Picked up my new 1911 380 "Black Label" last week and to say I'm impressed with it would be an understatement! So far I've shot Colt, Magtech, Winchester, Hornady FTX, Remington UMC ammo plus my own reloads without a single hiccup - 270 rds total. Bullets range from RN, RNFP, HP and the Hornady FTX, again not a single hiccup. Browning seems to have produced a great scaled down 1911 - most likely learning from all the early owners and their feedback. Thanks to those who went early with these great little shooters. Here's mine. It does have the loose right side thumb safety. It's loose on the shaft, not a loose shaft, so not a concern for me. At 15 yds I can put 16 rds of my reloads in a 3.5" circle with a standing 2 hand grip - good for me at my age and eyesight. Well that was an easy "fix". The roll pin had worked it's way out of the shaft but still in the thumb safety. Couple taps with a thin punch put the roll pin back where it belonged & the right side thumb safety snug again.
Glad you like it. Mine is accurate enough...but shoots a full 3" high (from point of aim). Now...if we could just get some aftermarket support in the form of Springs, Sights, Magazines, etc....
I plan to eventually call Browning for another recoil spring and guide rod. I have seen the ss guide rods but have never cared for full length rods. Mine shoots pretty close to poa. I have not shot from a rest, but 2 handed standing groups them good enough for me and the “Combat White Dot” sights work good for my eyes. At 3” high I would not be happy. I agree big time on mags. I see some for $27 & change, but that’s still way too much for me for a plain 380 eight rd mag. I’m sure mac-gar can make them a lot less expensive but prob not without Browning permission. There’s definitely a market out there. I do group better with factory ammo, but at $13+ for factory, I’ll stay with my Berry plated reloads for cheap range ammo. Many kudos for all those early buyers who suffered through the early problems. Both my mags and the gun are 100%. I am NOT a fan of a mag safety, so that will most definitely be corrected in the future. Thanks to guys who posted the “mag safety removal” thread - good job!!!
Mine also shoots high. I am thinking that it may have more to do with to do with philosophy and the generation of the designers. Bear with me, I will get to a point. I remember many conversations with my wife's grandfather. He had been active in competitive shooting. There was one conversation, applicable to this discussion, that sticks. Look at this picture. image from here The picture is in an article on a different topic, but Image 1 and 2 illustrate this point. He was absolutely convinced, from his target pistol days, that Sight Image 1 was the proper way to aim. I felt that Image 2 was correct. We eventually just chalked it up to differences in training and changing trends (he still felt that I was doing it wrong). If you were to use Image 1, the pistol would be dead on. I can't help but wonder if what is going on is that someone at browning is obsessed with some target shooting style (image 1) that is just different from how most others actually use and aim a pistol (image 2). As it stands, last weekend I was out shooting this and my Remington R51. The R51 shot low, the browning shot high. I was literally able to use the same target with both pistols and not get the groups mixed up. All that said, to me, it isn't a feature, it is a bug.
It all depends on the size of the bullseye. I like Image 1 — if the bull is 1” in diameter. Half an inch high at 25 yards is no big deal, no matter what you’re shooting.
Yes, image #2 is generally how I shoot my pistols when 'speed' is part of the equation. Image #3 when more precision is necessary, but this is distance specific. At longer ranges image #3 results in the front sight covering/obscuring your target too much. I can't imagine image #1 being useful for anything other than bullseye/target shooting where aligning the front and rear sights (top and top) and then placing the bottom of the circle/square upon that would give the best sight picture. But your sights would need to be regulated to compensate for the disparity of the 6 O'Clock hold. So for my purposes....I am with you (#2 sight picture the majority of the time).
