Browning BDA
- Thread starter Waveski
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huntsman
Member
I have one in Nickel, bought in 03 for $425.00 NIB it's my one pistol I'll never part with. Fits my hand well, fun to shoot and accurate, Second Son already put dibs on it but he's going to have to wait for the old man to die 
I had a blued one I bought in the 80's, my first handgun. Very pleasant to shoot and pretty accurate. I sold it along with my other Berettas, because you flip the safety up to fire, as opposed to down like most other guns. I didn't like the idea, if I needed to use my gun, to try and remember which I was carrying that day and which way the safety went.
I seem to recall trying to find magazines and especially holsters was like looking for the Dead Sea scrolls.
I seem to recall trying to find magazines and especially holsters was like looking for the Dead Sea scrolls.
RainDodger
Member
You can find magazines all over. Not a problem. I never carry mine, only because it's actually physically bigger than my H&K 9mm USP Compact! The BDA is very nice to shoot and like others have said, it's quite accurate. Mine works just fine and it's a great quality pistol. Made by Beretta of course, and basically just lacking the slide cut-out of the Beretta. Nice guns. Here's mine:
Edit: it's also way bigger than my Springfield XDs in .45ACP....
Edit: it's also way bigger than my Springfield XDs in .45ACP....
For magazines, you can use one designed for the Beretta 84. The Browning is a facelifted (slide, hammer, thumb safety) Beretta 84, but the frame is identical
I have noticed that the slide is stiffer than any other auto I have handled. Whenever I hand the gun to a friend and ask them to rack the slide they give it an initial try , then ask where the slide lock is - it is that stiff! Is this common to the BDA , or is mine in need of break-in? Assuming that break-in is needed , how many rounds should that take? I have heard widely differing references to break-in procedures.
bannockburn
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- Apr 24, 2007
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- 26,309
I had the Beretta 84 which differed primarily from the BDA by having a frame mounted safety more like that found on an M1911. Great gun, fun to shoot and quite accurate, but a little too big for CCW. I used it mainly as a HD gun.
Willie Sutton
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"I have noticed that the slide is stiffer than any other auto I have handled. "
Unlocked breech straight blowback: You need a strong spring to resist the rearwards thrust of the cartridge face long enough for the bullet to clear the bore upon firing. Higher power pistols will use a mechanical lock to lock the slide and barrel together for some time delay period to permit the same delay, and thus (paradoxically) will likely have lower slide cocking forces. This is one of the reasons certain other Beretta designs (noting that this is a Beretta design of sorts) use a tipping barrel, which allows the chamber to be loaded and then the hammer cocked by thumb, rather than needing to retract the slide to chamber first cartridge.
That's a long way to say that the slide isn't going to get any easier to pull back.
These are nice pistols, but never made a market for themselves. Too bulky for the cartridge fired, and fairly expensive at the time. Lovely to shoot, hard to carry, and too diminuitive in power for a nightstand pistol.
Enjoy it!
Willie
.
Unlocked breech straight blowback: You need a strong spring to resist the rearwards thrust of the cartridge face long enough for the bullet to clear the bore upon firing. Higher power pistols will use a mechanical lock to lock the slide and barrel together for some time delay period to permit the same delay, and thus (paradoxically) will likely have lower slide cocking forces. This is one of the reasons certain other Beretta designs (noting that this is a Beretta design of sorts) use a tipping barrel, which allows the chamber to be loaded and then the hammer cocked by thumb, rather than needing to retract the slide to chamber first cartridge.
That's a long way to say that the slide isn't going to get any easier to pull back.
These are nice pistols, but never made a market for themselves. Too bulky for the cartridge fired, and fairly expensive at the time. Lovely to shoot, hard to carry, and too diminuitive in power for a nightstand pistol.
Enjoy it!
Willie
.
Keep in mind I owned mine during the 90's. When you could find one, they were $75.
PGT
Member
I've got its cousin...the 84FS in Nickel. Just picked it up last week. Its great looking gun....these guns have appreciated greatly over the last few years (Nickel versions I mean).
huntsman
Member
FWIW I really expect the BDA/84 mags to become scarce here,with Beretta not importing the 80 series anymore.
Before the craziness they were all over and I procrastinated in buying more but in the last year nothing, until I happened upon several Mecgar 13 round mags at a local LGS. I don't know how long they'll be in stock there but I plan to get back and pick up more.
Before the craziness they were all over and I procrastinated in buying more but in the last year nothing, until I happened upon several Mecgar 13 round mags at a local LGS. I don't know how long they'll be in stock there but I plan to get back and pick up more.
