BDA 380 PISTOL OWNER’S MANUAL
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING A BROWNING BDA 380 PISTOL The Browning BDA 380 is another in a long line of dependable, high-quality Browning centerfire pistols you will be proud to own. The BDA 380 autoloading pistol uses a dependable, blowback action design with a removable magazine. John M. Browning invented his first autoloading pistol in 1894. BDA 380 pistols incorporate features that reflect the significant improvements and original ideas he contributed during more than 25 years of designing pistols.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIREARMS SAFETY As a gun owner, you accept a set of demanding responsibilities. How seriously you take these responsibilities can be the difference between life and death. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR CARELESS OR ABUSIVE HANDLING OF ANY FIREARM. AT ALL TIMES HANDLE YOUR BDA 380 AND ANY OTHER FIREARM WITH INTENSE RESPECT FOR ITS POWER AND POTENTIAL DANGER. PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CAUTIONS AND PROPER HANDLING PROCEDURES OUTLINED IN THIS OWNER’S MANUAL BEFORE USING YOUR NEW FIREARM.
THE RECOMMENDED CARRYING POSITION OF THE BDA 380 IS WITH THE HAMMER IN THE DECOCKED POSITION. Carefully follow the procedures for lowering the hammer from the cocked to the decocked position explained on page 10 in this owner’s manual. 5 WHENEVER YOU HANDLE YOUR BDA 380, OR HAND IT TO SOMEONE, MAKE SURE IT IS COMPLETELY UNLOADED.
BE ALERT TO THE SIGNS OF AMMUNITION MALFUNCTION. If you detect an off sound or light recoil when a cartridge is fired, do not load another cartridge into the chamber. Fully unload by removing the magazine and removing the cartridge from the chamber. With the action open, glance down the barrel to make sure that an obstruction does not remain in the barrel. If there is an obstruction, completely clear the barrel before loading and firing again.
12 DISCHARGING FIREARMS IN POORLY VENTILATED AREAS, CLEANING FIREARMS OR HANDLING AMMUNITION MAY RESULT IN EXPOSURE TO LEAD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES KNOWN TO CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS, REPRODUCTIVE HARM AND OTHER SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY. HAVE ADEQUATE VENTILATION AT ALL TIMES; WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY AFTER EXPOSURE. 13 DO NOT SNAP THE FIRING PIN ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER — THE CHAMBER MAY NOT BE EMPTY! Treat every gun with the respect due a loaded gun, even if you are certain the gun is unloaded.
such damage. Wear shooting glasses to protect your eyes from flying particles. Always keep a safe distance between the muzzle of your firearm and any persons nearby, as muzzle blast, debris and ejecting shells could inflict serious injury. Also, wear eye protection when disassembling and cleaning your pistol to prevent the possibility of springs, spring-tensioned parts, solvents or other agents from contacting your eyes. 20 BE DEFENSIVE AND ON GUARD AGAINST UNSAFE GUN HANDLING AROUND YOU AND OTHERS.
Read and heed all warnings in this owner’s manual, on ammunition boxes and with all accessories that you install on your firearm. It is your responsibility to secure the most up-to-date information on the safe handling procedures for your Browning gun. We assume no liability for incidents which occur when unsafe or improper gun accessories or ammunition combinations are used. Do not, under any circumstance, alter the trigger, “safety” or parts of the firing mechanism of this or any other firearm.
FIGURE 1 Rear Sight Hammer Slide Extractor Muzzle Rear Front Frame Takedown Lever Front Sight Decocking “Safety” Lever Grip Magazine Serial Number Takedown Lever Stop Trigger Slide Release/Stop Latch BDA 380 Magazine Release N O M E N C L AT U R E In conventional gun terminology, the position and movement of pistol parts are described as they occur with the pistol horizontal and in normal firing position, i.e.
cleaning procedures, see instructions under the section “Cleaning and Lubrication” on page 25. AMMUNITION Your pistol must be used only with .380 ACP ammunition as shown by the inscription on the exposed portion of the barrel (visible through the ejection port when the slide is fully forward). The barrel and action of this pistol have been made with substantial safety margins over the pressures developed by established U.S. commercial loads.
