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I was in South Dakota this past weekend for the opening of pheasant season and found a Browning BSS 12ga. 30" barrel choked F/M, shotgun that I could not live without.
Don't know much about them so looking for some info on it (like what year it was make, how many were made etc.) Don't know where to look this kind of stuff up.
Any help or info about these guns would be helpful.

Thanks
John

John, Blue Book has some limited information on the Browning BSS.
Made at the Miroku plant in Japan (later models assembled in S. Korea).
Made from 1971-1988 (some variations have shorter runs).
Early guns didn't have selectors for the barrels
Later guns did (in trigger guard).
Check Blue Book (or Browning on-line) for date of manufacturing (two letter code from 1975 to date), i.e., RV = 1975, and so on.

Ps Check out this thread below, there is some recent discussion on the BSS there.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth.../picked_up_a_nice_little_SxS#Post9230797

Wanted one of those so bad when I first started shotgun hunting. I assumed I could just go buy one in 1986. The $800 price tag choked my purchase. Ended up with a $260 870 SP, which, I still have and love.

This one does not have barrel selectors and has a code of RT

Thanks for a starting point

You are welcome. RT is 1976 - early gun, so no barrel selector switch is correct. Fine gun, hope you enjoy owning and shooting it.

By the way, how was the Pheasant hunting in SD? I'm going (for the first time) next Wednesday, a couple of hours NW of Sioux Falls.

I had one, bought new, no selector switch. Got rid of it, it shot cross eyed with buck shot.

Jim

Pheasant hunting was slow, we usually have a group of 16-18 people and have come up short a few times over the years but only by a few birds. We were 20 birds short the first day and 12-14 birds short the second day but we did manage to limit the last day.
We were hunting in the south central part of the state, about an hour west of Mitchell.
It was HOT, dry, and windy, just what you need for the dogs to work well....:roll eyes:
First two days we hunted til 6-6:30 range, but the last day, we were done around 4:00

Pullit, Thanks for the hunt report - going to a lodge in Kimball SD, about 130 miles west from Joe Foss Field (my hunting partner has been several times and says it is a good place). The week's weather report looks good right now, I'm very much looking forward to this trip. Odessa

On the news it said that the average (for our area) was 1.5 birds per hunter per day, so I guess we were a little better than that but it was still way off.
Have hunted up at Kimball several years ago. It is just north of I 90, and we stayed at Mitchell. The hunting was very good and the food at the little truck stop at the Kimball exit is very good as well (at least the breakfast, that is all we ever ate there).

I'm back, had a terrific time!