You guys have been really helpful. Mr Sutton , your explanation of the action tells me a lot about the slide characteristics . I guess that it is now up to me to determine if this is "my gun". I've had it about a month , went to the range a couple of times , but so far it is not giving me the kind of feedback that says "my gun". That may sound odd , but some of you probably know what I mean. It is a classy piece , I like nickel , the proof marks are cool , I am a bit of a 380 fan (love my PPK [pre Smith] ) , but I have yet to be smitten. I have a pair of clean old 5906's that I am crazy about. My Colt Official Police feels great in my hand and looks great too. I connect with my Colt Woodsman. Never seen a Smith J frame I didn't like. BUT , the BDA isn't talking to me. Maybe I should think about turning it over and beefing up the P38 fund...
Thanks again for the feedback. I owe it to the Browning to take it back to the range , which will happen soon. (in ass deep snow).
'Ski
Thanks again for the feedback. I owe it to the Browning to take it back to the range , which will happen soon. (in ass deep snow).
'Ski
huntsman
Member
Well my BDA is the perfect little brother to my S&W 4566, there's something to be gained by having the controls in the same place
hemiram
Member
IMHO, the BDA is, along with the Beretta 84, THE best .380 there is. I've had 2 84's and a BDA, and never had a single issue with any of them. I only sold the 2 older ones because I needed money. The BDA probably saved a paraplegic friend's life when two guys tried to hold him up when his car blew the A/C compressor up and a hunk of it punched out the radiator. He was waiting for AAA when two guys came along and offered to tow strap him into town. He was going to let them do it, but overheard them talking about which one of them would make the first move on him. Once the BDA came out, the two losers checked out, and when my friend picked them out of a mug book, they were known robbers and had both been accused of attempted kidnapping years before. They got long prison sentences after the jury took about 10 minutes to convict them.
AJChenMPH
Member
Inherited my father's:
Also have a set of Beretta 84 grips for it -- a little less slippery than the original wood grips, and makes it a bit thinner:
Mainly sits in the safe because (for some reason) the tang comes back and hits the web of my hand in such a way that it opens the skin up after only about 70-75 rounds. It's still a sweet shooter, though, and very accurate with soft recoil.
Here's the definitive BDA thread here on THR, though it's locked:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=13110
Lots of good info in there.
Also have a set of Beretta 84 grips for it -- a little less slippery than the original wood grips, and makes it a bit thinner:
Mainly sits in the safe because (for some reason) the tang comes back and hits the web of my hand in such a way that it opens the skin up after only about 70-75 rounds. It's still a sweet shooter, though, and very accurate with soft recoil.
Here's the definitive BDA thread here on THR, though it's locked:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=13110
Lots of good info in there.
hemiram
Member
My friend gets the same thing. I have to admit, I don't understand how at all. I've never had anything like that happen to me with any gun, ever.
My conclusions re the BDA :
When I started this thread I was leaning strongly in the direction of flipping the BDA and putting the money towards a P38. The link to an old High Road thread led to another forum thread , both of which heaped praise on the Browning. (Sorry to those of you who get slide bite ; PPK's do that to some shooters too. Neither my BDA nor my PPK bite me ...) If I amassed enough $$$ to buy a wartime matching P38 it would wind up being a safe queen. I get tired of safe queens ; I recently traded a pristine S&W m.40 nickel Lemon Squeezer for a shooter grade K38 Combat Masterpiece. The BDA really is an eye full , nice shooter , and who doesn't like proofmarks? My current inclination is to keep the Browning and look for a shooter P38. The lgs has a mismatched Mauser over Walther piece , wartime steel. I may give that a try. I could shoot the bejeebers out of it and not worry about it. Plus , my gun count would go up by 1 instead of breaking even.
Thank you all for your input. It was very helpful to me in terms of sorting out my thought process.
'Ski
When I started this thread I was leaning strongly in the direction of flipping the BDA and putting the money towards a P38. The link to an old High Road thread led to another forum thread , both of which heaped praise on the Browning. (Sorry to those of you who get slide bite ; PPK's do that to some shooters too. Neither my BDA nor my PPK bite me ...) If I amassed enough $$$ to buy a wartime matching P38 it would wind up being a safe queen. I get tired of safe queens ; I recently traded a pristine S&W m.40 nickel Lemon Squeezer for a shooter grade K38 Combat Masterpiece. The BDA really is an eye full , nice shooter , and who doesn't like proofmarks? My current inclination is to keep the Browning and look for a shooter P38. The lgs has a mismatched Mauser over Walther piece , wartime steel. I may give that a try. I could shoot the bejeebers out of it and not worry about it. Plus , my gun count would go up by 1 instead of breaking even.
Thank you all for your input. It was very helpful to me in terms of sorting out my thought process.
'Ski
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