O P E R AT I N G T H E “ S A F E T Y ” D E C O C K I N G L E V E R The ambidextrous, thumb-operated “safety”/decocking lever is located on both sides at the rear of the slide. It has twin finger pieces located on each side of the slide so that it can be conveniently operated by a leftor right-handed shooter. Both finger pieces are serrated for positive manipulation.
FIGURE 2A FIGURE 2B “On Safe” position. “Off Safe” or ready-to-fire position. DECOCKING LEVER FUNCTION The “safety”/decocking lever also functions as a decocking lever to provide a safer method of lowering the hammer from full cock to the decocked position without having to depress the trigger. With the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and your finger away from the trigger, simply depress the “safety”/decocking lever fully down with your thumb (Figure 3).
FIGURE 4 Dropped Position FIGURE 5 Decocked Position Full Cock Position Slide Release/Stop Latch Depress the slide release/stop latch. O P E R AT I O N O F T H E H A M M E R The Browning BDA 380 has an exposed hammer with dropped, decocked, and full cock positions. DROPPED POSITION. This is the momentary position of the hammer after the trigger is pulled (Figure 4) when dry firing or if a round failed to fire in the chamber.
S L I D E R E L E A S E / S T O P L AT C H With an empty magazine inserted, the slide can be “locked” open simply by grasping the slide serrations immediately forward of the “safety”/decocking lever and drawing the slide fully rearward until the slide release/stop latch automatically rotates upward into its appropriate recess. (If a magazine is not inserted, the slide release/stop latch must be manually pushed upward into its recess in the slide.
3 4 FIGURE 6 Insert the cartridges into the magazine by pushing them down and sliding them rearward with your thumb (Figure 6). Start the cartridge into the magazine (bullet forward) by pushing downward on the front of the follower with the base of the cartridge and then pushing the cartridge rearward under the lips until Loading the magazine. the cartridge is fully rearward.
can be fired by simply squeezing the trigger. Be sure the “safety”/decocking lever is placed in the “on safe” position immediately after feeding the first round (which will decock the hammer) unless shooting is imminent. S P E C I A L I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R L AW ENFORCEMENT AND COMPETITIVE SHOOTERS Several BDA 380 functions are for specialized purposes in law enforcement and competitive shooting only.
CAUTION: WHENEVER USING THE LOADED CHAMBER INDICATOR TO CONFIRM THAT YOUR PISTOL’S CHAMBER IS LOADED, ALWAYS FIRST MAKE SURE THE BARREL IS POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION AND THAT THE “SAFETY”/DECOCKING LEVER IS IN THE “ON SAFE” POSITION. DO NOT USE THESE INDICATORS WITH LIVE AMMUNITION UNLESS AT AN APPROPRIATE SHOOTING LOCATION AND WHEN ALL SAFETY RULES ARE ADHERED TO.
squeezing the trigger. If shooting is not imminent, the loaded round should be removed from the chamber as explained under “Unloading” on page 18. Be sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction and your finger is away from the trigger while you are decocking the hammer, performing any loading or unloading procedures or confirming the loaded status of your pistol. Remember: Always treat your pistol as if the chamber is loaded and it is ready to fire.
FIGURE 8 The slide moves rearward about 3⁄4" past the end of the frame. fire or if shooting is no longer imminent. After the last shot is fired, the slide lock on the left side causes the slide to remain back. At this point, we recommend that the magazine be removed and then the slide closed (by releasing the slide release/stop latch), before a loaded magazine is inserted in the pistol as previously described in the “Loading” section.
FIGURE 9A FIGURE 9B Slide Release/Stop Latch Take Down Lever Stop Move the slide rearward and push in slide stop to lock it rearward. Press and hold the take down lever stop. unload any spare magazines at the same time. The magazine and cartridges should be stored separately from the pistol. D I S A S S E M B LY WEAR EYE PROTECTION AT ALL TIMES WHEN PERFORMING MAINTENANCE ON YOUR PISTOL. It is important that you become adept at disassembling (field stripping) your BDA 380 pistol.
