.
Is the 38/42 as nice to use as the original 38A? In my opinion, no - but it's pretty close. The Beretta 38 family in all its iterations are excellent guns.
Up Next in World War 2 SMGs at the Range
-
The Owen SMG: Looks Bad; Shoots Good
The Owen Gun is one of the really good submachine guns fielded during the Second World War, but is a very scarce gun to find today. I had a chance to briefly shoot one year ago, and when I had the opportunity to try one out at Morphy's, I jumped at it. Feeding from the top and ejecting out the bo...
-
At the Range with the Marlin UD-42 SMG
The Marlin / United Defense US-42 submachine gun was not used by the American military, but it did see service in World War Two. Its 9mm chambering made it inconvenient for the US, but ideal for agencies like the OSS and SOE to drop to resistance organizations within occupied Europe. So, let's ta...
-
Shooting the MP35: Germany's Left-Han...
The MP-35 is one of several very nicely made inter-war German submachine guns. Unlike most, it has the magazine mounted on the right, and ejects out the left - a configuration chosen to standardize the manual of arms with the K98k style bolt handle. The MP-35 is also unusual in having a progressi...
