Browning Silver Shotgun Reviews

Discussion in 'Browning Silver Shotgun' started by Billythekid, Mar 20, 2011.

  1. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    Browning Silver
    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74299n0t2q0[/youtube]
  2. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    http://www.shootingtimes.com/longgun_re ... ng_200712/

    Browning's Silver Hunter Triumphs

    The Silver Hunter
    Browning's newest autoloader, the Silver line, is built on an aluminum- alloy frame and employs a gas-operated, semiautomatic action. With several stock and finish options, as well as a few 3 1/2-inch variants, you can have your Silver just about any way you want it as long as it's a 12 gauge. I chose to evaluate the classic wood-stocked Silver Hunter with 3-inch chamber and 28-inch barrel.

    The Silver Hunter's receiver has an attractive matte silver (of course) finish. It has a nice, trim profile that fits nicely in my small hands. The receiver has a bevel near the back of the receiver, then flows neatly into the stock. The top of the receiver has a distinctive semi-humpback design that is reminiscent of the old Browning Auto 5, albeit on a smaller scale. Just below and to the front of the ejection port is a carrier-release button. An unusual, oversized triangular safety button with a knurled surface lies just behind the trigger guard that houses the classic Browning gold trigger.

    The Silver Hunter's barrel has an attractive deep-blue finish and a fairly light profile. It has a ventilated rib with a white bead out front. The rib, a semi-humpback design, and the serrated receiver top make for an eye-catching sight picture. The barrel is threaded for Browning's Invector-Plus choke tubes, three of which come with the gun (IC, M, F).

    The heart of the Silver Hunter is its self-adjusting Active Valve gas system. As with most gas systems, the Browning system directs gas from fired shells through ports in the barrel to the gas piston. The gases move the piston and gas sleeve rearward, which forces the bolt to the rear and operates the action. Active Valve differs from competing systems in that it doesn't direct any more gas than is needed back into the action.

    When shooting light loads, the Active Valve system uses most of the expended gases to operate the action. With magnum loads, Active Valve only uses as much gas as necessary to operate the action and vents the rest through the Active Valve, out the top of the forearm, and away from the receiver for clean, reliable operation.

    Because the gas piston and Active Valve operate independently, less pressure is exerted on the gas piston. This amounts to greater longevity and more efficient operation than many competing models. The Active Valve expels unnecessary gases out the front rather than driving them back towards the shooter; therefore, it significantly reduces felt recoil, which means faster follow-ups and greater all-day shooting comfort on the clays range or in the duck blind.

    The test gun had an attractive walnut stock with a satin finish and well-executed checkering. The wood was dark and attractive, although somewhat straight-grained. It had a satin finish, rather than the traditional Browning gloss. The stock was capped with a cushy, 1-inch ventilated recoil pad. Length of pull was 14.25 inches.

    Special Touches
    So far, the Silver sounds pretty much like the rest of Browning's autoloaders. But Browning did make a few changes to simplify the Silver line, thereby making it less expensive and possibly even more reliable, despite its lower price tag.

    First, Browning's engineer borrowed the one-piece carrier from sister company Winchester's Super X3. The SX3 has enjoyed an enviable reputation for reliability, so Browning's engineers studied the SX3 on high-speed film and decided that its simpler one-piece carrier was one of the keys to its reliability.

    However, the one-piece carrier does not allow the speed-loading feature the Browning Gold shotgun utilizes. Still, the speed-loading system is something I can live without if it means more reliability.

    A DIRTY JOB
    I could have left the gun as-is and wiped off the exterior for photographs after my 1,100-round shootout, but my conscience wouldn't let me. I had to give the Silver Hunter a thorough cleaning before I could get a good night's sleep. Fortunately, the miracles of modern chemistry made clean-up a snap.

    I do not use cleaner-degreasers as a matter of course, but they are a huge help when cleaning up any gun that's been neglected or subjected to a high round count without a cleaning. I used the Brownells TCE Cleaner Degreaser to clean up the Silver Hunter. A few blasts from the aerosol can were all I needed to make the working parts sparkle.

