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

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Rez Exelon

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I think I'd be a little pissed at the guy I got it from? That being said those are some bizarre pics. Any evidence of a squibb round (I know you don't have it)? Odd.
Based on the condition I don't think anyone ever really attempted to use it, so I'm giving the benefit of the doubt. They gave me no other reason to think they were pulling a fast one.

I don't really recall anything jumping out like evidence of a squibb, but I'll have to check when I get it back. @bigfug is probably going down the same road I am first which is polishing it up and smoothing it out.

Then again, I'll have to see when I get it because since I talked to them Friday morning their online tracking tool still shows it's waiting on my input and not scheduled for shipment or any status change.
 

mouthpiece

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I think I'd be a little pissed at the guy I got it from? That being said those are some bizarre pics. Any evidence of a squibb round (I know you don't have it)? Odd.
I just got a Rem 700 THAT DOESN'T WORK from a OSA member.
Back on topic.
That looks like feedramp area and I would also polish the underside of the mag feedlips.
Sometimes the mags get rough burrs along the edges from being stamped metal.
I would also try a few different brands of factory ammo(if you can find it.
Also as someone suggested, polish the feedramps and chamber mouth edges along with polish the chamber.
Damn, that is a crappy service experience.
380 is really the only caliber of handgun I have never been able to get to run correctly
 

Rez Exelon

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have you used different kinds of ammo , or just one type? those scratches look like they could be from out of spec ammo

I just got a Rem 700 THAT DOESN'T WORK from a OSA member.
Back on topic.
That looks like feedramp area and I would also polish the underside of the mag feedlips.
Sometimes the mags get rough burrs along the edges from being stamped metal.
I would also try a few different brands of factory ammo(if you can find it.
Also as someone suggested, polish the feedramps and chamber mouth edges along with polish the chamber.
Damn, that is a crappy service experience.
380 is really the only caliber of handgun I have never been able to get to run correctly

Most of the 380's I've played with haven't had any issues at all. Sometimes ejecting a loaded round maybe (manually clearing it). But nothing like this.

I've tried with Remington UMC, LAX ammo, Aguila, and WWB and all behaved the same, so I'm not thinking it's a spec issue there. Although to be sure I'll load up some dummy rounds at different COAL's to see if that makes a difference. Otherwise it'll be a polish job for sure.
 

MacFromOK

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Most of the 380's I've played with haven't had any issues at all. Sometimes ejecting a loaded round maybe (manually clearing it). But nothing like this.

I've tried with Remington UMC, LAX ammo, Aguila, and WWB and all behaved the same, so I'm not thinking it's a spec issue there. Although to be sure I'll load up some dummy rounds at different COAL's to see if that makes a difference. Otherwise it'll be a polish job for sure.
There are still other mag issues I'd check...

- With the slide locked open and a loaded mag installed, from a side view, the angle of the top round - is the nose up/down or correct angle?

- With the slide locked open and a loaded mag installed, from a side view, the HEIGHT of the top round. If it's too low, it makes the feed angle too great.

- Top view of the mag, in the gun (slide locked open) - is the top round pointed left/right or center, and is it centrally aligned with the chamber?

- Space between the mag lips. Believe it or not, a .380 is not actually .380, it's 9mm (approx .355). However, the space between the feed lips should be 8.8mm - 9mm, because the case is larger than the bullet (on both calibers).

Just a few more thoughts...
:drunk2:
 

Rez Exelon

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UPDATE:
I have now successfully run two boxes of ammo through without failure. And as it turns out the fix makes me hate Browning EVEN MORE.

So after getting it back with nothing done to it (maybe I hoped that a last second change of heart would happen, I dunno) I decided screw it, I might as well start playing around. What am I gonna do --- screw it up? I made some dummy rounds without primer/powder and started working them. It took about an hour of playing, tearing down, putting together, rinse, repeat, before I caught on that the issue was definitely the round being out of alignment --- but it was NOT what anyone here thought. It turns out it was the .... drummmmm roolllllll STUPID PIECE OF CRAP EXTRACTOR!.

It seems the problem was that the extractor was bent slightly too far inward and what was happening is that as the round moved up from the mag and moving toward the chamber, the rim goes under the extractor right? But because the extractor was bent it, it was putting too much pressure on the rim of the case and not allowing it to move freely. So as soon as that engaged the movement would slow down and the round would wind up out of position as it tried to feed up the ramp into the chamber.

