doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Win 23 or Browning BSS?

Which gun will hold up better to competitive shooting in your opinion? Skeet,trap and sporting clays 5000 targets a year. Thanks, Bill

Bill,

I've never had a 23, but I do use a BSS for competitive sporting clays. It is a 30" one. I have shot these guns for years and have come to the conclusion that most men couldn't shoot one enough to wear it out. They are very competition-friendly, with good weight, a hand filling pistol grip and forearm and a great trigger. I have been very competitive with it, and don't know of any other S x S that I think would improve my scores. BTW, it has also accounted for more than a few ducks.

SRH

In terms of holding up both should be be able to handle that volume of shells successfully. I do not believe one action is uniquely superior to other in terms of durability.

In terms of aesthetics it could argued one looks better than the other, or more importantly is sculpted and balanced better than the other. Many might argue the Browning a better balanced gun, but balance and handling while in some respects definable in some respects they are not.

Put another way, each of us picks up a gun, mounts it, swings it, and gets feedback unique to ourselves. So a browning I swing that feels better than a winchester may feel the exact opposite to my brother based on life experience and what we like.

To further complicate things different guns of the same specs will at time feel completely different.

My bottomline is go out find a candidate, pick it up, if it feels right, see it you can shoot a round, if that turns out well buy it.

Hi Bill: I love Browning shotguns and Winchesters too. In terms of competitive shooting, are you talking SxS shoots only? Both are nice guns for that. If 'open' competition, I would choose something other than a SxS if I wanted to be competitive.

My vote would be the Winchester.

The BSS is probably heavier in any given configuration and that makes it preferable for some shooters. I have several BSSs and no Win 23s, but based on handling a few, I would think the BSS would be a bit stouter. The BSS will definitely be less expensive to buy and probably less expensive to maintain. In 12 ga, the BSS does give you the option of 30" barrels, max 28" in 20 ga.

You get a better trigger with a BSS.

I don't have any experience in the internals of the Win23. But have been inside a handful of BSS guns. They have the best double gun triggers I've seen.

My choice would be the BSS mainly because of my familiarity with them. In some ways the BSS is not as refined, such as the stock shaping and grade of wood. But the frame is better sculptured than a Win23 IMO.

Also, if budget allows, Perazzi claims they are making a sxs. Although I heard delivery was a problem. I held a preproduction Perazzi sxs and it reminded me of a BSS, but with the quality of their guns.

I know someone who has had one of the Perazzi S X S's on order now for over a year and can not get a delivery date.

Same here Mike. My friend ordered two. Last update was that the union workers would not expand their work hours to get all the backorders done on the o/u guns lrt alone the sxs.