RANT: Browning 1911 .380 issues!

I have other carry ammo that I bought here and there, because it was available, but I order Underwood 90 grain XTP, both P and +P from underwood. There really is no such thing as +P 380 as there is no SAMMI spec for it, but Underwood claims it has 100 FPS more muzzle velocity. I have shot the Underwood +P 380 in all my 380's to confirm function. It works in all, no exploded guns.
The Hornady XTP feeds in all my guns with any brand ammo, Underwood, Hornady, Fiocchi maybe others. The 380 90 grain ,in particular, is more conical shaped than other caliber XTP's, maybe that is why it feeds well in all my 380's
My Kahr won't tolerate some FMJ's even, but it loves and XTP.
 
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I've had 2 Browning 1911 .380's and 2 SA 911's. I had 6 mags for the Browning and 4 mags for the 911. All 4 guns malfunctioned all the time with all the mags. So, I don't think mags were the issue with my 4 guns. All 4 guns were un-reliable and I'd not trust either of these models. I've had all 3 models of the Ruger LCP's and they were all reliable. The trigger pull was the issue on the LCP and the LCP Custom. The trigger on the LCPll is a lot better than the other 2 models. The Glock 42 is by far the best most reliable and accurate .380 that I own and it's my "carry gun" now. I recently bought a G43X and it's very accurate and reliable. No issues at all with the Glock's. My age and health issue's are causing me to drop back on caliber's and I have to buy guns that I can rack the slide.
 
Pandaz3 said:
I have a ton of 380's, most pocket sized, but have a Browning BDA, which is a disguised Beretta 84. I bought the BDA new in '88. I have a new SA 911 on order, might show tomorrow. I own a Colt Mustang XSP, called a Lite in today's catalog, Not the most accurate, but very pleasant and reliable. My wife does not like an external safety, do she won't like the 911 either. We have Ruger LCP, LCP Custom, LCP II, and LC-380 (again a hated external safety), Remington RM-380, Kahr CW-380, S&W Sigma 380, Taurus Spectrum, and two Glock 42's

My wife won't allow me to touch her G-42, so I needed one to play with. The G-42 is my largest 380 that will fit concealed in my front pocket. It shoots all and is accurate for me, but I just don't carry it, the wife does.

I carry either the LCP Custom, LCP II, or CW-380. Rugers kick hard. Kahr is picky with ammo. It likes Hornady XTP (no polymer tip) and Underwood with XTP's. The Kahr is the smallest.

I have not shot the LC-380 or Taurus enough to recommend but they are both promising. I hope my new 911 fairs well.

OP good luck, they have already poisoned the well it seems.
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Surprised to hear some people are having trouble with the SA 911--600 rounds and zero problems with mine---I did break it down,cleaned and polished everything especially the slide rails on barrel and frame--the coating on both is a little "sticky"--lightly sanded and flitz both and pistol works great---love it-----good luck---
 
Glad you're not having problems with your 911. My first one shot about 12-14" low and left at 5-7 yards. Springfield admitted that they were having problems with the 911....especially with most of them shooting bad low and that they had ordered smaller front sights to start putting on their 911's. They sent me a new gun and it shot dead on. Couldn't ask for a more accurate little gun, but you couldn't shoot a mag without a jam. I had 4 Springfield mags and it would jam with all 4 mags. I kept running ammo through it, but after 500-600 rounds through it and still jamming on every mag, I got rid of it and got a G42. No issues at all with the G42 and it cycles with every kind of ammo you put in it.....and very accurate. I loved the 911. Loved it's size, weight, sights, trigger pull, etc., but no sense keeping something you couldn't trust. So glad I got the G42.
 
I have confidence, perhaps misplaced, in the 911 since my Colt worked so well.

Speaking of easy racking, the LC-380 is not bad, but the Remington RM-380 is the easiest of those I own. Maybe some day I'll get a S&W Shield 380EZ that could be better, but it is not a pocket pistol and the RM-380 is. I slapped my trigger finger a time or seven so I am a little leery. It fired a large variety of ammo, all reliably and accurately. Long moderate trigger pull.

The LC-380 also has a long trigger pull, but light, has small accurate three dot sights. I don't like the external safety, but some do, and nothing requires you to use it. I have only fired 21 rounds to date, hence no recommendation yet, but it looks good.
 
I've never had or shot a LC-380, Remington RM-.380, or the S&W EZ, but I've read reports, etc., on how easy the S&W EZ is on racking the slide, take down, etc., and have liked everything I've read about it. I've got my G42 for my carry gun and I can rack the slide on it fairly easy, take down is simple, and it's a very, very, reliable and accurate gun. I've got a Ruger LCPll that I do carry when I really need "deep concealment". I keep a Glock 43X 9mm in the glove compartment of my SUV vehicle. It's a new gun Glock has come out with and I really do like it. I paid an extra $120 for the Ameriglo night sights and really do like them. Hope to put a set of them on my G42 soon.
 
Y'all are worrying me! I have all of the .380's mentioned in this thread including a brand new Browning that I recently bought new because I loved the look. First time out of the box it had issues and I sent it back to Browning. It is now back with me waiting for a test run.........

My G42, LCP2, LCP Pro and SA911 all run without issues. My most accurate, easiest shooting .380 though - my Sig P238 Legion.
 
Good luck with your Browning and SA 911. I had 2 of each of them and all 4 were pieces of crap. I'd never, ever, trust a Browning 1911 .380 or the Springfield 911. The G42 is head and shoulders above the Browning and SA ! !
 
Yes, it does. I've shot several different brands of ammo, FMJ, hollow point's, and everything runs through it with no problem. It's my "carry gun" !
 
