Tell me about Browning

[QH's Paw]

I'm kicking around buying a Browning 12ga. BPS with a 28" barrel. It's black but, that makes zero difference to me.
So, my question to those who have or have had, how do/did you like it.
Is it worth $400. It's about 7-8 years old and the guy hasn't been using it for the last four seasons.
I'm only considering after a super Nova deal fell through.
I've never shot anything of Browning's except bows long ago.

[Feelin' Fowl]

Can't comment on the value, but the BPS is a good gun in my experience. My buddy has one, and loves it. I've shot it a few times, and other than it not being a Mossberg, I have no complaints. Swings well, and knocks birds down. I think it's one of the better pump guns...

[The Duck Hammer]

MSRP on a new one is $650. I've never shot one but they feel solid and I've never heard a bad thing about them. They're good for picking up hulls since they'll be right at your feet.


Sent from my Vox Mortem

[Bootlipkiller]

I had a friend in high school who had one and he abused the shit out of it. He shot everything with it ducks, geese, dove, cats, and whatever else he could find. Seemed like a good gun but when it did hang up "this was rare" it was a bitch to get the shell out with it ejecting out the bottom.


Sent from an undisclosed location on the river

[Tiler_J]

I had a friend in high school who had one and he abused the shit out of it. He shot everything with it ducks, geese, dove, cats, and whatever else he could find. Seemed like a good gun but when it did hang up "this was rare" it was a bitch to get the shell out with it ejecting out the bottom.


Sent from an undisclosed location on the river

X2. A buddy of mine has one, I have never shot ducks with it but I have shot a lot of clay pigeons with it. I liked the gun had a good feel to it. It was an issue getting a hung up shell out of it though. But he never cleaned the gun. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

[IndianaMallard64]

Super solid gun, Ive never shot a 12, but my dad has a 10 gauge that he loves. not his go to gun ,but he has for sure dropped a fair share of honkers with it. Id say pull the trigger on the reliable browning

[R. Chapman]

The feel solid and have a very slick action. The ones I've finger fucked around with had a smoothness between a Model 31 and a Wingmaster. The only thing I don't like about them is they're aren't lively enough for me. They seem to have a lot of weight forward, especially in the synthetic models. Great for most folks but, I prefer a quick and fast handling/pointing shotgun.

[DeadEye_Dan]

I owned one once. On my scale of 1-10, it was a 6-7.

Pros - patterned large shot extremely well (as most overbored guns will)
Fit and finish quality were better than average.

Cons - you can't take it apart. The manual says "do not disassemble" (which I took as a challenge. Yikes. I was several hours getting together). PITA.
It seems to me that it has a longer stroke than most pump guns, it also has a pinch point at the rear of the stroke.
It's heavy, compared to most any other pump (that can be good or bad, depending on your situation)

[NuffDaddy]

2 of my cousins I hunt with have them. They really like them and haven't had any problems so far.

[Rick]

The 3 1/2" BPS has been the most problematic pump gun through my blinds. Bad for prematurely dropping shells from the magazine tube onto the lifter fingers, which blocks the action from being opened. Those fingers are spring steel and not connected at the front, so dropped shells can be pried out to free the action, but that won't get your birds back.

[Tomkat]

Why is the dude selling it?

I am kind of funny in that if a gun has some problems feeding or ejecting, I sell them.
That goes for pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Was his gun malfunctioning?

[Flightstopper]

Can't help you here Q. The bottom ejection is something I could never get my head to work around. Rick and Dan seem to cover it for you.

[banknote]

I bought one a year ago for same price. Wood stock and 10 years old. Condition was perfect except for scratches on barrel. I've managed to scratch it up some more, but no problems. Was recommended by a friend as very reliable and so far so good. Got a couple Briley chokes with it, M and LM. The LM works best all around for me. Haven't tried factory chokes, but only have the M. I'm used to bottom eject and like it. Weight if the gun is nice in blind but not great for carrying. Also wish it was easier to take down beyond just removing the barrel.

