I am looking at what I believe is a 1986 Browning Citori 28ga Grade III Special Skeet. If anyone is familiar with this model I would like to know if the barrels were standard with a 100% complete matte finish...was this an available option back then...or is this something a previous owner might have added himself thru a shop after the original purchase. I have never seen this model before and cannot find much online about it. The current owner does not have the box or manual and does not know or have much info on the history of the shotgun. It has fixed SK/SK chokes and for a skeet gun has not been shot or used much at all. I've included a couple pics of the receiver and barrels. Thanks for any info anyone can provide.
Hard to imagine that a previous owner would do a complete refinish and blue unless there were some reason, such as heavy use, for doing so. I have been around these guns for a long time, and I don’t recall one coming from the factory with a finish like this one. A special run is possible, a special order a more distant possibility.
A look at the innards may tell the tale, in terms of whether it’s a re-do. But that may not matter at all if it were properly done.
A call to BACO or Art’s Gun Shop may shed light on this one.
Nothing in the Blue Book mentions the finish at all.. The finish you show in the pics does not seem to be original - but I'm interested in what you learn from BACO..
Ex- USN (SS) '66-'69 Pro-Constitution. LET'S GO BRANDON!!!
Kevin at BACO checked the catalog for the production year on a Grade III 28ga and they only showed the barrels being available in a blued finish. I then spoke with the nice folks at Art's and they concurred. They did say that the original buyer could have requested this finish thru Browning on a special order basis and they would have coated the barrels before shipping from their MO facilities. He said many skeet shooters have this finish applied to their barrels and it is common. A call and $20 fee to the BACO research office can confirm if this did indeed happen. So the barrels are not the standard factory finish for this model but they could still have the original Browning finishing before they left their MO facilities.
GF1....thanks for the suggestion on reaching out to Art's. I was going to touch base with the folks at BACO but was not familiar with Art's so I appreciate the note. The next time I am in the St. Louis area I told them I will definitely make a point to swing by their shop.
Kevin at BACO checked the catalog for the production year on a Grade III 28ga and they only showed the barrels being available in a blued finish. I then spoke with the nice folks at Art's and they concurred. They did say that the original buyer could have requested this finish thru Browning on a special order basis and they would have coated the barrels before shipping from their MO facilities. He said many skeet shooters have this finish applied to their barrels and it is common. A call and $20 fee to the BACO research office can confirm if this did indeed happen. So the barrels are not the standard factory finish for this model but they could still have the original Browning finishing before they left their MO facilities.
GF1....thanks for the suggestion on reaching out to Art's. I was going to touch base with the folks at BACO but was not familiar with Art's so I appreciate the note. The next time I am in the St. Louis area I told them I will definitely make a point to swing by their shop.
Worth the trip, it’s not glitzy and somewhat hard to find via GPS, but worth the trip. I was there a bit over a month ago.