This is a pretty cool item I ran across here at IWA, spying it out of the corner of my eye as I walked through the aisles. My brain screamed “FG-42” but something wasn’t quite right. I stopped and asked the man at the booth what it was and sure enough, he told me it was a modernized FG-42. Turns out, the guy I was talking to was Bernd Dittrich and it was his company. Aesthetically the rifle is different, but it retains the same operating system as well as a few classic design cues. The name is different as well, being referred to as a Sturm Gewehr rather than a Fallschirmjäger Gewehr.
Chambered in .308 rather than the original 7.92x57mm, the rifle is offered in two length, SG-11 (320mm barrel) and SG-12 (500mm barrel). You’ll notice there added a full length Picatinny rail above the barrel as well as a section below the barrel.
As you can see, it utilizes the original-style magazine which Sport Systeme Dittrich manufactures.
The SG-11 utilizes a folding charging handle but unfortunately, it’s on the right side of the gun, making the manual of arms a bit awkward. I do like that they incorporated an AR-style grip, but I’m not a fan of the CAA model they included kn the display guns. While the stock is inspired by the original sillhouette of the FG-42, accommodation for an AR-style stock would be interesting.
Additionally, they offer an SG-13 which is chambered for the 7.62x54R cartridge. They also manufacture working reproduction firearms. A sampling is seen below. Unfortunately, these are not yet available in the US but Herr Dittrich told me he has been scouting factory locations.
Tags: Sport System Dittrich
Hey look it’s a fully functional Storm trooper rifle.
Damn you beat me to it. I was gonna say that the Empire finally got around to updating all their DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifles.
I’m sure I’ll be the dissenting opinion but I like my replicas to be replicas. While cutting edge for their time, a lot of older designs have been eclipsed by things that are vastly improved in terms of ergos, performance, reliability, etc.. The AR is one of the only exceptions I see to this.
Putting modern stuff on an old gun like a FG-42, BAR, Garand, G3, M14, etc. will always be suboptimal to an SR-25. This is like lipstick on a hog. Old phased out designs are super neat from a design and historical and fun perspective. But they got phased out for a number of reasons. Often one of those reasons was that something better came along. This is just one man’s thought, but I’d rather see it as close to original as possible.
What’s next, Sten with BCM KMR for a shroud?
I’ll take one of those STEN guns but with M-LOK.
That’s not a Sten. It’s a Maschinenpistole 3008.
I was referring in jest to Diddler’s KeyMod STEN idea…
Why a Sten, when the Sterling L2A3 is already 90% Keymod compatible?
I could see an interest from the “what if”/”alternate history” crowd who might just like oddities.
There’s also the possibility that an old idea that never was could possibly be modernized and provide some material for new design concepts that could prove valuable with newer shooting practices.
It doesn’t have to be a viable alternative to the most modern and efficient weapon. Stuff like this isn’t intended for military trials. It’s just awesome.
Finally I can storm castle wolfenstein
WRONG!! You need the minigun to storm Wolfenstein.
I hope they get around to making MKb.42s
If they can get them here at a reasonable price point I think a lot of people would jump on them.
K43 for me!
A K43 and an SG-13 for me, please.