Browning BDA .380 in Nickel at SportsWorld

[Ignored Member]

you guys suck!!! I've been wanting a BDA for a while now, and just when I get the itch for one out of my system, I see this post

 

[ldp4570]

not so beretta owns 20% of browning, fn owns the rest of browing and winchester. beretta owns , benelli, franchi,stoeger, sako ,tikka

At the time the BDA380's were being made FN owned Beretta. Now I know these companies flipflop all the time, so thats what I was referencing.

 

[ldp4570]

Where would you say the Walther PPK falls in the pecking order? I have only heard good things about those pistols as well, but still haven't got to shoot one.

Walther's; Well if its one of the Manurhin(All Walther PP/PPK/PPKs pistols prior to 1986 were manufactured by Manurhin, those showing West German markings aka Ulm/Donau were stamped in Germany after being manufactured in France.) or German marked guns, and most of what was manufactured under license of Interarms at Ranger Alabama, then they are right up there in quality. The ones made by S&W are hit and miss.

The older guns first mentioned are usually reliable with ball/FMJ ammo as this is what they were originally designed for. The later(1986 and Interarms guns) are somewhat better with hollow points. I have three PPK/s in .22lr, .32acp, an .380acp, along with two PP's in .32acp, an .380acp. Of all of them my PPK/s in .380acp, even though its a Interarms made gun, is the only one that is finiky with hollow point ammo. All the others run fine.

Even though most of the small Walthers are made of all steel(there are some pre, war time, an post war guns with duraluminum frames), they are very thin, most thinner than any of the new breed of .380's on the market, and due to this tend to slap the palm harder than the wide profile of the BDA380. You also have to pay closer attention to the Walther as to grip or you'll get what is known as Walther-bite from the hammer pinching you, or Walther-slice from to high of a grip, and the slides serrations will put two very nice lines along the web of your hand.

Now even will all that, the Walthers still are some of the finest CCW guns to be had, in .32acp or .380acp, I still wouldn't want to be shot with one, and would rather carry these than most of the newer ones out there today!!

 

[saddlebum]

At the time the BDA380's were being made FN owned Beretta. Now I know these companies flipflop all the time, so thats what I was referencing.

i don't mean to seem like i'm picking on you,but this is also not true. Beretta has been owned by the beretta family for 500 years, passed down through 15 generations. the bda 380 was contracted by browning from beretta

 

[XD-9Guy]

Thanks LDP, I appreciate you taking some time to put some thought into that response.

Bulboy, thanks for your feedback as well.

Everyone else, I apologize for the hi-jack.

I hadn't really considered looking for one of the older German models vs. buying a new S&W model but I'll put some thought into that now, if we go Walther. Of course all the glowing comments on here have made me think I should probably take another look at the BDA too.

I haven't shot either, nor has my wife, and while the next .380 we buy probably won't be "mine" or "hers", it'll just be a range gun that we both shoot, I definitely want to make sure it's something she'll like. She really like the looks of the PPK but she won't enjoy anything a grown man would describe as "snappy". So I'll have to explain that to her to see if she still wants to shoot one. We'll have to reconsider that BDA and then see what else is out there.

 

[ldp4570]

Here's a few pic's so you get an idea of how small these guns really are.

 

[saddlebum]

do you get a Christmas card from walther every year?

 

[ldp4570]

do you get a Christmas card from walther every year?

We do email when I have questions, and even though its in Germany, and they have to translate, they are some of the nicest folks in the gun business you'll ever write to, and get a response from.

 

[saddlebum]

is that a p5 top left in the bottom pic?

 

[ldp4570]

is that a p5 top left in the bottom pic?

Yep. Probably one of the most accurate 9MM's out there.