    Next, I used Birchwood Casey Barrel Boss and a bit of Brownells Shotgun Wad Solvent to clean the bore. I used Briley's excellent Turbo Choke Cleaner liberally soaked with Wad Solvent to scrub the chokes, and then I followed up with a few passes of the Barrel Boss soaked with Shooter's Choice.

    Finally, I lubricated the working parts with Shooter's Choice. Be sure to lubricate liberally after using a cleaner-degreaser because it strips all the lubricant off the metal; you are literally starting with bare steel. --Greg Rodriguez
    Some of the Silver's other changes are less noticeable. For example, the cartridge stop is built into the cartridge latch rather than on the slide. Also, the Silver's action does not have to maintain a delicate balance between the action spring and the magazine spring. These features combine to prevent the shells in the magazine from trying to open the action when the shotgun is resting on its butt.

    Putting It To The Test
    I really liked the Silver Hunter. The 7.5-pound gun felt good in my hands, and it fit surprisingly well, despite the fact that the length of pull was a half-inch too long for my short, stocky frame. I was anxious to put it through its paces--but not in a conventional manner.

    Grange really emphasized the Silver Hunter's reliability when we first talked about the gun, so I decided to put his claims to the test and try to make the review gun cry "uncle." I called up Winchester Ammunition and had them send over four cases of Winchester's superb AA clays loads for my little experiment. If 1,000 rounds without cleaning or lubrication didn't stop the test gun, I reasoned, nothing would.


    At the first opportunity, I took the Silver Hunter to the Rio Brazos shooting preserve near Simonton, Texas, to test it on hard-flying chukars and sporting clays. Some may have negative images of preserve birds, but the Rio Brazos's birds fly fast and hard, and the sporting clays course there is an ever-changing nightmare for even the most experienced clays shooters. Fortunately, manager Robert Young keeps a special "corporate" course for more challenged shooters like yours truly.

    I started out the day hunting with my friend John Wood. I am not sure how many rounds of game loads I fired, but it had to be at least 100 based on the number of birds we shot. The Silver Hunter handled nicely and came up quickly, which certainly contributed to my excellent hit rate.

    After a hearty lunch, I drove over to the clays course with Young and another friend, James Jeffrey, who offered to lend me his considerable shoulder for the duration of the endurance test. Since I had already fired a little over 100 rounds through the gun and still had 1,000 rounds to go, I sprayed a bit of FP-10 into the action before opening up the first case and bringing on the pain.

    o get a better feel for the gun, Jeffrey and I fired Young's corporate course with the Silver Hunter. We fired 200 rounds at a pretty good clip, and the gun didn't even stutter.

    Next, we opened all the cases and commenced to shootin'. I fired the first 100 rounds--half at clay targets and half into a small hill across the pond. Next, Jeffrey fired four boxes into the hill. We fired all the rounds as fast as we could load the gun, yet the gun didn't falter. A closer examination revealed that the Silver Hunter was not as dirty or hot as I would have expected. That's clear evidence of the Active Valve sending unused gas and gunk out the front of the gun rather than back into the action.

    The gun was still working fine, so we took turns loading and shooting as fast as we could. At about round 600, my "friend" Jeffrey said he'd had enough. "Maybe your job isn't so great," he opined. No kidding.

    Fortunately, Young was game for a little bit of shooting, so we kept going. At round 670, the Silver started to feel a bit balky. It continued to run, but I couldn't help but think its flawless run was about to end. Then, as suddenly as it started, the clunky feeling disappeared, and the gun continued on without missing a beat. I can only assume that whatever piece of crud was binding the action worked its way out somehow.

    All told, we fired 1,000 rounds of sporting clays loads and about 100 rounds of field loads without cleaning the shotgun. Through it all, the Silver Hunter performed flawlessly. Jeffrey and Young were a big help, but I still ended up running more than half those rounds myself in less than 3 hours. My head ached, my neck was a bit sore, and my thumb looked like it had been run through a meat grinder. But the gun was no worse for wear.


