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| Member |
I just picked up this Browning BDA which is basically an E. German produced P220 in 38 Super that was imported and marketed by Browning. Besides the beautiful polished bluing on the slide it has walnut wrap around grips. Most all other BDAs I've seen came with black plastic grips. I hear these are somewhat rare so any info on it would be appreciated. | ||
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Oriental Redneck |
You probably meant W.. The P220 was never made in East Germany. The walnut wrap around grips may be aftermarket. Do you have pics? Q | |||
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| Member |
I believe they all came with the plastic grips, I have all 3 of the BDA's from Browning/Sig, all the grips are the same. | |||
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Member |
Congratulations! With a production total of ~750 units, the BDA .38 Super is somewhat scarce. While mechanically identical to other P220's of the period, the BDA's most distinguishing feature is its polished slide. The original black plastic grips were standard P220 with the exception of the Browning name moulded into the right panel. Unfortunately, the plastic used to manufacture these early grips was brittle and prone to cracking with age. The wooden grips on your pistol are almost certainly replacements. Unlike the Hawes P220's which were imported concurrently, Browning BDA's were serialized using the proprietary Browning system. BDA's will display German proof marks and date codes on the slide chin. Interestingly however, the proof date does not always match the date code associated with the Browning serial number. | |||
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| Member |
12131 you're correct I meant W.Germany. I have to research the grips some more. I wish it was easy to post a photo here and I wish I was more computer savvy. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
To the best of my knowledge, all BDAs came with plastic grip panels. These panels were part of the branding of the Browning imports of these pistols, as they had "Browning" imprinted in large type near the top of the right grip panel. Best estimate of total BDA .38 Super production is just less than 1000 pistols. Here's my BDA .38 Super. As best as I can determine, this particular pistol was intended for the European market, as it has a SIG-Sauer serial number, not a Browning serial number, and it came in the period-correct, blue, piano hinge cardboard box. All serial numbers match and the pistol has the correct Browning rollmarks.  | |||
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Member |
Weird question, are the wood grips cracked inside where the screw is on the right side? | |||
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Member |
Wow Para, that is a truly unique BDA. | |||
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| Member |
Indeed. I never knew such a variation existed. Spectacular example! | |||
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| My other Sig is a Steyr.  |
I know that they had the walnut grips available in the early '80s, but I can't find a way to verify if they were from Sig or some aftermarket supplier. | |||
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Member |
Is it a pinch nose like Para's and mine? My .38 Super is from the very first importer of Sigs, Hawes. And yes they all came with black plastic grips.   .------------------------------------- Always the pall bearer, never the corpse. | |||
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| Lost, but making good time |
Like the others have posted, you found the rarest of the three calibers that the BDA's were offered in. It took me quite some time, but I was able to find all three caliber BDA's: 9mm, 38 super, and .45acp. I believe only the 9mm and 38 super featured the pinch nose, or dolphin nose slide, while the .45acp had a traditional square nose slide.    Bye for a while, guard the fort. - My Dad | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
The BDA was introduced in 1977 and the 9mm and .38 Super chamberings disappeared from Browning's catalog and advertising after only about a year, because American shooters of that period wanted the .45 ACP version. This is understandable, given the well-deserved, poor reputation of 9x19 and .38 Super factory ammunition available at that time. Hawes was importing the SIG-Sauer P-220 at the very same time- 1977/78. All three calibers were offered- 9mm, .38 Super and .45 ACP. Hawes was a small importer and you'll come across a dozen or more BDAs for every Hawes import you'll find. I have a Hawes import P-220 in 9mm. Like the BDA, the .45 ACP chambering of the Hawes imports was most popular. Everyone is always talking about the scarcity of the BDA .38 Super, but if you want a scarce early P-220, try to find a Hawes-imported P-220 in .38 Super, as member p08 shows on this page. | |||
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| Member |
And then add the original box and manual as well.  ------------------------------------- Always the pall bearer, never the corpse. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
Yeah, for my 9mm Hawes P-220, I've got the same ratty blue box with the same crappy, thin, yellow foam insert, the same plastic bag and the same manual. | |||
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| Member |
Mag318, If you want to restore your gun to factory spec, I have the Browning plastic grips somewhere. If interested, send me an email with BDA in the subject line. They're off a BDA45 but should fit. | |||
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| Lost, but making good time |
Thank you Para for that information. I didn’t know Hawes was importing the P220s at the same time Browning the BDA’s with the only difference between to two being different roll marks and grips, and with polished slide flats. P08- that is the first time I’ve seen a Hawes P220 in 38 Super. What a great gun. How long have you had it, and where did you find it? Bye for a while, guard the fort. - My Dad | |||
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Membership has its privileges |
Thank you all, for providing historical information and pictures. Beautiful handguns! Niech Zyje P-220 Steve | |||
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| Member |
While I have never seen photos, it has been reported that an even smaller number of BDA's were produced in 7.65mm para (.30 Luger). There is actually one listed in our BDA serial number census (JA Code). I suspect these were produced for the Italian market. I'm curious if anyone has additional information re: this caliber variation. Thanks! | |||
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| My other Sig is a Steyr. |
Member Dusty Dave has listed the 7.65mm BDA with the appropriate serial. 345R - 9mm 375R - 38 Super 395R - 45 Auto 396R - 7.65mm These were interesting times for Sig variations as they also made a P220 and P226 in 7.65mm. | |||
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