[newguy]

I'm trying to find out if in fact Browning made some new BDA's in 2006. I heard that at the 2006 Shot Show Browning took orders for BDA .380's with a bright or high gloss/polish nickel finish. I've seen a pic online http://www.blueridgeoutdoorsports.com/product902.html

and the finish on this BDA definitely looks like a much brighter
finish than any NIB BDA's from 1980-1997 that I've seen. Also, the grip looks to be a darker wood.

If anyone knows if what I heard is in fact correct, and Browning did take orders in 06 for these, or if this is just a renickel job on an older model, please let me know.

 

[Fuelburns2]

I've been told by a local gun shop that the 2006 guns were new old stock that had been found somewhere in a warehouse. Whether its true or not I don't know.

 

[newguy]

Wow, really? "New old stock." Does that mean new guns that were lost, or simply not sold before they were discontinued, strange. Thanks for the info.

 

[Fuelburns2]

My understanding was that they were not sold and forgotten in storage then rediscovered. I wish I had more concrete information for you than what I was told.

 

[cavejac]

I thought they were unavailable until I saw them (in nickel and blue) at Cabelas in Buda Texas. Reg price was $619, but was on sale for $549. I grabbed it, having seen them some time ago on line. There is no date on it, so I don't know how old it is. Does anyone know how to determine manufacture date? If not, guess I'll call Browning.

I am confused, however, regarding the true manufacturer. It disassembles like a Beretta and the slide is stamped "Made in Italy", but the salesman told me it was made by FN, whose full name is also stamped on the barrel. It also has several stamped markings on the frame, one being "PB" in a circle which I assume is a Beretta marking. Strange!

 

[newguy]

Congrats on finding one of these beauties! I have also recenty found success. I've been on the hunt for one since I saw this pic;

http://www.blueridgeoutdoorsports.com/product902.html

I also located mine at Cabela's. I spoke to Browning and the deal with these is this;
Browning "made" these BDA .380's from 1980 to 1997. For some unknown reason at the 2005 Shot Show Browning took orders for a number of BDA .380's that were to come in a "bright" nickel finish and a high gloss blue.
As you can see in the pic, that nickel finish is much glossier that the originals.

Browning told me that they had again taken another order that went out to Cabela's in WV (and then redistributed to various Cabela's) in december of 2007, this time they made 400.

Regarding your question of FN, and Beretta. The Browning BDA .380 is made by Beretta, it is a variation on the Beretta 84 Cheetah. So, it is made in Italy by Beretta for FN Herestral in Belgium for Browning. Whhew.

That said, they are gorgeous guns.

 

[cavejac]

Thanks for the info newguy. I too talked to Browning (just before I got your reply) and they confirmed what you said. The lady I talked to said that they made 1500 nickel and 1000 blued models. While at Cabelas, I had the choice of either model with dark or light wood grips. I chose the nickel with lighter colored grips.

When I disassembled it the other night for cleaning, I noticed how heavy the slide was and how light the frame was. Thought maybe it was aluminum (slide is definitely steel), but I was told that the nickel plating will not stick to aluminum. Just seems too light to be steel, but I was assured that it was.

Also went to the Browning web sight to find the year of manufacture. My serial number has "MN" which, according to their scale, means it was manufactured in 2009! I called Browning again and they told me it was mis-stamped and the year should have been 2006.

I also noticed that the gun came with no warranty card. They said I needed to call the Service Dept. (800-322-4626, x863) to determine the warranty coverage. Haven't called yet.

 

[newguy]

Thank you back cavejac. I am still waiting for mine, I should get it in the next day or two. I didn't know that Cabela's offered them in either dark or light wood grips. Would you say that the pic in my first posting above is what your BDA looks like. I mean, is the bright nickel finish really as bright as the pic illustrates? And I guess the BDA in the above pic has the dark grips, right? I guess if they send me the lighter grips I can send them back for the darker ones. I am obviously quite taken with the BDA in picture, and I hope the one I have just purchased is the spitting image of it.

Some more info you might be interested in. Prior to Cabela's receiving however many they did, Davidson's, or Gallery of Guns, AZ, were the exclusive distributor of these new BDA's. It was actually a VP at Davidson's that put me on track to Cabela's.

 

[cavejac]

newguy - I think you will really like the BDA with the lighter grips if that is what they send you. I selected the light wood because of the visible wood grain (I, too, originally wanted the darker grips). Regarding the nickel finish, it is "shiny" but not blazingly white. It is a beuatiful weapon! The only thing I don't like about it is the light-weight frame. But, I know if Beretta was involved in its design or manufacture, it is a solid, dependable firearm. Let me know what you get ands your impression of it.

 

[newguy]

cavejac--i just found out that i will be getting mine on saturday. i don't mean to beat a Barbaro, but would you say that this pic

http://www.blueridgeoutdoorsports.com/product902.html

is an accurate representation of the gun, your gun i mean? Regardless, I will love the pistol. The only reason I am leaning towards obsession with this pic is b/c this is the idea of what I had been expecting, ntil recently I have seen a couple of pics of BDA's that have been described as "bright" nickel finishes, and they did not look nearly as bright as the picture of the BDA in the Blue Ridge Outdoor link above.
I did speak to someone at the store in the above link, and the guy confirmed that this was one of the guns from the 05 Shot Show orders.
Anyway, let me know what you think and I 'll stop harassing you about it.

 

[cavejac]

OK - We know from all the advertising images we see that seldom does the "real" item look as it does in the picture. I am a tech writer who has to edit/modify/adjust digital images every day. Depending upon the brightness/contrast/gamma used during the editing, an item can look significantly different in various views. I am sure the image of the BDA you like looks "brighter" because of the level of lighting used. Sometimes it is harder to get an accurate image (balance) when the contrast is as high as it is in the BDA photo. To bring the metal down in brightness would make the grips too dark. To bring the grips up in brightness would make the metal too bright. My BDA has a reflective surface with a more beige tinge, probably because of the light wood grips, still a good contrast which I like very much. If you give me your email, I can send you a picture of the type I have. ([email protected]) You are much like me, I anticipate (like) one thing and I end up getting something different. But that is the world we live in. Surely the Cabelas where you will get the gun has ordered more than one to restock their inventory. When I bought mine, the salesman brought out all four of their nickel stock to the counter and I picked the one I wanted. I hope this helps.