    After taking a few Advil, I gave the Silver Hunter a thorough examination. The inside of the action was dirty, but it was not as filthy as I expected it to be, based on my experience with other brands of shotguns. The bolt was a bit tougher to pull back than it was before the shootout began, but the stiffness was not enough to be a bother, and it disappeared after I cleaned and lubed the gun.

    Further disassembly revealed a dirty bolt carrier and gas piston, but both parts were in better condition than I expected. The trigger group was also surprisingly clean. Mechanically, everything worked as well as it did when I started, and the cosmetic stuff cleaned up pretty easily.

    I test a great many guns. At the conclusion of my testing, I weigh the pros and cons of each gun. In the end, it always comes down to one question: "Would I buy one?"

    Browning's Silver Hunter certainly possesses many of the qualities I admire in a shotgun. It is reliable, feels good in my hands, has some smart design features like the Active Valve gas system, and is attractive to my eye. And perhaps most importantly in my book, it is a great value. I may not purchase the test gun just yet, but next time I'm in the market for a sporting shotgun, you can bet that Browning's Silver Hunter will be at the top of the list.
  3. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    http://www.shotgunlife.com/Peer-Review/ ... tning.html

    Peer Review: The Browning Silver Lightning

    I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been suffering from a mid-life crisis, but ultimately I really wanted to prove that a mainstream semi-auto like the Browning Silver Lightning still had what it takes in our digital era of composite gladiators such as the Maxus and Vinci.

    I was in a similar state of mind as when I had turned 30 and happened to be on assignment as a reporter in New Orleans. As I found myself hurling toward senility, there was no better town to prove that I still had what it takes to party till dawn. (Unfortunately, when my wife and I were packing up to move several years later she came across a photo taken that night of me in Pat O’Brien’s hanging off two babes, my eyes sort of ga-ga and my tongue lolling around.)

    I wanted to pursue the mortal limits of the Silver Lightning in the same way I put myself through the wringer on that wicked night long ago in New Orleans.

    And with that tender thought in mind, I decided to try and kill it. I had weather and timing on my side, but the Silver Lightning is one of those stoic shotguns that can go on to become a family heirloom. With their reliability taken for granted, they are subject to more neglect than most, but persist in their endurance.

    Like most of us, the Silver Lightning does a highly competent job without fanfare or hype. Browning’s Silver Lightning won’t cause your buddies to drool with envy. You won’t find dazzling decals on the stock declaring it an inertia-driven marvel. Nor will your Silver Lightning take the crown in a gun-rack beauty show.

    But what the Peer Review Posse discovered is that the Browning Silver Lightning will exceed your expectations for reliability and handling. Tweaked for the 21st century by Browning engineers, the Silver Lightning is an old-school semi-auto in the most endearing way possible.

    As fortune would have it, I was off to a good start when it came to stress-testing the Silver Lightning.

    When shotgun manufacturers circulate review models to the media, the specimen that usually arrives in the box has already been manhandled pretty heavily (it’s sort of like rock stars with hotel rooms). You’ll get shotguns that have burned through tens of thousands of rounds in Argentina with zero maintenance, or shotguns with barrel bores so encrusted that the screw-in chokes refused to budge.

    The Silver Lightning I received had been thrashed, judging by the scratches on the wood and carbon-charred chamber (although the choke did unscrew). But nothing rattled on the shotgun and the wood-to-metal fit remained tight. There was no slack in the trigger and the bolt shut with clear authority. When I mounted the Silver Lightning it felt right and true.

    So while this Silver Lightning had already gone a few, bruising rounds it still had legs. That was good, because looking at the 10-day weather forecast a spring storm front was racing my way. I knew it would be my opportunity to inflict a heaping measure of watery abuse on the shotgun. If Mother Nature cooperated, the plan was to run 500 rounds through the shotgun during the worst of the impending downpours. I figured with a name like Lightning, if the gun couldn’t stand up to the rain it was sure to receive a double-thumbs down from the Peer Review Posse.

    My ground rules were simple: get the gun as wet as possible (without throwing it in a lake) and never clean it or dry it. No oil or solvent or rag would touch the Silver Lightning on my watch.

