Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Browning BPS

I realize it's mainly about rifles here and me personally only own 2 shotguns compared to many rifles.Any thoughts on the Browning BPS shotgun? They kinda remind me of the Winchester model 12,being all steel and oil finish stock.I was going to sell mine a few years back,I have only shot it about 10 times but noticed there very little re-sale value to them.I also heard they are hard to take apart to clean.I decided to keep it.It's the only 12 gauge I have.I have a 870 20 gauge but the quality of the BPS seems a lot better. Thanks

coming from a shotgun only state I've seen alot of shotguns in the field,but very few BPS's.
you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting an 870,I shoot an Ithaca 37.
I think the BPS is a great shotgun,just not a popular shotgun.

My first cousin has one. It is a great gun, although a bit heavy compared to my Ithaca 37. I am considering buying one in 16 gauge. The 16s are built on the 20 gauge frame and are much lighter. BTW, I am a lefty and the Ithaca and BPS guns appeal to me because of the bottom feed/bottom eject. The BPS even has a tang safety, so it is fully ambidextrous. My 37 got a left hand safety before I even shot it.

FWIW, in those days, Remington was flooding the big box & chain stores with their products - including the evergreen 870, and especially the price leader Express/Sportsman models.

Not so, Browning - whose product's higher prices narrowed the potential buyer field when it came to folks looking for a budget-priced shotgun, where a finely finished gun (while pretty to behold) doesn't matter so much.

The BPS I owned just after introduction had problems with either the choke tubes bored off-center or the tube/barrel threads wrong - because different tubes changed the pattern's POI dramatically.

At first, I thought it had a bent barrel, until I test-fired it sans tubes.
I "fixed" it by obtaining an Ithaca Model 37.

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I have BPS 12g 26" and a 20g 28", much smoother action than the 870 out of the box. Added extended briley choke tube light modified, that's all I need/use.

The bottom feed/eject and top/back of the receiver safety take some getting used.

Both shoot POA to POI (you hit what you need to if the shooter does their part). The recoil is moderate with the weight. I changed to limbsaver recoil pads the stock pad is asphalt pavement hard.

The Ithaca 37 is a lot lighter weight, perform great and widely available on the used market. You don't see many BPS or 870's on the used rack.

I have one with the 3 1/2" chamber as my Goose gun. It has functioned flawlessly. It's bit slow to swing on a Pheasant due to it's weight, but they are nice pumps, and yes, it does remind me of a Win. Mod. 12.

Not a gun writer, but I owned a BPS 12 ga trap model for several years in the 80's, let it go when I gave up that game. No choke tubes, it was a fixed IM but I managed to knock down a few pheasants with it anyway. It was really nice, well finished and functioned perfectly; I'm thinking about one of the new 16's too. The tang safety is a big plus IMHO, being left-handed I've had to switch the safeties on my other shotguns.

I have three, 12ga Pigeon Grade, 20ga Upland Special (first year it came out) and a 12ga Stalker. I'm a lefty and love the bottom eject and tang safety.
Great guns, never a problem with any of them

I'm giving serious consideration to buying a 20 ga. BPS for a dove and quail gun. I haven't decided on which stock (straight grip or pistol grip version) to get.

I bought a 12 ga Upland Special BPS in 1995, and have used it for everything from grouse to geese to turkeys. Straight grip and 21" barrel, and it seems to work for everything for me. I bought an extra-tight choke for turkey hunting, and that works well too.

I like it quite a lot...

Dennis

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Four Browning BPS shotguns in this family.

One 10 gauge
One 12 gauge
Two 16 gauge

Others will be added.



Did anyone ever make a bottom eject semiautomatic shotgun ?


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I had one in 20ga. I think it was the first shotgun I ever bought with my own money. Mine was well-made and functioned flawlessly. My only problem was that I didn't shoot it particularly well so I sold it. Went to O/U's after that and never looked back.

