Has anybody shot the bd-38 ?

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panzercanuck

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I am planning to buy a bd-38 , would like to see if there is any other Canadians who had tested it yet.Is it a good , and accurate shooter or just an expensive jammin piece of ------.:
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Abel da Silva
 
PANZERCANUCK;
Have a look at the pictures on our site which were taken at Blast Off in Western Ontario.......

We let many, many people "test fire" our BD-38 which we brought along, a total of between 1,500 and 2,000 rds, not one single problem....

Remember that these fine guns are almost indentical to the originals, the Mp-38 "family" of SMGs was well known for it's reliability....

Regards
John
 
Mine works great. I haven't really shot it for accuracy, but recoil is nil, and the trgger is very nice. I had one mag that gave me trouble, but was able to bend the lips to correct it.
 
Someone should do a court challange and say MP40 magazines should be exempt under the law via the historical rarity clause, its not like the nazi's are making anymore.
 
I was one of those lucky fellows at the BLAST OFF that test drove this beauty..

And a beauty she is!

If I was not worried about Law School tuition for "Trinity Angel" I would be all over one!
 
BTW we will have all the BD family of guns at the Vankleek Hill Gun SHow next Sunday, including the BD-42.
John
 
johnone said:
Remember that these fine guns are almost indentical to the originals, the Mp-38 "family" of SMGs was well known for it's reliability....
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No they weren't, unless the history books have been rewritten recently. It was common in the German Army to reduce the number of rounds loaded in the magazine to ensure reliable feeding. The magazines are notoriously sensitive to dirt and the single-feed makes them less reliable (and harder to load) than a Sten magazine for example and the mag lips are more sensitive to misfeeds with slight dents.

My friend in the UK is a prohibited weapons dealer and he has Ian Hogg's MP-40 which he bought from his estate. It's about the nicest MP-40 you will ever see as Ian obviously went to some effort to get the best one he could. When my friend fires it, it usually goes b-b-b-b-bang-CLUNK because it misfeeds, especially with a full mag.

Various incidents I've read about where Germans ditched their MP-40s and used captured M1 carbines instead.

Having said all that, I find it hard to believe you could have a problem with 5-round magazines because the spring pressure is so slight with only 5 rounds loaded and firing semi-auto reduces the problems too.

However to say they're "well-known" for being reliable is not the case.

If they were that fantastic I'm sure the Bundeswehr would have carried on with them after the war (like they did with the MG42, which was and is a fantastic MG), but instead they used the Uzi.
 
cybershooters said:
No they weren't, unless the history books have been rewritten recently. It was common in the German Army to reduce the number of rounds loaded in the magazine to ensure reliable feeding. The magazines are notoriously sensitive to dirt and the single-feed makes them less reliable (and harder to load) than a Sten magazine for example and the mag lips are more sensitive to misfeeds with slight dents.

My friend in the UK is a prohibited weapons dealer and he has Ian Hogg's MP-40 which he bought from his estate. It's about the nicest MP-40 you will ever see as Ian obviously went to some effort to get the best one he could. When my friend fires it, it usually goes b-b-b-b-bang-CLUNK because it misfeeds, especially with a full mag.

Various incidents I've read about where Germans ditched their MP-40s and used captured M1 carbines instead.

Having said all that, I find it hard to believe you could have a problem with 5-round magazines because the spring pressure is so slight with only 5 rounds loaded and firing semi-auto reduces the problems too.

However to say they're "well-known" for being reliable is not the case.

If they were that fantastic I'm sure the Bundeswehr would have carried on with them after the war (like they did with the MG42, which was and is a fantastic MG), but instead they used the Uzi.
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Both the MP-40 and STEN magazines are single feed. You cannot use a STEN magazine in a MP-40 but the springs are interchangable. In 1983 I purchased a first model flat magazine housing Steyr made (code 660) MP-40 with one magazine and found that the magazine spring was too weak to ensure proper feeding with anymore than a few rounds. I took the spring out of a spare STEN magazine and used that in its place and that solved the problem.

The metal for that particular MP-40 magazine spring was a light grey in appearance quite different from the STEN spring which was a copper colour. The MP-40 spring had gone "dead" over the years. 25 years ago there was a police officer on the Orillia OPP force who was a WWII vet and he brought a MP-40 back from overseas (it was registered eventually.) His had the same problem and he fixed it the same way.

Have you ever tried feeding a 32 round STEN magazine with your bare fingers? It is difficult to do without the loader. I never had any trouble loading any MP-40 magazines to 32 rounds with my fingers.

I have fired and watched being fired many full magazines from a MP-40 and only remember seeing two failures to fire. One was a dud 1943 STEN round and the other just didn't feed. The bolt stuck half way but that was understandable since the gun had not been fired in over 30 years and there was a build up of metal oxide on the bolt. A little rubbing with fine steel wool and a light oiling of the side of the bolt fixed the feed issue.

I have read that the STEN is more reliable if you load only 28 rounds rather than 32. Apparently that reduces strain on the spring for magazines that are kept loaded for long periods of time.

The UZI has a 2 column feed and is highly reliable. When the stock is folded it is a much more compact firearm than the MP-40. But that is not to say that the MP-40 isn't reliable as you have indicated. With proper magazines and good springs the MP-40 I have is equally as functional as my Israeli Third Model UZI.
 
cybershooters said:
No they weren't, unless the history books have been rewritten recently. It was common in the German Army to reduce the number of rounds loaded in the magazine to ensure reliable feeding. The magazines are notoriously sensitive to dirt and the single-feed makes them less reliable (and harder to load) than a Sten magazine for example and the mag lips are more sensitive to misfeeds with slight dents.