    Since it was too early in the year for wingshooting, I would put the shotgun through its torture test by shooting sporting clays, trap and five-stand.

    I couldn’t ask the rest of the Peer Review Posse to be as fanatical when it came to evaluating the Silver Lightning in the rain, and so their comments, which follow below, were rendered under more reasonable shooting conditions.

    At first it was hard to tell how the Silver Lightning would hold up. The shotgun was positioned in the Browning semi-auto line-up between the new Maxus fighter jet and the more traditional 10-gauge Browning Gold.

    The heartbeat of the Maxus is the state-of-the-art Power Drive Gas System. Its gas piston features larger exhaust ports to dump gases faster on heavy loads. The piston also has a 20-percent longer stroke travel to reliably handle lighter loads. It’s a completely different beast than the Browning Silver or Gold shotguns. Designed from a clean sheet of paper, the Maxus was intended to inflect devastation on the duck-hunting killing fields of Mississippi, South Dakota and Alberta under the harshest conditions endured by the baddest, macho, camo-clad warriors ever to set foot in a blind.

    For the rest of us who enjoy a waterfowl adventure that starts at 4 am with flapjacks and bacon, the Browning design team wanted the Silver and Gold to prove a reliable and competent companion. The Silver and Gold share the same DNA. Both employ identical trigger groups and are built around Browning’s self-adjusting Active Valve gas system.

    As Browning explains it, the Active Valve system is designed to cut recoil to the shoulder caused by gas expelled from spent shells. When shooting light loads in the Silver and Gold shotguns, most of the gasses drive the action. With heavier magnum loads, however, only a fraction of gas operates the action. The Active Valve vents the remaining gases through the forend and away from the receiver. By diverting the gasses through the front of the shotgun, the recoil is reduced at the shoulder.

    The Silver’s suggested retail prices of between $1,079 and $1,419 make most models only marginally less expensive than the Maxus, which can list for between $1,199 and $1,379. Meanwhile, the three models in the Browning Gold line-up range in price from $1,579 to $1,639.

    Browning’s family of Silver semi-autos includes 13 models. They are available in several finishes and include slug guns for taking down deer. The Silver Lightning features a gloss, walnut stock with the Lightning-style forend that we found was well-matched in grain and finish.

    Across the entire line of Browning shotguns, the Lightning designation means you’re getting a forend sans the Schnabel pout but tapered toward the front for faster maneuverability. Combined with the satin-finish receiver, 1-inch ventilated recoil pad, gold trigger and ventilated rib on the 28-inch barrel, the Silver Lightning was the picture of a classic semi-auto.

    Any questions about the Silver’s lineage should be put to rest when you recognize that Browning describes the aluminum alloy design of the receiver as “semi-humpback.”

    Sound familiar? It should because the Browning Automatic 5 shotgun was the first mass produced semi-auto. It had the distinctive profile of a raised receiver that flowed into the barrel but abruptly dropped down into the stock, as though sliced on a Tootsie-Roll assembly line. Over the years, the A-5 earned the endearing nickname of “Humpback.” Designed and manufactured by John Browning in 1898, the inertia-driven “Humpback” A-5 saw continued production through 1998 – firmly establishing the A-5 in the annals of shotgun history.

    Given the number of years I had already taken off my life expectancy during that single night in New Orleans I certainly didn’t anticipate hanging around long enough to see if the Silver Lightning now laying on my bench would survive even the next decade.

    All the equipment was now in place for the shotgun’s trial by water: the Browning Silver with its 28-inch barrels, the three Invector-Plus chokes that came with the gun (Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full), the owner’s manual (just in case) and 25 boxes of Federal 12-gauge, 2¾-inch, 1? ounce, #8s packed with lead shot and rated at 1,200 fps. I grabbed the cheapest, flimsiest gun sleeve in my possession and tucked the gun away. The only thing left to do was pray for rain.

    First stop was my home club, the Loch Raven Skeet and Trap Center in Phoenix, Maryland. It has two voice-controlled trap fields that work perfectly fine in the rain, and with the steady downpour in progress I was off to a good start.