I currently own one of the BPS 20 gauge Upland Specials (22" barrel & straight grip checkered walnut stock), a 12 gauge NWTF version (24" barrel with a Duratouch camo synthetic stock) and have a Grade III 16 gauge on layaway (very nice satin finish walnut, pistol grip stock & 26" barrel). I owned two 12 gauge BPS in the late 1970's when they were introduced. I did have some misfiring problems with the 12 gauge when I bought it back in January and Browning Customer Service was not very helpful at all. With the advice of Redneck and Malm here on the fire I got it fixed myself - runs great now. I think of them as the closest modern pump to the old Winchester Model 12 and like them quite a bit.

Remington makes one. I thinks its the first semi-auto bottom ejector.

Link to Remington's web site with 105 cti.

--Bob

I had a 16 gauge built on the 20 frame and I still thought it was to heavy so it went down the road. Other than the weight I think they're great guns.

I have had a few BPS's and like the tang safety and bottom ejection, but aside from the overwhelming popularity Iand presence) of the 870, the big problem with the BPS's is probably weight. Even the "Micro" model 20-gauge supposedly weighs 6 pounds 14 ounces, and I have generally found that BPS's weigh a little more than advertised. I had a 28-gauge for a while and it weighed 7-1/4 pounds rather than slighlty under 7, as advertised.

Now, weight is useful in some shotguns, but as the hunting population ages there's been a pronounced trend toward lighter guns. Also, many Americans have never used a lighter-weight shotgun, so have come to believe the 8-pound 12's and 7-pound 20's are normal. This is not the case in the rest of the world.

Personally, I gave up carrying 8-pound 12's after upland game years ago. They are OK in a duck blind but even 7 pounds isn't necessary when hiking across hill and dale. A lot of shooters think a 7-pound 12 would kick too much, but that's only because most shooters also firmly believe in the typical American shotshell, with lots of shot and (a more recent trend) ultra-velocity. This is also the reason American 20-gauges weigh as much (or more than) foeign 12's. It doesn't take 1-1/4 ounces of shot (much less 1-1/2 or more) to kill the average upland bird.

The English have the 96 times rule. A gun should weigh 96 times the weight of its intended shot size. One reason a 6lb English SXS is proofed with 1 oz of shot. That's pretty common for a 2 1/2" chambered 12 ga. A 7lb 12 gauge running either 1-1/8 oz at 1400 fps or 1-1/4 oz at 1200fps makes for some pretty zippy recoil.

I personally like a bit of heft for open ground shooting. I think its one reason I shoot my 28ga as well as I do because its built on a 20 ga frame. It weighs 7 lbs on the nose. It helps me follow-through. If I shoot a shorter or lighter gun, I really have to concentrate on my swing.

The only time I see a need for 1 1/2oz is on late season, wild pheasants. And then I use copper-plated #5's. Gives great pattern density and insures the birds are dead in the air. These same loads are also useful on treed, running squirrels.

Well thanks JB,

I knew I had it backwards.

I carry an old Auto-5 Light 12 (Heavy)

That only shoots 2 3/4 for doves to ducks.

I have the best of both worlds.

(It is heavy, but it kills good)

JM

Its the only game in town if you want a pump 10ga. 10# plus and not a good layout gun, but superb for pass shooting and works tolerable over decoys. They don't handle light and nimble either. My Stalker model has the 26" barrel which is long enough for me although I occ. use the extra 28"brl I have for it. Expect it will work same as allways in a couple of weeks when the snow geese start moving back north. The Browning invector tubes have given me great service,with heavy steel F,T, BBB I use the imp cyl lead/ mod steel tube with good results to 55 yds. Heavy shot also works real well with this tube. When using smaller steel I switch to the mod lead/full steel tube and that works good.Its a gun that is in its own class as it's the only pump 10 out there. The newer made ones are a hell of a lot smoother than the first ones Browning produced. I'll never be without one, LONG stroke and all. Magnum_Man

Yeah, I know a guy in South Dakota who uses a BPS 10 and likes it a lot. It would seem perfect for that gauge.