Browning BDA .380

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Sidmiser

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I bought a Browning BDA back in the mid to late 70s and traded it in on Beretta 92F. Would like to find another. Are there many floating around?
 
Go to the next gun show near you. Look over the guns offered. You will see both the Browning and the Beretta. You'll also see others like what CZ has to offer. Pick them up, look 'em over...shop.

tipoc
 
IIRC, Beretta made the Browning, and it's just a Beretta Model 84 with cosmetic differences.

If the OP can't find a BDA, surplus Model 84's are easy to find and inexpensive. Mine is an excellent shooter.
 
I own two BDA's and prefer the Beretta 84:
-Better sights. The BDA has a tiny half moon front sight and the 84's have a taller FS.
-Safety. The 84 has a frame mounted safety, the BDA is slide mounted. IMO the frame safety is better and allows one to rack the slide without chewing up your fingers.
-Finish. The BDA has a beautiful polished blue, the 84 will be Bruniton (a coating). The 84 will resist corrosion better, the BDA will look better.
 
They were produced from 1978-2000, if you’re looking for a 92fs baby brother then the BDA is it.

I bought mine NIB in 03 and it ain’t going nowhere, paired with an LCP they’d be my last handguns to go.


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IIRC, Beretta made the Browning, and it's just a Beretta Model 84 with cosmetic differences.
Click to expand...
Aye.
My father owned an 84BB and a BDA from about 1989 to 1995, or so.
Although I hate slide-mounted safeties now, I greatly preferred the BDA at the time. (Plus, it looked much better.)
Everyone else preferred the 84.

Nowadays... I don't want either. They're good handguns. But the fixed barrels increase felt recoil, and that's completely unnecessary in a world full of locked breech designs.
 
Owned both, thought the BDA was nicer looking. Both reasonably accurate. Both hard to disassemble and reassemble. Much too hard. Agree with FrankenMauser's last sentence.
 
I've had both the BDA and the 84, and I have both an 84 and 85 now. I love these guns. My BDA was bought in '78 or '79, I think, and it was polished up as pretty as my 92S was back then. You can't go wrong with any of these guns, IMHO, the best .380's ever made.
 
I have a different experience with a BDA. I bought a new BDA in 1989. It was a gorgeous, well made gun. Never malfunctioned. Beautiful walnut grip panels. I loved the 13 plus one mags and the way that it fit in my hand.

But, I could not get it to shoot sub 4" groups at 10 yards. I tried factory ammo. I tried my reloads. I tried bench resting. Nope. One shot would hit the bull, the next would be in the 7 ring, then the next would be in the 9 ring on the other side. By contrast, my Interarms PPK/s would shoot it under the table.

I hated to sell the BDA, but it finally went away at a gunshow. I still have the PPK/s...
 
Strange, because my 84F is very accurate at 25yds, and I regularly plink the 40yd 10” steel plate my club has.
 
dogtown tIom said:
The BDA has a beautiful polished blue, the 84 will be Bruniton (a coating). The 84 will resist corrosion better, the BDA will look better.
Click to expand...

I've got a nickel-plated BDA, along with the original box, manual, and two magazines. It's a great shooting gun.

While the Pachmayer grips feel great, they don't look as good as the factory wood grips. I'm still looking for original grips. (The only ones I've found have been in pretty rough shape, and after-market wood grips just don't look right.)

The BDA380s made for Browning (USA) are marked a bit differently than the FN versions.

Browning%20BDA%20-%20Fabrique%20National%20Herstal%20-%20Left_zpssnuzxmr3.jpg


Browning%20BDA%20-%20Fabrique%20Nationale%20Herstal%20-%20Right_zpshnde1ysj.jpg
 
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Everyone has an opinion, my BDA went to a police investigator when I retired, he loved it and so did I. I prefer the decocking safety, closed slide and thirteen rounds stuffed into the Browning. I now have a Beretta 84 BB that I occasionally shoot, it is ok but liked the Browning better. As has been mentioned several times before there are many locked breech pistols that are more concealable, have the same caliber, less recoil, better sights and will hold up just as well being shot a lot so why not go modern.
 
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