    When I arrived there, I put the Silver Lightning on the gun rack of a trap field, went back to the club for my gear but got caught up chatting around with some of the regulars. I would say I was in the club house for about 20 minutes, the Silver Lightning just sitting out there in the mean time. The gloss finish on the wood beaded the rain, as it would continue to do over the next three days.

    I shot 100 rounds of wobble trap from the 16-yard line, going through four boxes of shells (plus a few extra shots). One aspect of the Silver Lighting that immediately impressed me was its forward ejection system – eliminating the possibility of hitting other squad members to the right (a pet peeve). Naturally, the forward ejection would be appreciated in a blind.

    At first the trigger felt a bit stiff, but that soon passed. The other feature I liked about the shotgun was its large triangular safety designed for shooting with gloves. With a Modified choke, the low-flying birds could be shot dead-on, but the high-fliers needed some float off the muzzle. True to its name, the Silver Lightning handled very quickly without running away on the wide sweepers. In fact, you would think it weighed less than its 7 lbs., 6 oz.

    Shooting it, I didn’t feel any recoil to the shoulder, but there was slight jar to my cheek. Part of the problem may have been that the shotgun was wet and slippery, but when I finished there was no experience of lasting discomfort you would find with some real thumpers. Maybe I got used to it over the next few days, but ultimately recoil never proved to be an issue during the 500-round test.

    Most important, though, of the 100 shells that cycled through the gun none of them jammed.

    The following day I went to Central Penn Sporting Clays in Wellsville, Pennsylvania. It sprinkled throughout the 100 rounds of shooting. Central Penn can throw some very fast targets, many of them crossing mid-trajectory. The Silver Lightning handled beautifully and I shot in the high end of my range. Once again, the shotgun did not jam at all.

    On the third day of my testing, I returned to Loch Raven Skeet and Trap for a few rounds of 5-stand. There was very heavy rain and I really felt bad for my stalwart trapper. During my 100 rounds, the shotgun jammed twice, once during the third game and once during the fourth game.

    As I was ready to leave, I saw a couple of guys shooting skeet. Turned out they couldn’t wait to try a new Savage over/under that one of them just bought. I asked if I could join them and we shot two games together for another 50 rounds. The Browning Silver performed flawlessly.

    I still had 150 rounds to shoot to meet my 500 goal and opted for sporting clays at the Prince George’s County Skeet and Trap Center in Glen Dale, Maryland. It was now the fourth consecutive day of shooting in the rain without cleaning, drying or oiling the Browning Silver.

    On that day the rain was torrential. The clubhouse regulars started making wise cracks that someone was crazy enough to actually shoot in this miserable weather. It was a good thing that Prince George’s uses an electronic controller with a solo-delay feature, because their only trapper, engaged in a texting frenzy, didn’t want to go out in the rain.

    I grabbed a cart and took off to Station 1. I have to admit that by now I was getting pretty disgusted with being wet all the time. The Silver Lightning cooperated on this last, wettest day. Of the 150 rounds fast rounds I put through the shotgun, only one didn’t cycle.

    In the end, of the 500 wet rounds that I shot with the Browning Silver I experienced only three jams – all of them on the second shot. Of course, some of that could be chalked up to user error – not holding the gun tight enough against my shoulder to cycle the next shot, not loading it properly or even a bad shell. When all is said and done, I thought that under the grueling circumstances three jams out of 500 rounds was pretty darn good for this semi-auto.
  4. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    http://www.americanhunter.org/ArticlePa ... 450&cid=63

    Browning Silver Rifled Deer Stalker
    The Silver Rifled Deer is accurate with sabot slugs, it provides very fast follow-up shots and the gas system reduces recoil effectively.

    Where I grew up hunting only slug guns were legal and deer drives ruled. Everyone shot an unrifled barrel, often with only a bead sight. Hunters prized autoloading shotguns for their ability to put rounds in the air quickly-"shelling out" was the local term. Over the last 20 years, sabot slugs and rifled barrels have changed the way we hunt in slug country. There are still plenty of gang hunts, but to an increasing number of hunters, a well-placed shot trumps rate of fire. Browning's new Silver Rifled Deer fits into either hunting style; it's accurate with sabot slugs, it provides very fast follow-up shots and the gas system reduces recoil effectively.