My first clue I was on the right path was that taking the extractor out was a pain....a lot of pressure to pull it out of the slow. So after I took the extractor out, gripped it with some pliers and fixed the bend. Just literally ever so slightly had to move it. When I went to put it in, all the pressure I had to use to get it out was unnecessary --- it just dropped in place. Instantly all the dummy rounds fed silky smooth. Took it to the range today and ran 2 boxes of mixed ammo through with no issues.

Now, was that worth $176 they wanted??? I'm a super 1911 noob and it took me an hour. 6 weeks and all the BS for what would probably have taken a 1911-competent person (let alone a gunsmith or repair tech) about 5-10 minutes probably. My assessment still stands --- I do not want any more Browning in my life after this bull honky.
 

RickN

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UPDATE:
I have now successfully run two boxes of ammo through without failure. And as it turns out the fix makes me hate Browning EVEN MORE.

So after getting it back with nothing done to it (maybe I hoped that a last second change of heart would happen, I dunno) I decided screw it, I might as well start playing around. What am I gonna do --- screw it up? I made some dummy rounds without primer/powder and started working them. It took about an hour of playing, tearing down, putting together, rinse, repeat, before I caught on that the issue was definitely the round being out of alignment --- but it was NOT what anyone here thought. It turns out it was the .... drummmmm roolllllll STUPID PIECE OF CRAP EXTRACTOR!.

It seems the problem was that the extractor was bent slightly too far inward and what was happening is that as the round moved up from the mag and moving toward the chamber, the rim goes under the extractor right? But because the extractor was bent it, it was putting too much pressure on the rim of the case and not allowing it to move freely. So as soon as that engaged the movement would slow down and the round would wind up out of position as it tried to feed up the ramp into the chamber.

My first clue I was on the right path was that taking the extractor out was a pain....a lot of pressure to pull it out of the slow. So after I took the extractor out, gripped it with some pliers and fixed the bend. Just literally ever so slightly had to move it. When I went to put it in, all the pressure I had to use to get it out was unnecessary --- it just dropped in place. Instantly all the dummy rounds fed silky smooth. Took it to the range today and ran 2 boxes of mixed ammo through with no issues.

Now, was that worth $176 they wanted??? I'm a super 1911 noob and it took me an hour. 6 weeks and all the BS for what would probably have taken a 1911-competent person (let alone a gunsmith or repair tech) about 5-10 minutes probably. My assessment still stands --- I do not want any more Browning in my life after this bull honky.



Glad you got it working. Most of the 380s I have had thru the years have had issues. I loved the feel and the way my old FIE 380 sat in my hand. Just pointed so natural. To bad it would jam almost every round. Another was a MAB model D which was a French copy of the Browning 1922.This is the gun that made me uncomfortable with striker fired pistols when it went off in a friends back pocket. Luckily he was not seriously hurt.

Anyway, I think most 380s have mag problems and I am glad you found your issue. Browning normally make a quality firearm. At least the few I have gotten to fire have been.
 

Rez Exelon

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Glad you got it working. Most of the 380s I have had thru the years have had issues. I loved the feel and the way my old FIE 380 sat in my hand. Just pointed so natural. To bad it would jam almost every round. Another was a MAB model D which was a French copy of the Browning 1922.This is the gun that made me uncomfortable with striker fired pistols when it went off in a friends back pocket. Luckily he was not seriously hurt.

Anyway, I think most 380s have mag problems and I am glad you found your issue. Browning normally make a quality firearm. At least the few I have gotten to fire have been.
The sad thing is yeah, this one shot pretty well today too. I'll need to tighten the rear site a bit, but otherwise it felt good when running. I've got a gen 1 LCP that's given me no issues, and another one I had (and now regret selling) was FEG made Walther clone called the PMK. It was pretty good and I don't recall ever having issues with it.
 

dennishoddy

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My .380 has been flawless. Different brand though.
That being said firearm manufacturing have done away with their quality control departments evidently.
Much cheaper to let the customer do trial testing
 

okiebertt

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Glad you got it fixed bro. I have only owned a few 380 autos, I have only owned a few I can remember, the Ruger LCP1 and an FEG PPK clone are the only ones that ran 100%. Much better off with a good compact nine like the G43.
 

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