So...i gave my brother my beloved 60's Remington 870 Wingmaster...This was my "go-to" upland bird gun when i wanted to use a pump... Ive been taking my time to find its replacement, well today i stumbled upon a 90's Browning BPS. features a 3 inch chamber, 28inch barrel,(2) invector chokes, and some nice engraving of ducks on one side of the reciever and phesant on the other. from pictures it looks to be in great condition, seller is asking 500... being a lefty, im a fan of the bottom ejection and the location of the safety on top of the reciever....I know its a Browning and probably a fine firearm, i love my 50's A5. But, is there anything i should be aware of ? anything thats not so great about it? from my reasearch this should be a great firearm, it seems like they should be a lot more popular, yet ive never seen one in my area until now, and ive yet to handle one...all usefull info is appreciated
Browning BPS....school me
- Thread starter k511
- Start date
I prefer the ergonomics of the Remington, but I also believe the BPS is as well designed and built as any pump gun anywhere. They are a bit heavy, and the reach to the fore end seems to feel longer to some of us. I had three of them and never a single bobble. My buddy has one for his duck gun and that thing has been thru hell for 25 years with zero issues as well. I believe the design of the internals is heartier than the Ithaca, much to the disdain of the fans of all machined mechanisms, but i have seen a heck of a lot more Ithacas needing a gun doctor than BPSs. It should have no trouble outliving you.
Only issue is if you decide to ignore their advice and tear it down completely, it is a little tricky to re-assemble the first time. A couple of 0.002" shims will usually let you shoehorn the trigger group back in pretty easily.
Only issue is if you decide to ignore their advice and tear it down completely, it is a little tricky to re-assemble the first time. A couple of 0.002" shims will usually let you shoehorn the trigger group back in pretty easily.
Two great shotguns !!!
Some folks consider the BPS, to be better that the Wingmasters. This point is debatable. You gave a great shotgun to your Brother-in law and now you are looking at another great shotgun. Yours is the older issue as it has the engraved receiver. The new ones do not. Again, condition is everything but I feel your seller is a bit high on his price. See if you can get a lower price. I wouldn't worry about service and quality. I believe you might find them, a little heavier than the Wingmasters. ....
Be Safe !!!
Some folks consider the BPS, to be better that the Wingmasters. This point is debatable. You gave a great shotgun to your Brother-in law and now you are looking at another great shotgun. Yours is the older issue as it has the engraved receiver. The new ones do not. Again, condition is everything but I feel your seller is a bit high on his price. See if you can get a lower price. I wouldn't worry about service and quality. I believe you might find them, a little heavier than the Wingmasters. ....
Be Safe !!!
Look up completed auctions on GunBroker. No shortage of BPSs. Add $50 to $75 for a local sale. They actually started out with plain sides, and then I think in the late 80s or early 90s everyone went crazy with the rollmarking, and now they are back to plain again. The guns are all good regardless of the decoration.
As an example of how stout they are built, I machined about a pound and a quarter off a BPS 10 gauge receiver, milled down the rib, bored out the barrel, and relieved some of the plastic from inside the stock to get the weight down on a BPS Stalker. Handled 1000% better - better than any other 10 I have ever encountered - afterwards in my opinion, and never a hint of a problem. Fortunately tungsten came along - and I am not as rabid as I was - and I went back to my 3" 12 gauges.
As an example of how stout they are built, I machined about a pound and a quarter off a BPS 10 gauge receiver, milled down the rib, bored out the barrel, and relieved some of the plastic from inside the stock to get the weight down on a BPS Stalker. Handled 1000% better - better than any other 10 I have ever encountered - afterwards in my opinion, and never a hint of a problem. Fortunately tungsten came along - and I am not as rabid as I was - and I went back to my 3" 12 gauges.
.
If the seller's private, I would want to shoot any BPS before buying, to check for the shot pattern's POI.
The only BPS I ever owned was bought new.
I patterned it after I started suddenly missing most of my shots on game, and found that there was something "off" about the Invector choke thread installation that threw the patterns off to one side, with all the tubes.
.
If the seller's private, I would want to shoot any BPS before buying, to check for the shot pattern's POI.
The only BPS I ever owned was bought new.
I patterned it after I started suddenly missing most of my shots on game, and found that there was something "off" about the Invector choke thread installation that threw the patterns off to one side, with all the tubes.
.
If the BPS you're looking at is the Hunter model / and its one of the more common models out there....then it should look like this :
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=011B&cid=012&tid=211
I think the BPS Hunter model -- is as good a gun as the Rem 870 Wingmasters... and I have a pair of the BPS Hunter models ( in 12ga and 20ga ) from the late 70's early 80's.../ they have been solid guns, been shot by a lot of kids and grandkids in my family over the years...
The new BPS Hunter lists for $ 700 / sells new in my area for around $ 625....so what are the ones you are looking at worth ...( $ 300 - $ 400 probably ) because they have the older Invector chokes.....and there isn't anything wrong with the old Invector ....but the new back bored barrels with the Invector Plus are a little better.
Other than the chokes...the gun really hasn't changed in the last 30 + yrs...
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=011B&cid=012&tid=211
I think the BPS Hunter model -- is as good a gun as the Rem 870 Wingmasters... and I have a pair of the BPS Hunter models ( in 12ga and 20ga ) from the late 70's early 80's.../ they have been solid guns, been shot by a lot of kids and grandkids in my family over the years...
The new BPS Hunter lists for $ 700 / sells new in my area for around $ 625....so what are the ones you are looking at worth ...( $ 300 - $ 400 probably ) because they have the older Invector chokes.....and there isn't anything wrong with the old Invector ....but the new back bored barrels with the Invector Plus are a little better.
Other than the chokes...the gun really hasn't changed in the last 30 + yrs...
My favorite pump in terms of workmanship, reliability and features (and I've owned and shot just about all of them). As has been mentioned, the BPS is a little on the heavy side for an upland gun but it's no big deal. I use mine mostly for waterfowl shooting and turkey hunting when I'm doing more sitting than walking, but I've also hunted pheasants with it. I prefer a lighter gun when hunting grouse and woodcock.