Browning Special Edition Sporting
I"m looking @ buying this shot gun from a coworker. I'm going to hunt birds with this gun. I can't find any info. Price/history/discription. Is it a clay gun or can it be used to hunt birds??? Can anyone help Me with this???? Browning Special Edition Sporting is what He is calling this shot gun. Hope someone can help Me with this. Thanx
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Is this an o/u or a gold auto? The only thing that might be against
use as a carry shooter (besides it being 'purdy wood') is thaey tend to be a little on the heavy side for sporting clays (less perceived recoil, more weight for smoother follow thru).0 -
Thanx for the info. It is an o/u. I know browning is a good line, but I can't seem to find a price or pictures. I think I may have found some info but not sure. A person on the internet calls he's gun a browning modle; special sporting clay edition 12 ga. I'm not sure if this may be the same gun or not. can you help with this?? I also found out they make belgem & japan guns. is it price that is defferent?? quality?? the ability to resell the gun?? how does one tell the two appart?? this will be my first shot gun purchase. I want it to be a smart one. thanx for your time & knowlage.
quote:Originally posted by allechalley
Is this an o/u or a gold auto? The only thing that might be against
use as a carry shooter (besides it being 'purdy wood') is thaey tend to be a little on the heavy side for sporting clays (less perceived recoil, more weight for smoother follow thru).0 -
Browning made a number of O/U clays guns IE: GTI, Special Sporting etc.. I have put more than 50,000 rounds thru a GTI, from skeet loads to steel "duck and goose" loads to 1 1/2oz "Baby Mags" to slugs, all without a problem.
Other than the weight and wood, the only drawback as a hunting shotgun is that they are all chambered for the 2 3/4" shells ONLY.
They are all baised on the Cetori, which is a Japan made gun (Superpoised are the Belgion built models).
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
Hello Cat, Welcome to the forum. Take a good look at the shotgun, bring pad and pencil. Note all the markings on the barrels. There will be wording like "Made in ..." which will tell you whether it is Jap, Belgian, etc. I have a Belgian FN Liege O/U and the serial number is under the lever. It also appears under the forestock. There is also info there regarding choke (*, **, etc). Note whether barrel muzzles are threaded for choke tubes. Jot your gun's serial number down and post it here (perhaps using "x" in place of the last two or three numerals, or go to Browning's (www.browning.com) website. The Browning serial numbers, although somewhat mystical, can be used to tell you roughly when the gun was made and what Browning called it. They came up with more names for their over/under shotguns than for any other of their firearms that I am aware. The shape of the gun's forestock (schnabel, etc) as well as the shape of the buttstock are helpful guides. There are some knowlegable folks here and some not so smart ones like me (but I do have a "blue book") that can give you ballpark dollar estimates. And a good source is to see what items like this one are listed for and have sold for on the GunBroker Auctions. Since you are contemplating a private purchase, be wary. Look for ringed barrels, sloppy lockup, etc. I trade with coworkers myself from time to time and we expect to fire a few rounds before doing the deal. Expect the prices to vary widely from $600 or $700 to $2600 or $2700. Good luck, Jim
timbroman@aol.com0 -
If it's a special sporting clays, it is 99% sure it is a japanese made (miroku) Citori. On the right upper side of the barrel ahead of the reciever should be Citori and the opposite side will say "made in Japan". The Special sporting Citori's where made from about 1989 to 1999 and may be named on the side plates. If of the Lightning version, it will have a English style wrist or very slight pistol grip, a narrower 3/8" barrel rib and varying forearms, mostly of a schnabel style, but I have seen even slighty beavertail type forearms. The GTI or Ultra will have a full pistol grip, probably a palm swell and a broadway barrel rib of 5/8" wide, and a beaver tail forearm. As mentioned, being a target type gun it will likely be a little heavier and a 2 3/4" chamber. Whether or not you want or need a 3" shell is a debatable matter. I have a friend who has a Berretta O/U with 3" chambers. After a few through the gun he decided that was enough of that.
If this is in nice shape, ect. the value by Blue Book is from $600 to
$1300. I have only seen one for less than $850 and had been scarred and had a Morgan pad on it. My guess is $900 to 1000 should get the job done, if it is nice. This is assuming ported barrels ($75 less without). I think these all had changable chokes, but check anyway. It should have two in the gun plus 2 more. You won't hurt yourself with a Browning. They generally have pretty good appeal everywhere, tho some regions prefer Berretta a little more, some Browning, ect.
Be sure you get a feel for the gun and look it over. As a Browning "wears in " , action release lever moves more and more to the left on lock up. This is an indicator only of how many times it's been opened. You will also find the serial # under the lever. Not to worry tho, as you can shoot many thousands of rounds before much wear will show up. A near new gun will have the lever to the right of the center line of the rear tang. Also, as has been done to so many old superposed from the 30's and 40's, after thousands of rounds the factory can retighten the action block like new.
The lightning version has a livelier feel and the weight feels more in the butt or action of the gun. The GTI or Ultra is more barrel heavy, weight forward for a smoother swing. This is mostly a matter of preference as the basic guns are virtually the same mechanically.0
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