My friend in the UK is a prohibited weapons dealer and he has Ian Hogg's MP-40 which he bought from his estate. It's about the nicest MP-40 you will ever see as Ian obviously went to some effort to get the best one he could. When my friend fires it, it usually goes b-b-b-b-bang-CLUNK because it misfeeds, especially with a full mag.

Various incidents I've read about where Germans ditched their MP-40s and used captured M1 carbines instead.

Having said all that, I find it hard to believe you could have a problem with 5-round magazines because the spring pressure is so slight with only 5 rounds loaded and firing semi-auto reduces the problems too.

However to say they're "well-known" for being reliable is not the case.

If they were that fantastic I'm sure the Bundeswehr would have carried on with them after the war (like they did with the MG42, which was and is a fantastic MG), but instead they used the Uzi.
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Well just a thought, but maybe the German army did not keep MP38/40s because they are excecively long and heavy? They are after all Gen II SMGs and good as they were in their day, newer guns are lighter, smaller and easier to produce.
 
CYBERSHOOTERS:
Most any shooter of FA weapons,regardless of mag design, will tell he always loads the mags to 2-3 under capacity....

Dents and bent lips mean trouble for any SA or FA firearm....

I have always found that the great majority of feeding problems with any FA that the mag was usualy to blame....

Your section 5 friend fails to mention if the gun does this with one particular mag or with all mags.... I'll bet you he can cure the problem by switching out the offending mag....


As for reliability, well now, I can only speak from personal experience, I have several MP-38s, MP-40s and MP-41s all of which use the same mag, other than obvious mag problems ,damaged mag well or a loose (rotating) mag well housing I have never experienced any problems.... The travers pin in the mag well was major offender, they were replaced with hard pins or many had the well welded to the receiver tube....

I have sold in excess of 25,000 MPs over the years have never heard about feeding problems....

The Germans did not continue with the Mg-42, they went on with the M-3 and Mg3.... The Mg-42 was far from perfect....

The last time I was on a German base they were carrying MP-5 SMGs, when did they change over to the UZI ?


Best Regards
John
 
Have you ever tried feeding a 32 round STEN magazine with your bare fingers? It is difficult to do without the loader.
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Difficult, its virtually impossible hence the variety of Sten mag loading tools available.

However difficult the Sten mag is to load it is pretty reliable as long as it is kept clean. The mag lips are a weak spot but they can be fixed fairly easily. The Indian army actually modified Sten mags to feed from a single colum for use in dusty conditions. It only holds 19 rounds but it feeds when really dirty.

One thing you have to keep in mind is all these subguns were designed a long time ago and served their various armed forces admirably and in a time of need. They have since been surplanted by more sophistocated designs however these early generation subguns have stood the test of time well enough to become desired collectibles some 60+ years after they were built.
 
ilovepotatos said:
Not only that, but there are countless reports of American GI's ditching their heavy Thompsons for the lighter and more controllable MP-40.
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I have only read that in one book "The Gun That Made The Twenties Roar" out of a number that had detailed first-hand accounts of the Thompson and MP40 in use during WWII. I think using the word "countless" gives the wrong impression and is simply not true.

In July of 1996 I watched Finn Neilson of the Center Of Forensic Sciences fire at least 6 fully loaded 30 round .45 Thompson magazines each in a single burst from a 1928 Thompson into a group you could cover with a small dinner plate. The range was about 8-10 feet. He was being filmed by Allan Piils and directed by Robert Fortier of the National Film Board. Sound was done by Greg Chapman of Toronto. The camera shot from different angles and distances and the one clip was fired with the camera only about 3 feet from the ejection port.

Obviously a Thompson in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is very controllable.

Thompsons are a bit on the heavy side but they are at least as good a piece as the MP40. The .45 ACP cartridge also has considerably more killing power than the 9mm at close range. I own both a 1928A1 and M1A1 and they are only a pound and a half or so heavier empty than the MP40 so weight really is not a factor for someone in shape.
 
The change over to the MP5 from the UZI took place years ago. According to Small Arms of the World, 1983 edition, the UZI was still in service at that time.
 
johnone said:
The Germans did not continue with the Mg-42, they went on with the M-3 and Mg3.... The Mg-42 was far from perfect....
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Not quite correct. The germans converted original MG42 to 7,62 x 51 and called them MG2. The MG3 is just a modified MG42 and chambered in 7,62 x 51 in the first place.


The last time I was on a German base they were carrying MP-5 SMGs, when did they change over to the UZI ?

Best Regards
John
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the Military Police (Feldjaeger) used the MP5k, some special forces use various versions of the MP5, but most of the Bundeswehr uses the Uzi. In most units the Uzi was replaced with the G36. The MP5 was never thought to be replacing the Uzi.
 
Kampfhamster said:
Not quite correct. The germans converted original MG42 to 7,62 x 51 and called them MG2. The MG3 is just a modified MG42 and chambered in 7,62 x 51 in the first place.




the Military Police (Feldjaeger) used the MP5k, some special forces use various versions of the MP5, but most of the Bundeswehr uses the Uzi. In most units the Uzi was replaced with the G36. The MP5 was never thought to be replacing the Uzi.
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they getting rid of the uzi now. MP-7 will take over.:evil:
 
tiriaq said:
The change over to the MP5 from the UZI took place years ago. According to Small Arms of the World, 1983 edition, the UZI was still in service at that time.
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I was in the Canadian Army in Germany from 84-87 and the only forces I remember having UZI's were the Dutch and we were attacked by and worked with the Germans many times. I was a Driver for one of our Generals at the Boeslager Recce competition in '86 and the German General's guards had what looked like MP5's then.:confused:
 
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