The Browning Silver is a tried and true gas-operated semi-auto shotgun. The Silver has been around since 2006 but I have not had much experience with it until this review. For this review, I met up with Joel from the YouTube Channel Surviving Duck Season. Since most variations of the Silver are tailored towards Waterfowlers, having Joel, a highly experienced duck hunter, along for the review was a huge plus.
In this article
You can watch the review video above, or if you prefer to read it, we’ve broken it down for you below.
MSRP
$1399.99 but you’ll find the best deal on a Browning Silver at Reeds Sports
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QUICK SPECS
- 12 gauge (some wood models available in 20ga)
- 3 1/2″ chamber (some non-camo variations available in 3″)
- 28″ Barrel (most variations have 26″ option)
- 7lbs 9oz
- Length of Pull 14 1/4″
- Drop at Comb 1 3/4″
- Drop at Heel 2″
- Comes with 3 flush Invector Plus chokes (IC, M, F,)
TRIGGER
- 5lbs 4.58 oz (Average)
- The trigger feels heavier than it pulled on trigger gauge
- Pretty decent trigger overall
ERGONOMICS
- This gun feels good, a little heftier than I prefer in a perfect world, but I still like it
- A little heavier, but nicely balanced,
- Very basic grip textures, nothing special
- Triangular cross-bolt safety is great
- Bolt release is small and may be a challenge with gloves on
- Loading port edges are sharp and not super easy to load fast
- Brass bead (no need for a fiber in my opinion)
QUALITY OF BUILD
- Solid gun for the money
- Just as good of quality as many other higher-priced shotguns
RECOIL/RELIABILITY
- Recoil was kind of funny – both Joel and I experienced it more in the face with lighter loads and more in to the shoulder with heavier loads
- Heavier recoil than anticipated for a heavier gas gun
- It cycled extremely well no matter how we shot it
BREAKDOWN
- Breakdown seemed second nature, maybe because it is nearly identical to the Winchester SX4 that I have broke down 100s of times.
- It was interesting to tear it down and see all the internal similarities between this gun and the SX4, and Maxus 2. The bolt looks identical to an SX4
SPEED SHOOTING
- I was able to accomplish shooting 3 hand thrown clays in 1.21 seconds
In summary, if you are a Browing fan and you want a semi-auto shotgun that is more affordable than the Maxus 2 and the A5, this is the shotgun for you. If you are not a Browning faithful, this shotgun is a moderately average decent shotgun. It cycles great, is well-balanced, has a decent trigger, and you know it will last a long time. On the flip side, it is a bit heavier and yet the recoil is also heavier than anticipated. The grips are bulky and the controls are nothing special. The Browning silver is a fine gun, it just doesn’t really excite me in any of the categories I look at.
Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on so live the #targetfocusedlife
Stay Target Focused,
Steve
