Just bought a near mint Browning BSS 12 gauge,it has 28" barrels and is supposed to be choked Imp/mod,but when measuring it with the gauge I found the imp tube to actually be skeet,which is fine with me. Ill be using it for sporting clays and a bit of upland. It has the silver non-selective trigger,and the serial number dosent correspond with the post 1975 codes,so am I right thinking its a very early one? It has very nice wood,the black chrome is near excellent. I traded an old Remington 1100 and a 22 I hated plus 500 dollars,so Im happy. When you pick up a gun and it just feels right you should buy it. I hope to try it on clays for the first time this weekend.

Any imfo on BSS is welcome,and since Im new to the forum I just wanted to say hello.

Ive been shooting shotguns at ducks and grouse for 40 years but just got into the clay games,SC+skeet the last couple of years. Have aquired a nice Citori 20ga,a Franchi Rennasaince,and an old Savage-Fox model B to get started.

I think dollar for dollar they're one of the best SxS's out there. Next I think you should find a 20 gauge.

Welcome!
You made a good choice buying that BSS. I agree with Bob, very good value for the money.

I love mine. 30" barrels make it a great duck or clays gun

Are you measuring the chokes with a plug gauge or with a bore mic? The vast majority of 12ga/28" BSSs were choked M/F from the factory, so yours may be the odd factory choking or perhaps it has been opened. The silver trigger does indicate an early gun. I don't know about that "black chrome" because every one I have seen has been blued. The bluing will thin fairly quickly along the bottom of the frame from field carry. If yours is a PG gun with the fat beavertail, you can improve the looks and handling by reshaping and checkering the beavertail to match the Sporter f/e, and by stripping the gloss finish and applying an oil finish. These guns tend to be a bit heavy through the barrels so removing a bit of weight from the f/e can improve the balance and the looks.

The BSS is probably the best of the basic modern field doubles, strong and reliable, although a bit heavy. That weight makes it a great clays double and the 3" chambers make it a good duck gun. You can safely shoot steel through it if the chokes are not too tight and if you don't get crazy with shot size.

I have one of the silver trigger BSS's (28" M/F) that I bought new in 1972. I believe that all the 12's of that vintage were 2-3/4" chambers. Yes, mine is heavy and clunky but hasn't missed a beat in 40 years...

I used a plug gauge the dealer had on the counter,it went in to the MOD mark on the left barrel and all the way to SKEET on the right,which kind of surprised me. It is chambered for 3",so Ill get the serial number off it when I get home so you guys can tell me what year it was built.

As for the "black chrome",guess Ive been reading to many gun ads,it is bluing,just so shiney thats what I thought of. The wood is very glossy and it has the fat beavertail forearm that feels just right to me. Don't think Id want to carry it all day in the field, but thats why Ive got the Franchi,its very light.

Glad I found this forum,you guys seem very knowledgable and helpful.

I like the way you think Bob!

I have 4 BSS guns. I've had a 12g for over 25 yrs and it has approx 15,000 rounds thru it. The only problem I ever had was that the trigger pull eventually required fixing due to wear. This fix, if ever needed, should be done by a gunsmith knowledgeable about single triggers, lest you end up with a problem you didn't have before.

For a clays gun, the BSS 12g is about the perfect sxs. But, the big/heavy 12g BSS is not the optimum upland gun weight. That said, I shot a lot of birds with that gun.

If you like the 12g BSS, you'll love the 20g BSS in all it's versions. The 20g runs from about 6 1/4 to 6 1/2 lbs on average. They make for an excellent upland gun. I currently own 3 20g BSS guns.

I have a plug gauge and it is not really much help in determining choke. I measure the bore diameter 4" back from the muzzle, and then measure the diameter of the choke and determine the difference. I use a dial gauge from Brownell's which is not too expensive.
Trouble is, you have to know the bore diameter to establish the degree of choke
Mike

Holy Cow Chuck, you have 4 BSS shotguns--you can only shoot one at a time, right?? I guess it boils down to: How many guns is enough? Just a few more....haha

I also have four BSSs, two in 12 and two in 20. Only problem is one of the 12's needs a set of 26" barrels because I used its 30" barrels to convert my Sporter 12 to a 28"/30" two-barrel set. Did the same thing with a Daly (Miroku) 500 that I stumbled into an extra set of barrels for. One of my BSS 20s is a 26" Sporter and the other will become a 28" Sporter as soon as I get the new wood and tang fitted and finished. Oh, and then there's the Miroku 500 20 gauge/28". These are absolutely fabulous guns for the money.