I bought a Browning 1911/22 and have had the grip safety not releasing all the time. So sad to see all he problems with this neat little pistol, but a terrible trigger too. Actually I wanted the .380 but gave my wife the wrong numbers when ordering so ended up with a .22. Will send it back and hope for the best. Spad
 
Fana said:
So, I've owned the Browning 1911 .380 for over a year now.

Taking it to the range it's been constant stoved pipes. I tried to use 2 other different magazines to ensure it wasn't the case.
I used various types of ammo from Winchester and blazer brass, no hot self defense rounds.

Originally this was purchased for my wife, to use for self defense, but with these type of issues I'm not so sure.

Browning has been unresponsive via email - so I need to call them. I'm thinking of just getting it fixed, and selling it. I want reliability, not having to worry if something were to happen.

Has anyone had these types of issues? Did you get the corrected?
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Yes, I experienced just what you are going though. I tried many types of Ammo to no avail. So the best thing I did was got rid of that headache. Have a Bersa .380. Very minimal issues over the years. The Browning.380 is a great looking pistol. Unfortunately it has to be much more than that.
 
I am VERY surprised at all of the reports of problems with this (1911-380) pistol! I did a fair amount of research before buying mine. Lots of owners, a few problems and lots of remedies over at Browningowners.com
I considered the relatively few, and fairly minor problems, which were easily solved, and bought one. I have no regrets at all. Mine is reliable and accurate. Which seems to go along with the majority of the owners on that site.
 
My 2nd Browning 1911 .380 that Browning sent me ran fine for 500-600 rounds. Then, same 'ol stovepipe problems started again. I had 6 Browning mags for it and it would hang up with every mag and no matter what ammo you used, it'd would not shoot a mag without a hang up. Best thing I ever did was wipe my hands free of Browning 1911 .380's. G42 is, without a doubt, the best .380 on the market.
 
Let's start over.

Field strip the gun and look it over for rub marks, scores in the metal, dents, raised surfaces or unfinished surfaces. Look at your recoil assembly for smooth movement. Are there any hesitations in the movement when you cycle the gun by hand?

Lubricate the whole thing lightly, then put a bit of a decent gun grease where things move and touch. Don't forget a drop of oil on the disconnector.

Reassemble the pistol and work the slide back and forth. Does the slide go all the way back without stalling as it starts to rooster the hammer? Is there any other spot in the slide movement that catches or hesitates?

Examine your magazines. Use a cloth covered or plastic tool to depress the followers. Work them up and down.
Do the followers stick at any place during their movement? Are the cartridge lips smooth, not sharp? Anything deformed? Could they use lubricant? A dry lube might be better here than grease or oil. Test each magazine by fully inserting it into the empty pistol with a closed slide. Retract the slide to see if the slide catch will retain the slide against recoil spring pressure. Put a cloth or other cushion between the end of the barrel and the slide face. Depress the slide release and allow the slide to spring forward against the cushion.
Were the movements of the release and the slide smooth?

Remove the slide again.

Push an empty cartridge case up under the extractor. The extractor should hold the cartridge against the face of the slide. You should be able to move it against spring pressure. Does it snap back into position when you release pressure on it?

Examine the ejector. Is it worn? Deformed? Loose? Does it ride smoothly within it's groove in the slide? Does it extend beyond the face of the slide when the slide is fully retracted? Are the extractor AND the ejector lubricated?

Reassemble your generously lubricated pistol.

Dummy rounds are best for a function check. Lacking that, you may put single empty cases into the chamber and close the slide over them; then pull back the slide slowly to see the empty cartridge case. It should be held against the slide by the extractor until it encounters the ejector, when it should pivot out of the extractor's grasp.

Put another dummy (or empty) into the chamber, close the slide, and pull it back smartly.
The cartridge case should pop out of the extractor's grasp and clear the pistol.

With dummy cartridges, load each magazine with one dummy. Insert that magazine into the pistol with the slide closed. Pull back on the slide and let it fly forward. If the dummy loads into the chamber, repeat the slow and then rapid retraction of the side.

Try that with increasing numbers of dummies in the magazine to insure all will feed, extract and eject.

If you have not had a failure of the cartridge/dummy to clear the ejection port, you are ready for live fire.

Load each magazine with one round into your pistol. Either release the slide using the slide stop or retract and release the slide. Fire the round, then see if the case has remained in the chamber (or been re-chambered), jammed in the ejection port, or successfully ejected, leaving the slide locked back by the action of the magazine follower on the slide stop. Do this with each of your magazines, keeping them segregated by the way they interact with your pistol.

If all is well, load your magazines with two rounds each and perform the above test, observing the results of each empty case.

Then load three, etc. until you have fired all your magazines with a full load.

Do you or your wife carry the gun fully loaded: loaded chamber and full magazine? If so, perform that firing with each of the magazines.

The results of this test will demonstrate to you the reliability of your gun and individual magazines with the ammunition you are testing. The added firing will help "wear" the gun in, promoting better fitting between parts and enhancing performance.

I'd start with a good full metal jacket load and wait until the above testing was completed before moving on to ammunition I intended to carry in it.

Marking your magazines for identification with nail polish or other removable method will help you keep easier records.

I expect by this time your gun has begun to run smoothly, and the last four magazines should have fed, fired, extracted and ejected perfectly. If it performed differently, tell us what you've seen, and we'll go forward.
 
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I sent mine back to Browning and they couldn't repair it so they sent me a new one (after they said they had checked it out) and I still had problems with it with all 6 Browning mags. So if after 2 of the Browning 1911 .380's that they (Browning) had "checked" out and I still had problem after problem with.......sorry, to me, they're a piece of crap and not worth trusting a life with !
 
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