Browning BPS

E

Erik Prins

New member
I just bought a browning BPS shotgun. I am very happy with it so far. I have only fired 4 shots through so i cant give a long term opinion on it but it "points" very nice and i like the balance. The fit and finish is great. The action is excellent, the slide seems much smoother than most of the other pump actions i have used. Unfortunatly i will not be able to go trap shooting until next weekend but i will give an update when i do. the only thing i don't like is that it is only 3+1 capacity, not a big deal but i would like more, anyone know of a good place to purchase a longer magazine tube? also are there any other owners who can let me know of any specific trouble areas or things to watch for as i use it?
 
The BPS is a very good gun - I still have a couple that I bought in the 1970's .

Since it is a new gun - I would recommend you fully strip it and clean and lube it before you shoot it anymore ( take the trigger group out, etc). The cleaner I prefer is Shooter's choice - shotgun cleaner in an aerosol can. You may find some mfg's residue in there / and it will allow it to break in without any problems.

Longer tubes are available - but on any Trap field, shooting singles, you can only one shell at a time ( you can't have extra shells in the magazine ) / and of course its critical you keep that plug in there if you ever intend to hunt with it. Extended tubes are available from Brownells, etc. if you really want one.
 
Erik Prins said:
it "points" very nice and i like the balance... the only thing i don't like is that it is only 3+1 capacity... i would like more
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My first question is: Why mess with a new gun? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
You know that adding an extension will change that balance you like, don't you?
For safety, trap is loaded one shell at a time, or two for doubles. If you load more, you'll get 86ed from the range.
If you wanted a tactical gun, why didn't you start with one? The BPS High Capacity has a full length mag tube, not some screw on extra. With a composite stock, it's the cheapest of the BPS's. So, let me get this straight, you're thinking of spending more $$ for a screw-on extension that will give you a poor imitation of a cheaper gun. Am I the only one who thinks this is a little bizarre?
 
No, its bizarre Zippy ....you're right / but people come at this past-time from so many angles, I just don't really have any idea anymore.

Just earlier this week, I met a young guy at a shotgun club in my area, he was shooting an 870 express pump he bought that morning and Trap and having a good time - but when he came off the field, he said he couldn't understand why it wasn't ejecting the shells as he put it in the rack ......and I made the mistake of asking if there was something one of us could do to help him out... turned out he thought it should eject like a semi-auto. He had no idea shotguns had different action styles / pump gun vs semi-auto / and obviously no-one at the store where he bought it picked up on the issue or his lack of general knowledge and didn't really explain the different models too well.

He was a little amazed when we explained the difference - he wasn't embarassed - he just had no idea. Sitting in a sales rack - to a casual eye - pumps and semi-autos don't look all that different / and he never thought to ask. He thought there was a cut-off switch or something on his gun that was not letting it cycle properly.

Because you and I grew up around guns - maybe we assume too much.
 
BigJimP said:
Sitting in a sales rack - to a casual eye - pumps and semi-autos don't look all that different / and he never thought to ask. He thought there was a cut-off switch or something on his gun that was not letting it cycle properly.
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Yikes, I just had a scary thought, suppose that shop had a release trigger gun in that same rack... "Here ya go, Mister, a fancy custom trap gun, you'll really like it.":eek:
 
:eek::eek: Please dont tack out a BPS. Its tooooo nice of a gun to start adding on. And you will never need a mag extension for trap or hunting. Im sure you will get looks of displeasure at the range with a hi capacity BPS shooting clays. Keep it original like its supposed to be and I dont know anywhere you will need over 4 shells for shooting trap.
 
You're right Zippy about a release trigger.

I've seen used guns in shops with release triggers - and they were not marked. The only positive side to that - is those guns aren't usually something an inexperienced Trap shooter would buy - but you never know.

Maybe new shooters don't even know that release triggers exist out there / what they are / why they exist, etc. Unless you read some of the shotgun mags - they might never run accross the concept. There are specific rules about notifying squad members, etc when shooting a release trigger as well - that I've seen abused too - even by shooters that certainly knew better.
 
