Pisgah
Member
I had a very interesting experience yesterday. I had a job reporting a hearing in the morning, and it ended up lasting 5 minutes instead of the projected full day, so I took my surprise free time and drove a couple of miles to one of my favorite gun stores. I'd been toying with the idea of buying a Rock Island Baby Rock .380, ostensibly for my wife, who is toying with the idea of getting her concealed carry license, but I'll be honest -- I thought I might like one for myself.
Baby Rocks have been scarcer than hen's teeth around here, but as luck would have it they had one in stock. They also had the Browning.380, so I was able to do a side-by side comparison. Both are nice pistols, although the Browning is slightly, but perceptively, larger. It also has a plastic frame, which makes it about 6 ounces lighter. But, I dunno --I have nothing against plastic pistols, but -- maybe it's just an old man's nostalgia -- I do like steel better. Add to this the fact that the Baby Rock was $270 less than the Browning and my decision was made!
A free hour of range time came with my purchase, so armed with two boxes of Tulammo cheap stuff and a $1-a-pop 20-round box of Hornady Critical Defense loads, I retired to the range -- where I met with a happy surprise. Another grizzled old coot was there shooting his new Browning. Pleasant conversation ensued and, eventually, a swap for live-fire comparison purposes.
Let me say right off, I liked both pistols. They hark back to the days of the first Colt "pocket" pistols. The Baby is just a tad too big for a real pocket pistol, and the Browning a tad bigger, but both are admirably suited to the "coat pocket" or holster role. Both had acceptable triggers, not-too-light/not-too-heavy, although the Baby's was crisp while the Browning's had just a hint of creep and overtravel. Accuracy was more than acceptable for each, but just slightly better with the Baby. Score one for RI. The Browning suffered one bobble in my hands with the Tulammo (a failure of the slide to fully close on one shot, cured by a nudge on the back of the slide), while the Baby perked along without interruption. Score another for RI (although I won't rule out the possibility it could have been the shooter).
To me, recoil was the same for both pistols, with either ammo, although the other fellow felt the Baby was a bit gentler. The Browning achieves this with the classic swinging-link, locked breech action, while the Baby does it with extra weight, being a blowback design.
Overall, I would have to say things came out a virtual tie -- with the exception of the price. At $270 less, the Baby looks REAL good next to the Browning. If you're trying to decide between the two, I'll say it's hard to go wrong -- if you want the lighter weight and the locked breech design of a "real" baby 1911, Browning is it; if cost is a factor, don't worry at all about picking the Rock Island.
As for the ammo -- I have always had good results with Tulammo, and this experience was no exception. Dirty? Without question -- but cleaning guns is part of the fun. I will say, though, that one things was made clear -- Tulammo .380 is HOT stuff compared with the Hornady Critical Defense load. Not in the sense that there was any evidence of overpressure, but the recoil, even though quite manageable, was SIGNIFICANTLY greater in both pistols than with the Hornady. Part of this is due, I am sure, to the 5-grain-lighter bullets in the Hornady load, but not all of it. No way to really tell which produced the higher velocity without a chronograph, but I'd bet on the Tulammo.
Baby Rocks have been scarcer than hen's teeth around here, but as luck would have it they had one in stock. They also had the Browning.380, so I was able to do a side-by side comparison. Both are nice pistols, although the Browning is slightly, but perceptively, larger. It also has a plastic frame, which makes it about 6 ounces lighter. But, I dunno --I have nothing against plastic pistols, but -- maybe it's just an old man's nostalgia -- I do like steel better. Add to this the fact that the Baby Rock was $270 less than the Browning and my decision was made!
A free hour of range time came with my purchase, so armed with two boxes of Tulammo cheap stuff and a $1-a-pop 20-round box of Hornady Critical Defense loads, I retired to the range -- where I met with a happy surprise. Another grizzled old coot was there shooting his new Browning. Pleasant conversation ensued and, eventually, a swap for live-fire comparison purposes.
Let me say right off, I liked both pistols. They hark back to the days of the first Colt "pocket" pistols. The Baby is just a tad too big for a real pocket pistol, and the Browning a tad bigger, but both are admirably suited to the "coat pocket" or holster role. Both had acceptable triggers, not-too-light/not-too-heavy, although the Baby's was crisp while the Browning's had just a hint of creep and overtravel. Accuracy was more than acceptable for each, but just slightly better with the Baby. Score one for RI. The Browning suffered one bobble in my hands with the Tulammo (a failure of the slide to fully close on one shot, cured by a nudge on the back of the slide), while the Baby perked along without interruption. Score another for RI (although I won't rule out the possibility it could have been the shooter).
To me, recoil was the same for both pistols, with either ammo, although the other fellow felt the Baby was a bit gentler. The Browning achieves this with the classic swinging-link, locked breech action, while the Baby does it with extra weight, being a blowback design.
Overall, I would have to say things came out a virtual tie -- with the exception of the price. At $270 less, the Baby looks REAL good next to the Browning. If you're trying to decide between the two, I'll say it's hard to go wrong -- if you want the lighter weight and the locked breech design of a "real" baby 1911, Browning is it; if cost is a factor, don't worry at all about picking the Rock Island.
As for the ammo -- I have always had good results with Tulammo, and this experience was no exception. Dirty? Without question -- but cleaning guns is part of the fun. I will say, though, that one things was made clear -- Tulammo .380 is HOT stuff compared with the Hornady Critical Defense load. Not in the sense that there was any evidence of overpressure, but the recoil, even though quite manageable, was SIGNIFICANTLY greater in both pistols than with the Hornady. Part of this is due, I am sure, to the 5-grain-lighter bullets in the Hornady load, but not all of it. No way to really tell which produced the higher velocity without a chronograph, but I'd bet on the Tulammo.