    With its slightly hump-backed receiver, Browning's Silver autoloader deliberately evokes the company's classic Auto-5. The receiver profile, however, is the end of the similarities between the two guns. The venerable A-5 uses a reliable but hard-kicking long-recoil action, while the thoroughly modern, soft-shooting Silver is gas-operated. Basically, the Silver is the Browning Gold, without the magazine cut-off or speed loading features. The Silver's design lends itself easily to any application, from sporting clays to shooting slugs-which brings us to the new Silver Rifled Deer Stalker.



    The new slug version of the Silver comes in three styles: a walnut and matte metal version; an all black synthetic gun; and a synthetic gun finished in Mossy Oak New Break-Up. All three are 3-inch 12 gauges with 22-inch rifled barrels. As I already had a 28-inch vent ribbed, wood-stocked Silver in the house, I asked Browning to send me a rifled barrel for it. With that barrel in place, my gun was identical to the wood-stocked slug gun with the exception of sling swivels.
 


    Before I received the slug barrel, I shot pheasants and clay targets with the Silver and a 28-inch vent rib barrel. I put 1500 rounds through the gun with exactly three malfunctions, one of which occurred before the gun was broken in. The majority of shells through it have been my own slow 7/8 and 3/4 ounce reloads; that's outstanding reliability.



    The Silver's gas system is a model of simplicity, consisting of just three parts: the "active valve"/piston, a composite buffer and action rod, and a return spring. The active valve meters the gas from the barrel ports, venting away any excess not needed to drive the action. The Silver gas system is among the softest recoiling designs I've tried (not all gas guns reduce recoil equally) and it's very easy to take apart and put back together.



    My extra slug barrel came with another forearm contoured to fit the rifled barrel, which has thicker, heavier walls than the vent rib barrel. With the rifled barrel installed, the gun weighed 7.75 pounds. I added a Leupold 1x-4x variable scope on low Weaver rings to the cantilever mount. As the barrel's 1-in-28 inch twist rate makes it best suited for sabots, I gathered up a selection of sabot slugs and took it the range. Firing three-shot groups from a rest, I got excellent results with Lightfield Lights and Remington Copper Solids, both of which averaged under 3 inches at 100 yards. Hornady SSTs recorded some very good groups and also some mystery fliers that ruined others. Remington Buckhammers averaged under 4 inches. I had one failure to feed in all.


    I shot from a rest with a sandbag between the butt and my shoulder, but I also filled the magazine and emptied the gun off-hand a few times at a target set 80 yards away. Recoil was manageable and I could easily keep my shots in an area the size of a whitetail's vitals. The Silver cycles much faster than I can aim and pull its trigger. Exhibition shooter Patrick Flanagan uses a Winchester Super X3-internally, the same gun as the Silver-and has recorded an astounding 12 shots in 1.442 seconds.

    As with any gun, I can come up with a list of miscellaneous likes and dislikes for the Silver: On the plus side, I like the way the Browning cantilever sits very close to the receiver. I've always liked the triangular safety of the Browning Gold/Silver. It's very large and easy to operate, and you can switch it to left-handed in a couple of minutes. 


    As for dislikes: The Silver Rifled Deer uses the same stock as the Silver field guns. I'd like to see a dedicated slug stock that's slightly shorter and straighter, although this one was fine with a 20mm scope with generous eye relief mounted on low rings. The trigger broke at 6.5 pounds-not as bad as some shotguns go, but not great either. 


    In all, the Silver platform is one of the very best, softest-shooting, most reliable autoloaders on the market. Now you can add "accurate" to that list of superlatives. It's a gun I recommend often to people who want one gun for clays, turkeys, waterfowl and birds. Now with a slug version, it's a gun for all seasons.
  5. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    How to Disassemble/Assemble The Browning Silver shotgun

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a-mgr6ZImo&sns=em[/youtube]

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