- Ad Type
- For Sale
- For Trade
- Price
- $700
- Manufacturer
- Browning
- Caliber
- 9mm
- City
- Salem
- State
- Oregon
- Zip Code
- 97303
One of 3 I have available
The Browning BDM is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by the Browning Arms Company from 1991 until production ceased in 1998. Similar in appearance to Browning's (FN Herstal's P-35 model) "Hi-Power" pistol, the BDM was actually a new design created to compete in service trials for a proposal as a standard issue pistol for the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, the BDM failed to win any large scale law enforcement contracts, so was instead sold only in the retail market. Having a similar profile to the Browning P-35 Hi-Power, the BDM and its variants are often conflated as mere variants of the much older P-35 model, or other newer Browning or FN Herstal pistols that were updated variants of the P-35, such as the Hi-Power DAO model. However, the Browning BDM pistol is distinct from all forms of the Browning Hi-Power pistol.
The Browning model BDM and its variants were designed and developed exclusively by the Browning Arms Company attempting to address the trend within North American law enforcement agencies of transitioning from the use of double-action service revolvers to higher-capacity semi-automatic service pistols. The design goal of the BDM pistol was to help experienced law enforcement personnel adjust from the trigger operation characteristics of double-action (DA) revolvers to double action/single action (DA/SA) or double-action-only (DAO) semi-automatic pistols.
During the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Browning had several semi-automatic pistols in its catalog which were licensed to Browning but actually manufactured by European firearms companies, such as FN Herstal's P-35 Hi-Power model (Browning model "Hi-Power"), Sig Sauer's P220 model (Browning model "BDA .45 ACP"), and Beretta's Cheetah model (Browning model "BDA .380 ACP"). While these European pistol models had all found use in law enforcement and military units throughout the world, Browning was looking to compete with other pistol manufacturers in the North American market to develop an up-to-date, full-size, semi-automatic service pistol chambered in 9mm Parabellum and having a cartridge capacity of 15 or more rounds housed in box magazines. However, none of Browning's licensed models met these desired specifications, nor the design goal regarding helping operators smoothly transition from using revolvers to semi-automatic pistols.
The Browning Hi-Power model (FN Herstal P-35) was the nearest design within Browning's catalog of the type of handgun that Browning engineers were seeking to develop. The Hi-Power model is a full-size, semi-automatic service pistol chambered in the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, and has a standard magazine capacity of 13 rounds. However, the Hi-Power design has been in service since 1935, and although it has a reputation for very high reliability and was considered to be rugged, in most configurations its service sights were considered small and ill-suited to low-light environments. Plus, the Hi-Power pistol model uses a single-action only (SAO) trigger operation, similar to the Colt 1911 type pistol. Many policy makers in law enforcement regard single-action only handguns as an unacceptable risk and liability of unintentional discharge when a law enforcement official involved in a potentially lethal armed encounter suddenly experiences the almost inevitable adrenaline rush of anticipated or perceived danger. In such a situation, a single-action only trigger mechanism requiring a lighter finger pressure and shorter actuation is considered to lack sufficient inherent resistance to unintentional discharge for typical police use, requiring a higher level of trigger discipline than handguns with a longer and heavier trigger pull, such as double-action (DA) revolvers, which the vast majority of law-enforcement personnel of the 20th century had been trained to operate. There are relatively few law enforcement agencies that authorize the use of semi-automatic pistols with single-action only (SAO) triggers, due to belief that such pistols are better suited for military use or for operators with a higher level of training and expertise, such as SWAT and hostage rescue teams. During the 1990s, double-action/single action (DA/SA) and double-action-only (DAO) pistols were the types that the majority in law enforcement administration and procurement were looking to purchase and issue to their rank-and-file officers. Browning Arms Company decided to design, develop, and manufacture their own new pistol model, and any variants, solely in-house in the United States to meet law enforcement criteria of that time.
