Browning M1911 380, buy or not buy?

[NYlakesider]

My wife has one and its a very nice gun. Granted a bit large for that caliber, but the recoil is negligible. Her gun is very accurate and so far at least very reliable.
Shot capacity in the peoples republic of NY is limited to a ten round magazine!

I shot it and loved it. If it was not my wife's gun but someone else on the range that let me shoot theirs on the way home I would be stopping off at my LGS to see about getting one.

She has other guns she can carry but in all honesty the Browning is not that hard to conceal, (male or female) She likes it and is quite good with it.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I
Dude, I'm definitively old school.

If you use the word "dude" you are definitely NOT old school! You may appreciate old school, you may act old school you may have old school friends whom you emulate, but you ain't old school!!
Pod'na, son, boy, chief, amigo, hey you are all accepted old school terms however

 

[SA1911]

RedPointGS,

Thanks so much for your .380 ammo info. I know nothing about .380 ammo. If I can buy a Browning 1911-380, I'll certainly take a long, hard look at Precision One ammo.

Your Bodyguard sounds like a better than excellent weapon. There's a lot to be said about confidence with one's self-defense weapon.

Best of luck to you.

 

[BC38]

I handled one at the LGS but haven't shot one.
Seemed like a slightly larger version of my Colt Govt. Model .380
Though I didn't get a chance to compare them side by side.
If it is as good as my little Colt, and you can afford it, then I'd say go for it.

 

[smoothshooter]

Hey ya'll~

I started shooting rifles and shotguns as a kid and bought my first .22 when I was 10 years old. My Cherokee Grandfather, Pap, took me under his wing and taught me to shoot and how to sight in guns and with his help my old .22 single shot rifle became a tack driver. His best guess about the rifle was that it had been used by the military as a trainer just before World War II. (A quick note, if anyone reading this is a World War II Vet, thank you for saving the world! I respect all Veterans, I'm one myself but, the men and women who served in World War II, like my Pap, a naval gunner in the Pacific, hold a very special place in my heart for literally saving the world from the Axis Powers.)
Anyway, although my Pap taught me to shoot pistols too he primarily focused on rifles and shotguns while teaching me. So when I joined the USAF I was shooting a powerful handgun for the first time and I fell head over heels for the M1911 A1. So much so that after my time in the service and I became a PI/Bodyguard, I carried a Colt Combat Commander in a Bianchi shoulder rig. That all changed when I witnessed a shootout between what I presumed were two rival gangs fighting for crack dealing territory in a neighborhood in Detroit. These guys were shooting at each other with fully automatic MAC-10s and mini-Uzis. I realized that even with 3 magazines for my Colt, I stood very little chance of walking away from any firefight with them. I just couldn't carry enough ammo to keep up with their spray and pray approach to things. Consequently, I went and bought a Ruger P-85 in 1987 when they first became available to the public after losing the battle to become the new official DOD sidearm to Beretta. I still think that was a major mistake on the part of DOD, but hey, it wasn't my choice.
A few days ago I was at an Ace Hardware store locally when I noticed they had started selling guns. In their handgun case was what looked like a shrunken M1911 and sure enough, it was a Browning M1911 380. I know the manager there very well and managed to get him over to the gun area and asked to check out the Browning. When I picked it up I was pleasantly surprised at the weight and all of the controls. They were exactly like my beloved 1911s! It was as if my hands didn't want to let it go. Being a Browning, it isn't an inexpensive gun to buy and I knew darned well that if I brought it home my wife would skin me alive. We have about 30 guns in the house and she thinks we have MORE than enough guns. While that may be true, the fact is I really love that little gun.
All of that backstory to get to this: Do any of you out there own one of these guns yet? If so what do you think of it? I have read glowing reviews but if I want one I'm going to have to sell off a gun or two to buy it without having my wife take me out in my sleep. That's it, that's all I want to know, what do you think of the Browning M1911 380?
Thanks in advance~

Thing to keep in mind about the shootout you saw is that there was a whole lot of shooting but probably very little, if any HITTING.

 

[Skeptic 9c]

Early Browning quality was spotty. Check out the SIG they have a very similar pistol in multiple options.
Geoff
Who has a Ruger LCP in that slot in his battery.

 

[smoothshooter]

You must be a miserable shot! I won't own a gun that doesn't shoot pretty well at 25 yards, a .25 auto excepted.

My only .380 was a Beretta M-34. It would place a magazine at 25 yards in a group that I could cover with my hand, most often, just my palm. If the trigger hadn't been so hard and heavy, I'd have shot it better. A Walther PP .32 shot even better.

I haven't seen this Browning .380, just the old M-1910 version. The Star .380's have very comfortable grips and are like miniature M-1911's, less the grip safety. If the new Browning feels as good in the hand, it'd be hard to put down. But if it won't shoot well, to heck with it.

For a handgun that is to be used for defensive purposes, I don't think rifling is even required, let alone a high degree of accuracy.
If the shooter can keep their shots on a sheet of notebook paper at "conversational" distances, say 30 feet and under, they are good to go.
Sure, more accuracy is better, and much more fun for those of us who are shooting enthusiasts, but let's face it, notebook paper accuracy at short range is good enough.

 

[peterGun]

I'm buying one, Medallion pro compact, that and a G42 are at the top of the list.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BC38]

Early Browning quality was spotty. Check out the SIG they have a very similar pistol in multiple options.

I don't think SIG offers one with the same proportions as the Browning or my Government Model Colt or the Star - do they?

I think the SIG P238 is only offered in the Colt Mustang configuration with the shorter barrel and shorter grip. At least that is the only configuration I have seen.

On the other hand they do offer the P938 9mm version that is very close to the same size as the P238.

 

[Protected One]

I heard about the gun before it came out, and in spite of the price was looking forward to getting one for edc. When I finally got to look at one I was really excited. I love the 1911 platform, but wanted something "lighter" for carry purposes, and the sig models didn't do it for me. The longer barrel gives added velocity for a 380, which is good, and the size is perfect for ccw.....but, because I have large hands the distance from the front strap to trigger was much too short for me to shoot well. So, sadly, I had to pass on buying it.

 

[Mule Packer]

A friend brought Browning 1911's to the Gun Club, one in .22 and the other in .380. Several different types of ammo. Couldn't get under 10 inches at 25 yards with either one. Don't know who makes them, but I wouldn't buy one.

Hmmm. Interesting. Like I said previously, my wife has one in .22 and is amazingly accurate with it. She has been kind enough to let me shoot it a few times. It's a great little shooter and right on the money. At least that's been my experience.

Years ago I had a 1911 in .45 acp. I took it to the range to shoot it and found that it was all over the paper. I was thinking, "What a piece of junk!" Then my friend asked if he could shoot it. Sure. Why not? With seven shots at 15 yards he obliterated the bullseye. Well...so much for my ego.

In your friend's case, maybe it is the gun...and then again, maybe it isn't.