Browning 1911-380 Handgun troubleshooting

Discussion in 'Browning 1911 - 380 Handgun' started by Billythekid, Jun 29, 2015.

  1. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    Post all of the Browning 1911-380 Handgun troubleshooting here...
    Phil Tull likes this.
  2. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    New Troubleshooting sub forum for Browning 1911-380 handguns...
  3. Texas-Mark

    Texas-Mark .22LR

    My new 1911-380 only came with one mag. I was having an issue with rounds jamming like this (pretty much on every mag). Sometimes the unfired round would actually pop right out of the gun. The problem was the front of the mag feed lips were spread too far. If one looks at the feed lips on these mags, they are not very long to begin with (compared to other .380 mags) so there is not that much holding the round to begin with. Unfortunately the lack of spare mags did not help matters (for easy process of elimination). I finally just bent the feed lips a bit to close them up and the problem went away. So if you have this sort of jam, or unfired rounds popping out, check the inside gap at the front of the feed lips. This mag originally measured .319" and I closed it up to .308" which solved the problem. When I finally got some spare mage that were on back order, they measured .313" and .316". I felt the .316" was just too close to the troublesome .319" that was causing the problem with the original mag, so I closed that one up a bit too. I have not had any more problems with any of the mags.

    [​IMG]
    Ken. likes this.
  4. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Thanks for the advice TM !!
  5. Texas-Mark

    Texas-Mark .22LR

    In the other thread I had mentioned that I was having spent cases hitting me in the head. Usually the last round, but not always. I noticed extractor was clocking quite a bit (another sign of less then great QC). I was able to shim the side of the firing block plate to prevent the clocking, but it did not help with the erratic ejection. I then looked at the ejector and while it was not extremely loose, it had a little play in it. There is hex screw that holds the extractor assembly in place and it was slightly loose. Yet another QC issue. I put a little blue locktite on the screw and tightened it up. It seems to help a little with the more random cases to the head, but the last round almost always flies straight back. All three mags do this, so it must be something else. Again, without being able to buy a spare ejector to work on, there is not much I can do at this point. Normally one would shape the ejector tip to help direct the cases where you want, but since it's a trial and error thing, it's never a good idea without a spare.

    Browning has told me that sales of this gun are higher than they expected (hence the reason for the mag shortage), but I find it odd that there are not more people posting about it (good or bad) on forums like this. I know it is still relatively new, but surely there must be some other owners out there. Guess I am just curious if I just got a lemon, or if these are common issues.
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2015
  6. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Copy that...seems that many manufacturers find out about bugs after pushing their new products into the market.

    I sure that Browning will make good on any problems...
  7. Texas-Mark

    Texas-Mark .22LR

    When I called them about the nose up jams, they wanted me to send in the whole gun even though they agreed it was probably the mag. Since they did not have any mags at the time anyway, I told them I would just wait until I got the ones I had on back-order. But when I asked what I needed to do if I did send it in, they said to fill out the form on their web site. I took a look at that form, and nothing indicated they would pay for the shipping or supply a shipping label. I have only owned one other Browning (Buckmark) so I don't know what their actual policy is if it needs to be sent in. I have had to send in a gun to Ruger and to Kel-Tec and they both sent me shipping labels. I'm not quite ready to send it in yet, but it will be interesting to see if they will pick up the tab or not.
  8. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Most manufacturers will supply a no expense shipping label...when pressed by a customer request.
  9. Alcazar

    Alcazar .410

    My original mag is very tight and actually is scratched on one side from the tight fit. But no problems with fail to eject after the first couple hundred rounds.
  10. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Does anyone have an idea who supplies Browning the magazines...!?

    Doesn't sound like Mec-Gar quality...
  11. Jon

    Jon Copper BB

    Mine does the exact same thing and I realized it was a mag issue because of loaded shells just popping out on the ground. Just came from the range and ready to try something different, at first I thought it was the white box Winchester loads but it does it with everything! I'll try closing the mag mouth and try that because it makes sense. Mine also jams just like the picture posted on every clip
  12. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Welcome to the Browning Owners Forum Jon !!

    ...enjoy the forum.
  13. Jon

    Jon Copper BB

    Went to the range today after closing the front of the retaining mouths on the clips to .308. After shooting 100 rounds through the Browning 1911 .380, I had not one single jam! The gun performed absolutely flawless? Thanks Texas Mark for the fix and info!
  14. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Good news Jon...enjoy your new Browning.
  15. Texas-Mark

    Texas-Mark .22LR

    Train,

    Sorry for not checking back here sooner. To close the gap, I used a pair of flat (no teeth) wide long nose pliers, and just carefully bent the front edge of the feed lips down and in. We are only talking about a few thousands of an inch, so no need to go crazy. A caliper comes in handy to measure the distance between them at the front.

    On a side note, I am still a bit discouraged at the lack of posts (good or bad) about this gun here or on other forums.
  16. Alcazar

    Alcazar .410

    I think you may be correct Train, the launch should have been post phoned till they worked the bugs out. I have been lucky all mags work just fine. But this little firearm isn't quite what i thought it would be in the beginning. A lot of hype and not much ummphhh so far. The sights were less than ideal, mags a problem, a little too much drift at a distance. Might be just fine at indoor range but out in the world, any wind = drift. More than normal i might add.

    just my 2 cents
  17. rawright

    rawright .22LR

    The lack of posts may be due to the fact that almost no one can get the gun. I've been on waiting lists locally since the new gun was first announced, and so far no dealer in my area has been able to obtain one. My LGS is quite pissed about that, since he is a fairly high volume player in the market, and should get better treatment from his suppliers.

    As a side note, the tool to use for bending the magazine lips is probably a chain-nose plier. This is a plier much like needle nose, except that the jaws are tapered, round tips - no sharp edges. We use them in electronics assembly to prevent nicks in the fine leads of delicate electronic parts, but they're also handy for forming loops in wires to assemble jewelry chains. Yes, you can invert the magazine over a wood block and beat it with a hammer to close the gap, but I think the chain nose approach probably gives one a bit more delicate control.
    Ken. likes this.
  18. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Good idea rawright...
  19. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Not much we can do but wait till they start showing up in stores...

    After Remington's debacle with the R51...maybe Browning found an issue after limited release and decided to stop and fix it, instead of flooding the market and allowing a public embarrassment and recall.
  20. Texas-Mark

    Texas-Mark .22LR


    Yes, something reeks. Browning has told me they would ship me a new mag for free back in July. I have asked them several times for an update on shipping it, and I keep getting the same response you noted (demand exceeding supply). So just where are all of the guns that they have sold? As I mentioned earlier, there should be a lot more posts on various forums if these were being sold as fast as they claim.

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