Browning Knocks it out of the park!!! (badly)

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Rez Exelon

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Well, recently picked up a Browning 1911-380 in trade here, and hate to say but this experience has been knocking it out of the park --- in a bad way. Took it to the range for an initial test, and could get two shots in before it failed to go into battery. Manually corrected it, same thing happened again. Basically, I never actually got more than one shot in a row with multiple ammo types tested.

Called Browning to see what they might say, and the rep assured me they'd take care of it. Now, I was leery as they have no published warranty, but I sent it off. 6 weeks later, I have heard nothing but check the web center which claims they contacted me 15 days ago to get approval for $176.11 of charges to get it running under the vague description of "Place gun in proper mechanical condition" as well as a slightly more specific "fit rear sight".

My problem here is that there's no way this pistol had more than 100 rounds through it. They said I was getting charged since it was 6 years old and their warranty is 5. (Sidenote--- there's no published warranty I can find, so that might be worth noting). When pressed they indicated that the $100 was to polish/hone/fit things and the rear sight was because it was loose. Neither makes sense to me. The rear sight shouldn't be loose unless the gun was used, but it couldn't be used because obviously nothing was going into battery.

They would not budge on any charges but eventually said they'd waive the $50 charge to send it back to me unrepaired --- which I took because it'll be a cold day in hell before I give them business again for anything. The only other time I had to send a gun in for service was a beat to heck Phoenix Arms HP22a with no warranty, no coverage, nothing at all, and they took it, fixed it up, and sent it back with extra mags and a smile. So this is shocking that a "reputable" company like Browning would be happy to do business like this.

Related --- anyone know local Tulsa folks that work on Browning 1911-380s?
 

BReeves

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Wow I have the 22 version and it has been fantastic. Eats anything I throw in it even the dreaded golden junk. Sights suck and finish isn't typical Browning quality but I really like the gun because it just works.
 

Rez Exelon

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Yeah. I made a youtube video of it too. Every case I put in gets scratched to hell, which was one reason I figured that I'd send it in for eval. Once I get the gun back I'm going to do a more complete and polished one detailing everything as well as the response. Let the chips fall where they may I suppose.
 

Rez Exelon

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Normally I'd agree, but that doesn't explain the scratching on the cases. They try to feed in before hitting resistance and getting scratched up. The bad thing for this gun is that there's not a lot in the way of aftermarket magazines that I've seen so I'm not sure how I want to proceed. To get another mag to test is going to be in the $35-40 range which grumps me out too. Once I get it back I suppose I'll be able to figure out a plan
 

MacFromOK

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Normally I'd agree, but that doesn't explain the scratching on the cases. They try to feed in before hitting resistance and getting scratched up. The bad thing for this gun is that there's not a lot in the way of aftermarket magazines that I've seen so I'm not sure how I want to proceed. To get another mag to test is going to be in the $35-40 range which grumps me out too. Once I get it back I suppose I'll be able to figure out a plan
Actually it can.

If there's a burr on the underside of the mag lips, it can scratch 'em pretty good.

Also, if the lips aren't aligned properly, it may be trying to feed at an angle, which can do all sorts of weird stuff to the case.
:drunk2:
 

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