I own a Silver Sporting 12 gauge and the barrel is chambered for 2.75" shells only. Will a Silver Hunter barrel with a 3" chamber fit the the Silver Sporting receiver? I can't see or find any reason why not but I want to make sure before ordering a barrel. Thanks in advance.
I have answered my own question. I took my Silver Sporting into a gun shop the shop owner laid my barrel along side a Silver Hunter barrel. Except for chamber length (2 3/4" vs 3") the two barrels are dimensionally identical. He even interchanged the barrels on the two guns and they fitted perfectly.
Before I took the trip to the gun store, I had emailed Browning Customer Service and asked about a barrel swap. The customer service rep said it couldn't be done because the barrel is matched to receiver. This didn't make any sense to me because the Silver Sporter and the Silver Hunter use the same receiver and there are no differences in internal milling. Nor are these shotguns custom/hand fitted; not at this price point, lol! Note the Silver Hunter is also available in a 3.5" chamber but I'm talking about the 3" receiver.
*Update* My new 3" chamber 26" barrel arrived from Browning today. Perfect fit and looks good. The 30" sporting barrel that came with the gun always felt a little too long for me.
Interesting. It’s always been my experience when calling that the least knowledgeable person always answers the phone! Good luck with you’re new barrel, and please let us know how it shoots.