Browning 1911-380 Magazines

Just posting that I had another mag (4th for me) on back order with Bass Pro and they filled the order today. So if you need another mag give Bass Pro a try.

What's the brand name on the magazine...!?

Mec Gar...?

They are the Browning Mags. My other two spares came from BassPro and they both were Brownings also. I noticed other online stores carried them at cheaper prices
but some said no back orders and others just said sold out.
I wish they were Mec-Gar. I have some of those for my M9 and they are great mags.

I shot all 4 mags with FMJ round nose and reloaded 2 mags with FMJ flat nose. I had one stove pipe on the 2nd mag I shot which I blame on limp wristing
a new gun. All in all very happy, gun shoots great and accurate.

Mec Gar Mags are also my choice whenever possible...

With luck it will be ok. Might just need some more rounds through it to smooth it out. My Shield took over 200-300 rounds before lighter/wifey rounds of 9 mm would cycle through the gun correctly. This was a normal occurrence due to a stiff recoil spring. Normal weight rounds worked fine. Also, perhaps you did like me and limp wristed the shot. I overly relaxed when shooting my 2nd mag and as soon as the round went to attention in the chamber I knew what I did.

Sorry, missed that. When I get a new mag for any gun, I always use my dry lube and spray the inside with the little straw. Don't know if that would help but may be worth a try.

Long ago I use to use dropped/sprayed oil including WD-40. Messy, drippy and smelly for a while. I now use a dry lube such as Otis's http://www.otistec.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=DE142AF40B504195870EADBED8B7B9BB which Wally-World carries.

I purchased my 1911-380 last week and had to work over the weekend so today was the first day at the range. I had already been to this forum and read this thread. The following is my range report from today's range trip.

With my pistol cleaned of factory grease and lubed with a thin layer of Corrosion X on the field stripped moving parts. I headed to the range with a brand new box of Remington UMC (250 count mega pack in the yellow box).

The first fifty rounds went down range without problems. The only semi-issue was one time the slide did not lock back after the last round. I was shooting with 2 hands and have rationalized that this was probably from a thumb riding the slide release lever. This did not occur when shooting one-handed at all.

The second 50 round box got off to a bad start. With the first magazine full I encountered a failure to fire. In fact, the trigger moved, but the hammer didn't fall. I had fired one round, maybe two from the magazine when this happened. I dropped the magazine, ejected the chambered rounds and inspected the primer. It had no mark on it from the firing pin. I attempted to dry fire the pistol, forgetting that the magazine disconnect would stop that from happening while the magazine was laying on the bench. I called the range officer over and he got the gun to fire so I went back to shooting. The first round fired and there was a small bit of black plastic sitting on my shooting (right) hand. I thought it was odd and worried that it was part of the frame. I visually inspected the pistol before resuming fire.

I won't go through the entire 250 shots, but skip to the issues. 1. I have big hands. One handed I have no problems operating the pistol in either hand. When attempting a classic "thumbs aligned" position on the pistol my hand does not depress the grip safety. I changed to a "thumbs tucked" and this resolved the issue.

There was a failure to extract. Examining the round still in the chamber revealed that the rim around the base of the cartridge was missing. Either it came off when the pistol cycled or was not there when I loaded it. Poor quality control for Reminigton ammo, either way. The cartridge was removed and the pistol was not harmed.

I had a stove pipe and one other event. These could be the pistol working into it's stride. This was only the first 250 rounds. A second 250 should help see if I can count on the pistol for concealed carry. At this time spare magazines are expensive and holsters for this model are few and far between, so carry is off the table right now.

The Browning 1911-380 is one of those guns that shoots a reasonable cartridge for self-defense but doesn't punish the shooter for training. That's getting rare in this world of super-short grips, polymer frames and large caliber guns. It IS the "Right" .380.

Thanks for the review Chris...keep us in the loop as you work through the problems.

