Unknown Browning Citori
I have checked with several sites and none seem to show Brownings designation for my Citori serial no. ******PNN43. It is stocked with a straight stock 1-9/16" at both comb and heel (long tang)and full bevertail forearm (3 screw). Barrels ID'ed as 30" with Invector chokes 2-3/4 chambers, Browning and made in Japan. The Browning website says it was built in 1989 (PN)but there is no listing for the N43 designation. Does anyone have this info? All the other listed "43" are trap grades.
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Got pics you can post? Sounds like the Citori Superlight,Invector chokes became standard on them in 1988. I know they made them but I've never seen one with 30" barrels. Have any Idea what the grade is?
"Aim small...Miss small"0 -
didnt we go over this a long time ago? i have the 1989 catalog in front of me. no citori gun was ever offered with a straight stock and a beavertail forearm. the only guns chambered for 2 3/4" only were the 'upland special' and the 'superlight.' neither were 30" bbls. the only guns with straight stock and 30" bbl were the 'hunting model and the 'lightning.' both were magnums. my guess is, someone swapped the stock or had it special ordered. as far as being a marketed item, there is no data to support it. a good guess would be it was ordered, bought, and, brought back to usa from a japan based serviceman. the 'n' maybe a country export designator. if you can, take off the stock and forearm and compare serial numbers. if they arent the same, its the old swapola.[:I]
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, former navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0 -
All serial numbers match and it is a full beavertail with 3 hole target type forearm bracket, it is long tang on the stock grip. I will get some pics tonite and post them. I did not mention that it has a high post rib. My orignal thoughts were that it was a skeet model, but I could find no skeets with 30" barrels, and with the cost of replacement stocks for Brownings it seems unlikely that they would have been exchanged. I would more favor the special order idea, but the wood appears to just be normal type grain, nothing like something that someone would pay to have put on special unless they were looking for the comb/heel drop. Will post pics asap. 0 -
ok, all 30" high rib citoris in 2 3/4" only in 1989 were trap guns. count the vent rib posts. include the one the front bead is in. there should be 13. what grade is your gun. what kind of engraving is on the receiver? sounds to me like a special order trap gun with a superlight stock ordered for it. does the straight stock have a red pad or buttplate? 0 -
Never use absolutes when it comes to Browning firearms.
Remember that 1989 was a big year for Browning, saw the introduction of the Sporting Clays guns. My educated guess is that this shotgun is a non-catalogued version of the new (and hot) sporting clays Citori, possibly before the standard configurations were finalized. Major distributors often had Browning produce a non-catalogued version of a standard SKU so they could have 'available exclusively from' bragging rights. Bill Hicks comes to mind.
We were placing quarter-million dollar annual orders with Browning in '89. Not enough to get our OWN non-catalogued run but we did occasionally get offered over-runs. Usually high-grades though.
Scrappy Doo sleeps with the fishes.0 -
the 'special sporting' clays model was a high rib gun offered in 32, 30, and 28" only or 2 bbl set that year. it had 30" 2 3/4" chambers but they were fixed chokes only. the only gun that had invector chokes standard in a 30" bbl was the new GTI model introduced that year, but it was low rib. the 'lightning clays high rib' version was 30" but again, fixed chokes only. it would be intersting to pursue the catalog companies that marketed the browning line that year i/e: cabelas, etc... maybe they had a special run as suggested by c.g.smith. 0 -
Bobski, I have photos, but being new on here I haven't figured out how yet. I think you guy's misintereted my "straight stock" wording. I meant the 1-9/16 comb/heel drop,It does have a grip... . 13 is the count on the high rib posts. .I'n not sure what you mean by grade, and how do I positivley identify grade. It had a black rubber Pacmyar pad when I got it. 0 -
ahhhhhha! see, a 'straight stock' is a stock without a pistol grip! its sometimes refered to as an english stock. a straight trap stock is a trap stock w/o a monte carlo! nowwwww its gonna be easier to i.d.! what kind of art is etched on the receiver? 0 -
ok, you have a 1989 browning citori 'conventional', 30" high post rib, 30" invector chokes. 2 3/4" chambers, 47" OL, 8lbs - 7 oz, offered in grades 1,3,and 6. 1 is simple rose etching. 3 is silver receiver with french engraving. 6 is elaborate deep relief w/ mouth dripping gold inlay stuff! 0 -
Ok Bobski, Thanks, I now believe it to be just the grade one, however, back to my original question, if this gun is common why isn't the N43 designation listed in date/type Browning ID listings?
Learn from the mistakes of others, for you won't live long enough to make them all yourself....0
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