Brazilian Imbel .380 1911 clone

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ajanini

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Hello everyone!

I just got my first handgun, and I'd like to share with you all. I guess it's kind of unique to most of you since these are not exported out of Brazil, I think.

It's a double-stack full-sized 1911 clone in .380 ACP, made by Imbel in Brazil.

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I applied to get this in mid-February, and just got my hands on it today. .380 ACP is considered a permitted caliber for civilians here, so it's a little less bureaucratic for a beginner to start with.

Can't wait to get to the range this coming weekend!
 

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Welcome to the world of handguns.
That is definitely something different.
Did you notice how whoever stamped the caliber info on the gun stuttered?
Enjoy and thanks for sharing.
How difficult is it to own a handgun in Brazil?
 
FWIW there are a handful of people from the United States on TFL who have coveted these guns for some time, but our government's pistol importation standards makes them difficult to bring in without adding some largely superfluous design features. :(

Also, is ammo always packaged that way in Brazil? Pistol ammo normally comes in 20-round, 50-round, or 100-round boxes in the USA.
 
g.willikers said:
Did you notice how whoever stamped the caliber info on the gun stuttered?
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LOL! Do you mean the large ".380" on the slide? Does it look wrong? :D

g.willikers said:
How difficult is it to own a handgun in Brazil?
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If you've got a clean criminal sheet, it takes several months, a lot of paperwork and it's quite expensive. Plus there are a whole lot of restrictions (on calibers, how many guns you may own, amount of ammo you can buy, how you use and transport you guns, etc.).

carguychris said:
FWIW there are a handful of people from the United States on TFL who have coveted these guns for some time, but our government's pistol importation standards makes them difficult to bring in without adding some largely superfluous design features.
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I have read a few posts on them. I believe Springfield Armory imports parts (whole guns?) from us. But as far as I know, only larger calibers. On one hand you guys got some importation restrictions. On the other, I got all sorts of restrictions (see above).

carguychris said:
Also, is ammo always packaged that way in Brazil? Pistol ammo normally comes in 20-round, 50-round, or 100-round boxes in the USA.
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No, I think I can get larger boxes, but I'd have to buy directly from the industry, which means asking the army for authorization... It's a hassle. The ammo in the picture is just so I can have something for defense at home if need be. That is some hollow point and it's very expensive: over $2.50/round. :eek:
 
How many rounds does it hold and what's the story behind the shrink wrapped 10 packs of ammo?

Assuming it's got a decent trigger and hits what your aiming at it looks like a decent gun.
 
A Govt size 1911 in 380 is pretty cool. I'd be interested in how it functions. At $2.50 a round, you range time will be short.
 
Welcome to the forum, that is a cool looking pistol you have. I wish we could get thoes here, I bet its fun to shoot. The only thing we have that is close is the Browning 380 1911 and its about 80% of a full size 1911.
 
reddog81 said:
How many rounds does it hold and what's the story behind the shrink wrapped 10 packs of ammo?



Assuming it's got a decent trigger and hits what your aiming at it looks like a decent gun.
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It holds 17+1 or 19+1 rounds with the included extensions. It comes with 3 magazines.

I'll let you know about how it shoots after this weekend. It's supposed to be pretty accurate. It has a heavy profile barrel too.

The ammo packs are just how it is sold to civilians in the few gun stores we have.


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Blowback (or unlocked breech) operation means that the barrel stays fixed as the pistol cycles. Only the slide moves. In a blowback pistol, the barrel unlocks from the slide the moment the bullet starts to move, and the breech is held shut solely by recoil spring pressure and the momentum of the slide.

Locked breech operation (locked-breech short-recoil operation to be comprehensive) means that the barrel and slide move together for a short distance, they unlock from one another, the barrel stops while the slide continues, and then they lock back together as the pistol goes back into battery. You can see this if you manually work the slide of a locked-breech pistol very slowly.

To accomplish this, the Model 1911 uses a swinging barrel link that pivots the breech end of the barrel downwards as the slide moves back, causing a pair of locking lugs on top of the barrel to disengage from corresponding slots inside the slide. There are also a variety of other common mechanisms used on other pistols.

Locked breech operation allows the use of more powerful cartridges, a less massive slide, and/or a less stiff recoil spring.
 
It's blowback, and it's not Government size, it's Commander size. Imbel offers it (or used to) in both single stack and double stack versions. I have known about them and wanted one for many years, but I haven't been able to connect with the right importer to bring one in for me.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
It's blowback, and it's not Government size, it's Commander size. Imbel offers it (or used to) in both single stack and double stack versions. I have known about them and wanted one for many years, but I haven't been able to connect with the right importer to bring one in for me.
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Mine is model MD2 LX. It has a 5" (128 mm) heavy (bull?) type barrel. I thought the full-sized (government?) model had a 5" barrel. Is this incorrect?

Model MD1 comes in both double and single stack versions (respectively MD1 and MD1 N). MD1's have a 4.25" (108mm) barrel, which I thought was the commander size.

Sorry if I'm mistaken, I'm a newbie like I said.
 
ajanini said:
Mine is model MD2 LX. It has a 5" (128 mm) heavy (bull?) type barrel. I thought the full-sized (government?) model had a 5" barrel. Is this incorrect?

Model MD1 comes in both double and single stack versions (respectively MD1 and MD1 N). MD1's have a 4.25" (108mm) barrel, which I thought was the commander size.

Sorry if I'm mistaken, I'm a newbie like I said.
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Peço desculpas. Me perdoe, por favor. You were correct.

When I was pursuing trying to import one (actually, three), there were four models (two single stack and two double stack) but all were 4.25-inch slides and barrels. The 5-inch model is one that I wasn't aware of.
 
If you can understand Portuguese, here's the link to the Imbel pistolas:

http://www.imbel.gov.br/index.php/pistolas

At the moment it appears that they have three 1911 models in .380 ACP. If they are the same as they were, they are fixed barrels (no link, no swing down, straight blowback operation), so an ultra-purist would say they're not really 1911s. I'm willing to be corrupted -- I'd still love to have one of these:

http://www.imbel.gov.br/index.php/pistolas#tab-11

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And one of these:

http://www.imbel.gov.br/index.php/pistolas#tab-1

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Stupid me. I just noticed that on the Imbel site, in the upper right hand corner, there's a British flag you can click for English. Their translations into English are rather humorous, but they get the idea across (sort of).

I like the part about the ADC, which I'm pretty sure is a Series 80-style firing pin safety.

ADC system (disarmer owner and the dog)
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Aguila Blanca said:
Peço desculpas. Me perdoe, por favor. You were correct.
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No problem at all! Imbel's website is not very technical, so there is lots of room for confusion.

I can confirm a fixed barrel. No link or anything. Blowback it is.

Took it to the range this morning. Had a great time! It seems to be shooting a little low and to the left. I used reloaded ammo from the club, shot from about 10 meters, 150 rounds. Please keep in mind I'm a beginner as well.

ADC stands for "hammer cocker/decocker". As far as I know it's a device to lower the hammer while still keeping it under spring tension, just for looks. I hear it's a gimmick with no real purpose. If you search YouTube for "Imbel ADC" you can see how it works. It's an optional feature an my pistol does not have it.


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