Nice review Chris. I finally went to a range because I planned on firing several hundred rounds from two 9 mm pistols and the 1911-380. Didn't want to upset the neighbors that much. Anyway using the 4 mags I had I shot close to 150 rounds of remanufactured and new, round nose and flat point .380 Freedom Munitions. No stove pipes but had one round that I had to give a little push in the barrel. It felt a bit "fat" perhaps a swollen remanufactured round.
Between the 3 guns (1911-380, Shield and M9), I was most accurate with the 1911-380. Very easy and enjoyable shooting pistol.

Great reviews, guys. Really like mine. If you're going to be shooting the little Brownie a lot, consider having a good gunsmith go over the trigger. It's an inexpensive upgrade that will greatly enhance your enjoyment of this little gem of a pistol.

This may seem a bit strange after your trigger improvements the gunsmith got out of your 1911-380 but my trigger has a very light short pull to fire. I replaced my Glock 21 trigger to a 3.5 lb pull and the 1911-380 is that and probably lighter. Perhaps, and just perhaps, since I have a newer gun that I got one from a later manufactured batch that has some upgrades or tweaks. Example of this is my not
having magazine problems and a short light trigger pull. Just wondering/guessing and hoping my luck continues

No, I don't think it strange at all. There is quite likely some variation among the individual units, or perhaps, as you mention, Browning may have made some process improvements in later production batches. In any case, my trigger pull was a bit stiff and gritty and "break" at actuation felt mushy. Glad to hear yours is good out of the box as it speaks well for overall quality.

I do know the gun was almost non existent to dealers I know and FFL friends for several months, then a dealer friend got two, a months apart. He really didn't even expect them since
he thought Browning would be concentrating on guns for the upcoming hunting season. So perhaps there was a mod or two in there somewhere during the several month break.

Next month Browning is expected to launch their brand of ammo. Hope some shows up in tests on YouTube, anxious to see how it does. Been doing conceal carry with mine lately
along with a horizontal belt mag holder. More comfortable carrying than my Shield or LC380 in the n82 holster. Hardly know it's there at the 4 o'clock position.

I picked up a slightly used 1911-380 a few months ago. It only had about 1 box of shells through it. the previous owner also had magazine problems. I have shot 2 boxes through it, a new box of FMJ and a box of reloads with cast bullets. I also had 5 or 6 rounds hang up with both loads running about the same. I understand the fix for the magazine and have no problem with trying it. However, I'd like to get another magazine or two before I mess up the only one I've got. I've had no luck finding any on-line, or ordering thru my local gun dealer, as only recommendations I got from Browning. I still have one more dealer locally and will see him Monday. Anyone had any luck finding any magazines that I can get on-line. When I do a google search the only "hit" I get is Brownell's but it is a MetalForm Mag for Colt 380 Govt/Mustang Magazines, but I don't think it will fit. Will it fit or where can I get a magazine sometime in 2016?

I've ended up getting all of mine through Bass Pro: http://www.basspro.com/Browning-1911380-Pistol-Magazine/product/15013008022355/ While they show out of stock, I've ordered them anyway and found the wait to be just a couple of weeks to maybe four or five. They aren't cheap by no means.
Sorry to hear you are having problems with the mags. I would try the fix mentioned in other posts that seems to work or those with troubles.

I am just about positive those other mags won't work.

The mag for the Colt .380 will definitely not work in the Black Label 1911-380.

Mine was pretty cranky at first, but settled down nicely after I put a couple hundred rounds through it. Found it likes round nose bullets more than the semi flat-point design. One more thing...pay attention to your grip. If it's slack you'll rob recoil energy from the slide and divert it into your arm. If that happens the slide may not travel all the way back and the gun will not cycle properly. The .380 cartridge apparently doesn't have much energy to spare.

Don't give up on it. It's a fun little shooter once you get it running.

Good pointers! "Don't give up on it. It's a fun little shooter once you get it running." -very true plus I've found it to be a very accurate pistol. My wife is going for her CHP this summer and wants to use the 1911-380 to qualify with over the LC380 I bought her.

Thanks for the info Gil. I went on line and ordered two mags right away. On back order now so lets see what happens. Others wouldn't even let me order if they were out of stock. I hadn't tried Bass Pro Shop as I went through all the stores we had in Montana first and so I hadn't gotten around to Bass.