I have a 16 shot about 350 times make sure you pump it a full stroke Its my first BPS used to 870 had a habit of if I hit on first shot pumping slow and grabbing empty if you do this with a BPS you can end up not loading or with two shells in receiver nothing wrong with gun just me. Like gun a lot probally get more
 
yeah i am not set on getting a magazine extension. If what you guys say is right i will be happier with the stock tube. it is a 26 inch barrel. It is not brand new, it is lightly used (i actually thought it was brand new but the shop guy informed me it was used)
i dont usually go to the range to shoot clays so it does not matter if i have 3 shells in the tube when i am shooting. I live on 25 acres so i just invite some friends over and we launch them ourselves, it is nice to be able to go a little longer between reloads (used a mossburg with a 5 round tube for a while) but i am not going to mess up the gun for one or two extra shots. thanks for the advice guys. only other thing i dont like is that it is the synthetic stock :barf: i am going to see if i can buy some nice wood hardware for it right from browning
 
wild willie

In trap and skeet, for safety, you don't finish with a shell in the gun, so a slowly operated action to catch the hull, is no problem because it's your last shot. Actually, in singles, if you don't catch the hull each time, you'll be labeled a newbie.
 
Erik,
it may seem like I'm raining on your parade; but, I'm hard core when it comes to gun safety.
Erik Prins said:
i dont usually go to the range to shoot clays so it does not matter if i have 3 shells in the tube when i am shooting. I live on 25 acres so i just invite some friends over and we launch them ourselves, it is nice to be able to go a little longer between reloads (used a mossburg with a 5 round tube for a while)
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You may save some time; but, loading for only your next target/s may save a life.

The basic safety rules, common to all gun clubs, are there for a reason. By loading additional/extra shells, there's the chance of a handling incident. Here's a classic example: You're shooting trap, but there's a failure and the round is interrupted while the trap machine's fixed, and it's going to take a while. All the shooters open their actions (the loaded guns eject) and head off the field, all the guns are put in the club rack, and everyone goes for coffee. There are many guns in the rack and several that look similar to yours.
One shooter's done for the day. So, he takes his gun out of the rack, wipes it down, closes the action, slips it into a case, and as he pulls the zipper with one hand, he pulls the trigger with the other (Many shooters don't case a cocked gun). Except, there's a problem, the gun goes off with tragic consequences. It wasn't his gun, he'd picked up yours by mistake, and you'd violated the safety rules by putting a loaded gun in the rack.
On the field you'd loaded an extra shell to save time. When the machine broke, you got distracted and forgot about it when you cleared the first one. That extra shell was still there when you put it in the rack... the rest is history. If you think it couldn't happen then you've never been to a big club on a busy day. This is just one scenario supporting the rule that you never load more than you're going to shoot at the next presentation.
 
I should have mentioned no problem with catching the shell trap shooting but since he was asking about a magazine extension I fiqured at some point he was planning on shooting more than one shot
 
yeah i do like to get more than one shot. i might be a little redneck but i do have fun firing off a lot of ammo. i have tried hitting 3 clays (can do it but not consistently, usually 2/3 but not usually all three) i also tried shooting 2 with a single shot ithica 20g (did it one time in four or five attempts) like i said i really dont need the extra magazine space, it is just something that would be nice if it was practical to do. thank you for the input and the safety concern. i really am careful about safety even when i am doing stuff like that, very careful about where i am pointing and where everyone else is pointing.
 
BPS info needed

I have a browning BPS with a identification number of 17247RN142. I know that the first 5 digits are the serial number and the RN stands for the year my gun was manufactured which was 1979, but the 142 is supposed to be the model and this number doesn't match anything on brownings website.
Any kind of help with this would be appreciated. The shotgun has two 30" barrols one is a trap and the other is a field.
 
My 79 bps trap gun has the 142 at the end of the serial number. Browning has not included that in their information for some reason that they cannot give me an answer as to why not. My gun has two barrels also both are 30 inch trap barrels. One is full choke and the other is modified.
 
Thankyou very much for the info I was going nuts trying to find out anything I could about this gun. I bought it and another BPS for $200. Any ideas on what one of these is worth in prestien condition ( never been shot and still in the box)?
 
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