[QH's Paw]

Thanks guys. That is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. If I can't field strip it, I won't own it.
TK, I get what you mean. I have never sold any gun I bought or was given. Of course, I'm not a gun nut and, don't buy them often either.
Rick, I would think you see the most varying conditions and style of "hunters" and their equipment. I appreciate the heads up on eject and feed issues. That coupled with the no field stripping is a deal breaker.
I think tear down being possible in the field, like Benellis and Rem 870s, is what I prefer. It's just something in my mind from having been in the military. If I have to carry a "standby" weapon, I've got the wrong tool for the job in the first place.

Thanks again everyone for the input.
Hell, maybe it's time to consider an autoloader, SBE2 maybe.

[assateague]

I never knew that, either. Not being able to field strip any gun or rifle is a deal breaker for me.

[The Duck Hammer]

A5's are nice autos......


Sent from my Vox Mortem

[Rick]

Might could take a lot of experience to tear one down, but we had a guide who had to regularly take down his 10ga BPS to keep it running right, and I saw it apart at the camp several times, so I know it can be done. Don't, however, know what its particular hitch was, only what I've dealt with time and again in the field.

[hudson]

I had a bps 10, it didnt like to fire in cold weather and it was kept clean.i have a pump 870 wingmaster thats easy to strip down and has never gave me one problem

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[Tomkat]

I love my Beretta AL390 Silver Mallard.

I was grinding the fuck out of clays with it when jarbo and GKR were over last week. I have like $600 in it, and there are other deals out there Mike.

Benelli fits me perfect, but I have nothing bad to say about any beretta I ever shot.

[MuddyWaterWarlock]

I have two BPS's, one in 12 and the other a 10. They are a little heavier than the common pump gun. They are also easy to short stroke. As far as tear down, I have heard that over and over and laugh my ass off. There are only a couple of differences in design compared to the Mossberg 500.
1. On the trigger group there is a half moon thru pin that has to be in a certain position to put the trigger group back in.
2. The tolerances in the gun are much tighter and fit better.
3. It is bottom eject.
That is it. They are very simple to take apart, clean and reassemble. The two extractors are easy to bend if you are trying to force it back together. They are very durable pump guns, my 12 has been thru hell and back and keeps on ticking. The 10 was bought because early 12 gauge steel sucked and I got tired of chasing crippled geese around in the boat. Steel is better now so the 10 rarely gets used. I place the BPS well above the Nova. Otherwise just go get an old 500 or 870 and be done with it

[Slingshot]

I have to say I would never own another pump other than my BPS , It will hand with any gun out there hands down. Took it to Kenneth Missouri on a conservation snow goose hunt a few years ago, Flat out smoked the the geese with it. Now this gun only has a 3inch chamber.Shot hevi bb's it never jams.... no shell's fall out....Had a front blow in a froze the whole dam place up...All them boys did was cry about there High dollar auto's jamming and froze up, now mind you I hunt the salt Also 80% of the time with this same gun.

[RonE]

When steel shot was being touted, just before it became mandatory, I bought a BPS because I didn't own a 3" Mod 12 with a choke open enough to shoot steel shot. The BPS was a great gun until I sold it in favor of the Remington 11-87. Looking to get another BPS on Wednesday if it looks alright when I meet the seller. Looks like $300 or less will buy it. It will become a standby/loaner shotgun.

[ea oneal]

had one about 4 year,s ago and was a fine gun.reason i got it was it did not like reload,s ,not trying to say all are like this .but that one jammed a lot with reload,s and i used some stuff out of 3 different guy,s load,s .factory stuff shoot allday .one i had was new and was still good as new day i gave to step sister,s boy .kid,s shot hell out it. is hard to clean ,like the man say,s do not take it apart .he pull,s stock,forearm off spray,s it out oil,s it and shoot,s it. kid say,s more u shoot it better it get,s .and like i say he has used the hell out of it!!