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Thread: Browning 1911-380

  1. #1
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Browning 1911-380

    Does anyone here have significant rounds through a Browning 1911-380?

    I like my 1911-22, and it seems to miraculously work decently in my XXXL hands. It's never had a hiccup, although I put more rounds through my Buck Marks. I really like the slimness and flatness of it. Contemplating the short version of the .380, and there are finally some decent prices about.

    General reading on the .380 version suggests the first year or so was rough, but Browning has generally worked the bugs out. Adjustments to magazines in the field seem to address most of the issues. But many reports involve total round counts about like what people here are likely to end up with after one or two range sessions. People here place a higher priority on reliability and tend to reach higher round counts than on most fora, so I thought I'd ask.
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  2. #2
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    I don't have what you're looking for, but...

    http://www.browning.com/products/fir...with-rail.html

    My mother, who is 74 and 4'11", recently tried a number of .22s and .380s at the range and shot best with the 1911-380. My dad found a slightly used example of the one above with night sights and 3 magazines. This is the only gun she's ever been enthusiastic about. She's usually done at the range after 30-50 rounds at a time. No malfunctions so far, but round count is low, and will likely be built up slowly.
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  3. #3
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Looks like there weren't a lot of takers at $600. Now $349.99.

    BROWNING 1911 380ACP BLACK LABEL TWO MAGS 4.25"
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  4. #4
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Does anyone here have significant rounds through a Browning 1911-380?

    I like my 1911-22, and it seems to miraculously work decently in my XXXL hands. It's never had a hiccup, although I put more rounds through my Buck Marks. I really like the slimness and flatness of it. Contemplating the short version of the .380, and there are finally some decent prices about.

    General reading on the .380 version suggests the first year or so was rough, but Browning has generally worked the bugs out. Adjustments to magazines in the field seem to address most of the issues. But many reports involve total round counts about like what people here are likely to end up with after one or two range sessions. People here place a higher priority on reliability and tend to reach higher round counts than on most fora, so I thought I'd ask.
    Nice. I've been thinking about getting one of those .22s.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  5. #5
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Get an aluminum frame with the steel sights. The A1 sights are A1 sights, and plastic sights can break off, it turns out after reading a bunch of reviews today. So I have to withdraw my $350 recommendation above. Those are plastic sights. Spend the additional to get a version with steel sights if you're going to get a .380.
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    What’s the reliability reputation of these?

  7. #7
    Member zaitcev's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    General reading on the .380 version suggests the first year or so was rough, but Browning has generally worked the bugs out. Adjustments to magazines in the field seem to address most of the issues. But many reports involve total round counts about like what people here are likely to end up with after one or two range sessions.
    I didn't include it into the range journal, but I estimate that my 1911-380 knocks on the 1,000 round mark. It was one of the very early models, but didn't have any reliability issues. So magazines never needed any adjustments. These magazines are quite nice, with the LRHO activated with a part of the spring, which withdraws into the body of the magazine when cartridges are present. This way, there's no issue with rounds interfering with the slide hold-open tab: something that Glock had to learn the hard way.

    However, the magazine lips are quite short. My wife, who learned somewhere to slam magazines, sometimes causes the top round fly out the ejection port as she slams them in. You better insert the magazines into the gun in one motion.

    One other peculiar feature of my unit is, the ejector is too close to the breech. The distance is short enough that if I try to eject an unfired round (for example, a misfire), the tip of the bullet touches the barrel hood, the extractor loses grip of the case, and the cartridge lands diagonally between the magazine and the barrel. If I let go of the slide at that moment, the slide may get stuck half-open with the cartridge propping it just right. At that point, it's basically impossible to rack the slide by hand, although a judicious application of a mallet will deform the cartridge enough to unblock the works. Usually when I explain this to people, they do not believe it outright. Frankly I'm curious how many members of this forum do!

    With time, I learned not to release the slide when ejecting unfired rounds. I pull it back, but do not release. The cartridge falls inside, but since I do not let it jam, I can easily turn the gun sideways and shake the cartridge out.

    I heard from someone who had exactly the same problem, so he just filed the ejector a couple of millimeters back. I didn't dare to do it, but I'm sure it's as simple as that. There is no effect on the reliability when shooting normally, because there's enough clearance for the spent cases.

    There are two models of the gun: the original, which does not have the "Pro" attached to its name, and, well, 1911-380 Something Pro. The difference is the front sight. The original sight was taken from 1911-22. It is made from a polymer, and attaches by a miniature clip arms through a hole in the slide. The "Pro" version uses a dovetail. My wife wanted a fiber optic sight, and nobody made such a product. I designed one and printed it using a 3D printer. I never had any issues with sights falling off, but I agree that you better buy a "Pro" gun with the dovetail in front.

    Overall, the Browning 1911-380 is clearly designed to be visually appealing first. It's extraordinary at that. But once you look inside, you may have questions. I'm not just talking about the plastic guide rod for the recoil spring. The barrel locks into the ejection port. But, they wanted to keep it looking like a big 1911. So, the barrel is not parallel to the top of the slide, just like on a CZ-75, and the rear sight is taller than the front sight. It also looks as if the hood is pressed on.

    The magazine disconnect safety is very easy to defeat. It's just a nub on the trigger. Since it does not enworsen the trigger like on BHP, I left it alone.

    Speaking of the trigger, I really hated it at first. It had a pronounced "hump": the effort required grew with the motion, and then decreased right before the break. That made the gun absurdly difficult to shoot accurately. It was nothing like a big 1911. But after some 500 rounds it started to break in, and is more or less passable now.

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    Last edited by zaitcev; 11-11-2019 at 12:16 AM.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter Bigghoss's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Looks like there weren't a lot of takers at $600. Now $349.99.

    BROWNING 1911 380ACP BLACK LABEL TWO MAGS 4.25"
    At that price, I'm tempted to try one.
    Quote Originally Posted by MattyD380 View Post
    Because buying cool, interesting guns I don't need isn't a decision... it's a lifestyle...

  9. #9
    Site Supporter HeavyDuty's Avatar
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    I have one of the 1911-22s and would definitely consider one of the .380 versions. However, my .22 shoots very high and there is no aftermarket sight support that I can find. (There are three different types of sights on these little Brownings - tiny GM type, a larger one where the rear is a wedge like zitcev’s, and one still larger that resembles a Kimber rear - that’s the one I have.)

    I’d be more enthused if there was aftermarket support.
    Ken

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  10. #10
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    I love 1911s but for 380 I think I will get a surplus beretta 85.

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