The Browning 1911 .380 is a really neat reduced size version of a series 80 style 1911 .45 ACP pistol. The smaller size, lighter weight and thin profile make the 1911 .380 a great carry option for those who are single action, cocked and locked carry aficionados. The is one major fly in the ointment, all the other single action auto pistols our carry rotation do not have a magazine disconnect safety- nor should they. The presence of the magazine safety bothered my wife enough that she would not carry the pistol, so it needed to go away.
Browning's design team added the magazine safety in an ingenious way, without additional parts to muck up the classic 1911 action. They use a cast nub protruding from the rear of the trigger. This nub hits the magazine release button if there is no magazine in the pistol, thereby blocking rearward trigger movement. When a magazine is inserted, the magazine release button is moved slightly to the left revealing a groove for the trigger nub to ride through allowing the gun to fire. Simple. To get ride of the magazine safety, get rid of the nub. No other modifications needed.
Now, being a true 1911 pistol design, the only way to remove the trigger is to strip down the entire lower. A word of caution: NO replacement parts are available for these Browning pistols. Lose or ruin a part and you will be out of luck.
I won't describe a full 1911 tear down, the procedure is easily found elsewhere online. The hard parts with the Browning are removing the minuscule roll pin holding the right side safety lever onto the cross shaft (reinstalling it was worse!) Also, getting the sear, disconnector and sear pin back into the frame is really fiddly. Due to the tiny size of the parts and the narrow frame, you must use long, skinny needle nosed pliers and tweezers to finesse the parts back into place. Have patients, use good lighting and you can do it. Oh, make sure the slide lock/safety detent plungers and their tiny spring don't go flying!!
The actual removal of the magazine disconnect nub on the rear of the trigger is as simple as filing or using a cut off wheel to remove it. The task took me less than a minute very carefully cutting with my Dremel tool. Once the nub is cut off, you reassemble the pistol, no other modifications or part removals are necessary. Your 1911 .380 will then operate just as John Moses Browning intended.
Illustration of the trigger and its "nub".
Browning's design team added the magazine safety in an ingenious way, without additional parts to muck up the classic 1911 action. They use a cast nub protruding from the rear of the trigger. This nub hits the magazine release button if there is no magazine in the pistol, thereby blocking rearward trigger movement. When a magazine is inserted, the magazine release button is moved slightly to the left revealing a groove for the trigger nub to ride through allowing the gun to fire. Simple. To get ride of the magazine safety, get rid of the nub. No other modifications needed.
Now, being a true 1911 pistol design, the only way to remove the trigger is to strip down the entire lower. A word of caution: NO replacement parts are available for these Browning pistols. Lose or ruin a part and you will be out of luck.
I won't describe a full 1911 tear down, the procedure is easily found elsewhere online. The hard parts with the Browning are removing the minuscule roll pin holding the right side safety lever onto the cross shaft (reinstalling it was worse!) Also, getting the sear, disconnector and sear pin back into the frame is really fiddly. Due to the tiny size of the parts and the narrow frame, you must use long, skinny needle nosed pliers and tweezers to finesse the parts back into place. Have patients, use good lighting and you can do it. Oh, make sure the slide lock/safety detent plungers and their tiny spring don't go flying!!
The actual removal of the magazine disconnect nub on the rear of the trigger is as simple as filing or using a cut off wheel to remove it. The task took me less than a minute very carefully cutting with my Dremel tool. Once the nub is cut off, you reassemble the pistol, no other modifications or part removals are necessary. Your 1911 .380 will then operate just as John Moses Browning intended.
Illustration of the trigger and its "nub".
