Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 049

Degtyarev RPD

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 83 ↗

Degtyarev RPD Light Machine Gun, cal. 7.62 x 39mm, mfd. in the Soviet Union, The People's Republic of China, or the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).

Soviet, Chinese or North Korean manufacture only.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “mfd. in the Soviet Union”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1953–1980.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Russia (U.S.S.R.)
Manufacturer
Soviet, Chinese & North Korean state factories
Type
Machinegun
Action
Select-fire / auto
Caliber
7.62×39mm
Made
c. 1953–1980production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Military
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 83 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. Wikipedia, “RPD machine gun” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): adopted in 1948 and 'large scale delivery of the machine gun did not begin until 1953'; infobox production 1944–1960, Chinese Type 56 copy later superseded. Start sourced; the 1980 end is our estimate.
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
None

Historical context

Degtyarev RPD

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “LMG-RPD-44 noBG.png” by https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Atirador, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “RPD machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The RPD is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the 7.62×39mm M43 intermediate cartridge.