BSS, the "black chrome" finish was used on the other popular Japanese sxs of the same period, the SKB imported by Ithaca. Or at least it was early on. Later ones were blued.

Chuck, re BSS weight . . . when you say 6 1/4 to 6 1/2 for a 20ga, that sounds light to me for the standard PG/BT model, but about right for the Sporter with its straight grip and slimmed down forend.

I think all the Japanese sxs are good buys on the used market. The SKB's are lighter, as are the Miroku-made Charles Dalys, in comparison to the BSS. (And most of the Dalys are double trigger guns, which some people prefer.) Hard to go wrong with any of them, as long as they haven't been badly abused.

The BSS likely is as strong as a Winchester 21 and handles similarly. Why else would Browning have made a 7-pound, 20-gauge gun?

My 1984 BSS 3" 20 gauge Sporter IC/MOD weighs 6# 9.1oz.
I have never weighed a 20 BSS that was less than 6&1/2#'s.
They are excellent shotguns.-Dick

I stand corrected on the average weight. I had weighed only two of the 20s. One was 6 1/4 the other 6 1/2. The lower being a 26"sporter. It appears to me that a lawyer designed the wallthickness of the barrels.

BSS,
The photos below are what I use to measures bores, chokes and chamber lengths. An inside caliper and a 1" micrometer. If you're careful they can be damned accurate and give you repeatable measurements.


Measuring chamber length, put in past the forcing cone to measure bore diameter, then do the same at the muzzle.


Using a micrometer to measure caliper for bore or choke diameter.

Steve

Guys,the serial # is 7790A57,can anyone tell me when it was built?

Just thought Id share some pics of the BSS. I haven't shot it yet but Im already in love with it. Sporting clays Sunday unless we have more snow,and Ill report back.

Just called Browning,1975!!!!

I don't wan't to cause angst here, but "choke" is a matter of the amount of constriction from the bore to the reduced part of the barrel at the muzzles.
What I'm trying to say is, there is a lot of variance from one gun to another, and the true determination of physical choke is from back in the bore, then the difference at muzzles or the couple of inches ending at muzzle.

All I am saying here, is a bore gauge that measures in 1000ths of an inch is more accurate than a "plug."

Also, measuring is only a rough estimate of patterning. If you REALLY want to see what it does, shoot it at a pattern board.

Sam Ogle

When I assess chokes in a gun that Im considering to purchase, I am exclusively going by dimensional characteristics.

Besides, I don't have a baseline load I can use to compare choke performance to other guns. All of the guns I have measured, patterned as expected based on the measurements. Not in the statistical sense, in the TLAR sense using a variety of loads.

Yes, 57 marking = 1975

I assume you gents are talking about the boxlocks and not the sidelocks? Wasn't the sidelock supposed to be a wonderful value also?

Was then, still is if the seller is rational. The sidelocks are harder to find, especially with 28" barrels. Most common configuration available seems to be 12ga/26".

There is also the Grade II boxlock, which can have spectacular wood, but asking prices are usually outrageous.

What are the choke markings for your BSS?
A plug gauge is useless for choke measurements unless you are familiar with how a maker choked their guns, Belgian Brownings were always choked tight so a plug gauge will work for them but you have a Japanese Browning which should have Browning choke marks. As Posted, the only true way to determine choke is to measure the difference between the nominal bore and the tightest constriction at the muzzle. note that this doesn't, mean at the end of the muzzle bit could be anywhere from the muzzle back. That's why you need a bore gauge with fingers that you drag through the barrel and it finds the tightest spot. I use a Galazan Pro Bore gauge, cost is a few hundred dollars but it does the measurement correctly and if spending a lot of money for a shotgun or purchasing many, worth the cost.-Dick