BD44 - What do I need to know? - range report post 51

NavyCuda

NavyCuda

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I called marstar too late today, but I'm going to order a BD44.

What do I need to know?

Those of you that have them, did you find what you spent on it worth while? Did you have any problems?

How many magazines did it come with and what kind of magazines? How often do you shoot it?

Where do you get your brass and projectiles for it?

Is there any source of magazines for it, under $200 a piece?

I tried and failed miserably using the search function, and I didn't pick up a whole lot of useful information on them from marstar's forum.

I've been talking about getting one for a long while, and now I'm ready to pull the trigger on one.

What is your favourite feature and what do you dislike the most? Please keep your answers restricted to the firearm itself as I have already accepted that ammunition will have to be hand loaded.

If you were to do it over, would you still buy the BD44?

Also, if you have pictures or youtube videos of it in action, please post them! Thanks!
 
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Well, the transfer is approved now I just have to wait for it to ship and show up. It's too bad the magazines are so expensive.

Once Henry gets back I'm going to have to get some brass and projectiles for it.
 
I got to shoot one at my range once. The fellow who owned it was fairly well off (as witnessed by the BD42 also sitting on the bench), and had bought a half dozen of the $200 original mags as soon as they appeared. It seems to me he described problems with the new production mags. I think he had a 5 round and a 5/30 of new production? I recall he said the 5/30 was essentially a door stop, the 5 round was okay. I believe that of the WWII era mags, he considered the 2 or 3 best ones to be excellent, the others were suspect. So he had $1500 worth of mags to get 2-3 good ones.

I have had the occasion to put maybe 30 rounds through original MP44s, always semi-auto only, and from what I can remember the BD44 felt identical to the original guns. If you can solve the ammo availability and find some reliable mags, they are a really good gun.

Some further info, after reading your original post again:
Most of my experience comes from handling WWII MP44s, and a very little shooting of them. They are heavier than you expect, given their compact appearance. The placement of controls is surprisingly intuitive. The front handguards rattle, and the sights are typically Nazi-terrible, as is the trigger. The stories about the thin, soft receiver being affected by hard bumps is true. I handled one MP44 that the port door was twisted so that it almost wouldn't close, and there was a dent in the receiver that caused the bolt to bind when it was retracted. As a first generation of its type, the Sturmgewehr has flaws. But with compact dimensions, high ammunition capacity, low recoil and big firepower potential, the MP44 really did offer all the advantages of a real assault rifle, and in terms of nominal capability they are very nearly as good a gun as an AKM.
 
For those wanting a picture(56k death) (not mine):
bd44z4linksgrossny1.gif
 
I've read they found 5000 of them in boxes in Syria, maybe they have mags, spare parts and ammo too for you there ;)
 
Ix said:
I've read they found 5000 of them in boxes in Syria, maybe they have mags, spare parts and ammo too for you there ;)
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Likely, though it might be difficult to get the parts here!

None-the-less I'm looking forward to it showing up, I'm hoping it's not too addictive to shoot, I'm not sure I'm ready to spend 2k on magazines so I can play with it hard! Well maybe the wife will buy the magazines!
 
My 7.92x33 is reduced to pretty much cost. I'm over stocked on PRVI ammo at the moment.

Ryan
 
Chemist said:
My 7.92x33 is reduced to pretty much cost. I'm over stocked on PRVI ammo at the moment.

Ryan
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What price will you give me if I buy all your stock? If my math is right, that's 780 rounds.

Is it reloadable brass? Edit: I read that but it didn't sink it, it is reloadable...
 
Chemist said:
If you EMT, 3% off, thats about it. I've reduced it as much as I can.

Ryan
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Ahh your CC margin. Makes sense, but it is likely I'd be going credit. I don't like using up my reserve funds, using the CC I can spread it over two pay cheques without paying interest.

I'm going to price out the components first as I already have some ammo to give me a baseline for load development. If I can do it more cost effectively by getting the components separately, I'll go that route. If not, you'll know when your stock gets cleared out.
 
If you do buy a SSD MP 44 look-a-like, just make sure it's from a reputable dealer. I had nothing but problems with the ones I tried ( owned 2--the original and it's replacement).

Thank God the dealer had an excellent return policy.
 
zupermann said:
If you do buy a SSD MP 44 look-a-like, just make sure it's from a reputable dealer. I had nothing but problems with the ones I tried ( owned 2--the original and it's replacement).

Thank God the dealer had an excellent return policy.
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I bought mine from Marstar. I'm already thinking about buying a second one, but I'm going to stock pile on reloading components first.
 
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