NGD - Browning 1911-380

Dino · Sep 10, 2020

So, I walked into a gun store a few weeks ago. As expected, the shelves were bare and there were only three handguns in the showcase. One being the Browning 1911-380. I'm a huge 1911 fan and have a few in several calibers (.22, 9mm, and .45) so I asked the clerk if I could check it out. The gun felt really good in my hand the moment he handed it to me. I wasn't really looking for a .380 but I admit, I was intrigued. I didn't care much for the scaled down .22 version that Browning introduced a few years back but I felt this was different and could possibly serve as a nice concealed carry piece. Granted, .380 isn't my first choice for concealed carry and there are a lot of smaller .380's that are more popular for this purpose. But despite the Browning's larger size, it allowed for a full purchase on the hand grip, the longer barrel offered better velocity and sight picture, and it was extremely thin allowing for good concealment. So, I returned the following day and started the paperwork. I picked it up yesterday, just in time for my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!

44man · Sep 10, 2020

Nice piece!!

Oh and happy birthday!

Dino · Sep 10, 2020

44man said:
Nice piece!!

Oh and happy birthday!

Thanks so much!

308Scout · Sep 10, 2020

Very nice pick up - Happy Birthday, indeed! Look forward to a range update. I've had my eye on one of those "on again off again" for the last couple of years. Looks like a nice shooter!

Mark75H · Sep 10, 2020

I hope you have better luck with yours than I did with mine. It locked up after about 40 rounds. Very poor fit of a lot of the internals. If it hadn't taken me 6 weeks to get I would have sent it back, but I was afraid their gunsmiths wouldn't even understand what was wrong with it. About 2 hours of 1911 parts fitting put it right.

I would completely recommend running 200 or 300 rounds thru it before trusting it as a carry piece.

Dino · Sep 10, 2020

Mark75H said:
I hope you have better luck with yours than I did with mine. It locked up after about 40 rounds. Very poor fit of a lot of the internals. If it hadn't taken me 6 weeks to get I would have sent it back, but I was afraid their gunsmiths wouldn't even understand what was wrong with it. About 2 hours of 1911 parts fitting put it right.

I would completely recommend running 200 or 300 rounds thru it before trusting it as a carry piece.

Damn, that sucks!
I haven't shot it yet but I've taken it apart a few times and fitting appears to be okay. Can you tell me what needed fitting on yours?

Mark75H · Sep 10, 2020

Nothing held the slide lock in place, there was no detent. It would back out unexpectedly and LOCK up the gun as it tilted sideways as the slide cycled. There were 2 or 3 other similar flaws that I do not recall that were minor. Just stuff that make the works run smoothly and correctly that Browning didn't care about on a gun they were selling on its looks rather than the way it actually worked.

If I have time I will take mine apart and see if I can see what else I worked on; its been a while.

Mark75H · Sep 10, 2020

The problems aren't in assembly/disassembly, they are in FUNCTION. You probably won't notice if you are not John Cardinger.

glueru · Sep 10, 2020

A friend of mine has one, nice gun, feels good, shoots good

Dino · Sep 11, 2020

Mark75H said:
Nothing held the slide lock in place, there was no detent. It would back out unexpectedly and LOCK up the gun as it tilted sideways as the slide cycled. There were 2 or 3 other similar flaws that I do not recall that were minor. Just stuff that make the works run smoothly and correctly that Browning didn't care about on a gun they were selling on its looks rather than the way it actually worked.

If I have time I will take mine apart and see if I can see what else I worked on; its been a while.

Thanks Mark.
That's really disappointing to hear.
I'll have to keep a close eye on it.
Thank you for the heads up.

Mark75H · Sep 11, 2020

Hopefully if the same thing happens you won't be in the panic I was and you will know what to look at calmly. Its a neat looking gun and fits well to conceal.

tcolt45 · Sep 14, 2020

Very nice. Congrats

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

boatme99 · Sep 17, 2020

Nice! I didn't know Browning was making those.
I love my Colt Govt. .380 but it would be cool to have something larger.

Dino · Sep 18, 2020

Thanks guys.
I took it to the range yesterday and put 200 rounds through it without a single malfunction. I wish it had better sights but a little paint on the front sight will probably do wonders. All and all, the gun was really accurate and a LOT of fun to shoot!

MiddleRiverShootist · Sep 18, 2020

Dino said:
Thanks guys.
I took it to the range yesterday and put 200 rounds through it without a single malfunction. I wish it had better sights but a little paint on the front sight will probably do wonders. All and all, the gun was really accurate and a LOT of fun to shoot!

Dino · Sep 19, 2020

boatme99 said:
Nice! I didn't know Browning was making those.
I love my Colt Govt. .380 but it would be cool to have something larger.

Your Colt Govt. .380 is very cool!
I really like the fact that Browning is simply scaled down and not redesigned as a compact. It’s large enough to provide a full purchase on the grips and offers a longer sight radius, yet small and thin enough to easily conceal comfortably.

NGD - Browning 1911-380

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