FIGURE 9C FIGURE 10 Takedown Lever Rotate takedown lever 90 degrees downward. Lift out the barrel. frame of the pistol from the left to the right side. The takedown lever (on the right side) will not rotate unless the takedown lever stop is pushed in (on the left side), releasing the lever to rotate. With the “button” depressed, rotate the takedown lever on the right side of the frame 90 degrees downward (Figure 9C). 5 Place the “safety”/decocking lever in the “off safe” position.
FIGURE 11 FIGURE 12 Slide Barrel Lug Barrel Recoil Spring Guide Recoil Spring Barrel Lug Barrel Lug Recess Head of Recoil Spring Guide Magazine Frame Disassembly to this point is sufficient for normal maintenance of your pistol. When assembling, be sure the head of the recoil spring guide is inserted in the concave barrel lug recess. PERSON SHOULD ATTEMPT TO PERFORM FURTHER DISASSEMBLY/REASSEMBLY PROCEDURES. INCORRECT REASSEMBLY COULD RENDER THE BDA 380 INOPERATIVE OR UNSAFE.
5 6 7 Release the slide by depressing the slide stop/release latch. Place the “safety”/decocking lever in the “on safe” position. This will also decock the hammer. Replace the magazine, or leave it out if you are storing your pistol or performing other maintenance. MAGAZINE MAINTENANCE The BDA 380 magazine is unique to the BDA 380 and should not be used in any other pistol. Neither should any other magazine be used in your BDA 380.
FIGURE 13 FIGURE 14 Magazine Spring Magazine Body Buttplate Disassembled Magazine. Follower Indexed view holes are marked with the numbers 5 and 10. (10 round magazine shown.) are indexed with the numbers 5 and 10 (Figure 14). If the base of a cartridge shows in the 10 hole, your magazine is fully loaded. The top (number 5) hole simply offers an estimate of the remaining cartridges. The extended lip on the floor plate allows easy manipulation and removal of the magazine under all conditions.
5 6 spring from the magazine body. Remove the follower from the magazine body. Note its position. Perform any cleaning and maintenance as outlined in the section “Cleaning and Lubrication” on page 25. MAGAZINE R E A S S E M B LY 1 2 3 4 5 6 24 FIGURE 15 Windage adjustments on fixed sight models. Position the follower on the spring with the notch in the top of the follower upward. The follower will fit into the top coil of the spring at about a 45 degree angle.
SIGHT ADJUSTMENT The BDA 380 is equipped with a fixed front sight and a windage adjustable rear sight. Before adjusting the sights, BE CERTAIN YOUR PISTOL IS UNLOADED. The windage adjustment (horizontal correction) is preset at the factory. However, should it ever be required, the rear sight may be moved in its dovetail slot in the slide. This is accomplished by lightly tapping the base of the rear sight in the same direction you want the bullet to move; i.e.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 26 forth until a patch comes through clean. Be careful not to impact or mar the crown of the muzzle as it can affect accuracy. Cleaning from the breech end can reduce this danger. Depending on the amount of use, the barrel may need to be cleaned with a good quality nitro solvent. Ordinarily, a light lubricating oil like Browning Oil will suffice for this purpose. The slide assembly may be cleaned with solvent or oil and then wiped dry with a clean cloth.
DO NOT TAKE YOUR GUN’S ACTION APART BEYOND THE EXTENT EXPLAINED IN THIS OWNER’S MANUAL. This is a specialized, finely fitted mechanism, and you may mar it for life by an attempt to disassemble the inner mechanism assemblies. Do not disassemble the trigger mechanism or any other parts more than described. If further disassembly is required, take your gun to a Browning Recommended Service Center or a competent gunsmith.
NOTES 28
SERVICE OR REPAIR If your firearm should require service or repairs, we suggest you first contact a local recommended Browning Firearms Service Center. Contact your Browning sporting goods dealer or call our Service Department for the address of the Service Center nearest you. Otherwise, you may send your firearm directly to our own Service Department.
BROWNING.COM BROWNING US: Morgan, Utah 84050-9326 BROWNING CANADA: Browning Canada Sports Ltd/Ltee, St-Laurent, Quebec, H4S 1W6 BROWNING INTL: Parc Industriel des Hauts-Sarts, B-4040 Herstal, Belgium NEU05011.
