Browning Silver 12ga Shotgun Review with Surviving Duck Season

shotgun review May 19, 2022

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.

You can watch the review video above or if you prefer to read, 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 guage
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 maybe a challenge with gloves on
Loading port edges are sharp, 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 into the shoulder with heavier loads
Heavier recoil than anticipated for a heavier gas gun
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, with 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