Browning BDA .380 Upgrades

[hddriver1]

Hi,
I just purchased a Browning BDA .380 and I'm curious to know if there are upgrades that would be possible to do to the pistol? I know the front side is part of the slide but can anything be done with the rear sight? I suppose the front sight could be milled off and a dovetail cut in? It's nickel finished which is why I would like to change the sights out. Any other recommendations for reliability or accuracy?
Thanks
Pat

 

[BBBBill]

Interesting! Yes, the sights can be changed, but it would be a custom project as there are no BDA specific replacement sights. Same for its stablemate, the Beretta 84. I've heard, but not confirmed that sights for the Beretta 92 will work. Millett used to make pistol sights and had a Beretta 92 front that slipped over the existing front sight and was retained by a pin inserted through a hole that you drilled through the existing sight. Worked well enough, but wasn't the most attractive, IMO. That type of arrangement might work for you. Otherwise, one of the smiths that posts here occasionally has machined dovetails for new front sights on the Beretta 84 slide. Same process would work for the BDA since they are fratenal twins. Your nickle finish would be compromised, but that's the price you pay to play. Since the barrel is semi-fixed, the only thing that you could do there is fit a removeable cone bushing to the barrel to remove any loose play at the front. Not sure that would be of any real value, but it would be an interesting experiment. I think Canadians are required to have longer barrels in their pistols, so you could possibly rustle up one of those just for giggles. Maybe fit a tiny comp or thread it for a suppresor! LOL! My wife has a BDA that she shoots really well. Her tiny hands don't really fit the thick grip, so I got an extra set that I drastically thinned to fit her much better. I'm concerned about the long term durability of the grips and will duplicate them in Micarta or similar synthetic when I finish my duplicator build. The frame has a lot of extra material on the heal of the grip (think 1911 arched mainspring housing). If the finish were no concern, you could remove material there to better fit your particular hand if you wanted. Refinish would be one of the spray and bake or you could have it re-nickled. If you are relly serious about it, the biggest thing is to be willing to think outside the usual box when it comes to thes little guns. There are quite a few showing up on the used gun market now. You might consider getting one of the ones that have a rough finish (they are much less expensive) to do your experiment on. Mod away and refinish when complete.

 

[hddriver1]

Thank you for the response. I have a couple of inquires out to some smiths about having the sights changed to some combat night sights. I'll see what they have to say. The comp is thought, but I don't want to get too crazy since it'll be a carry gun. I'll look at some Canadian sites to see about a longer barrel, that's a good idea.
Pat