[gunman]

ok, about 1/4 of the way threw the duck season i decided to puchase a new Browning 3.5 inch Gold hunters semi-auto shotgun and retire the old pump. the gun has that "shadow grass" paint with brownings "Dura-tuff" grip lining on it. Well i'm not pleased with the gun AT ALL! Ok i really don't want to brag becuase i hate guys like that but to get my point across you need to understand that i'm a great shot, best in my group, i've been told many time to shoot competitivly. Well i can't hit squat with this thing!!!! not only that but under the rib vent on top of the barrel, its starting to rust from underneath. how that heck is a guy supose to keep that moisture free???????? that and with the cap that holds the barrel on the gun, with that tightened as tight as i can get it i can hold the barrel in my right hand and the stock in the other and it isn't tight AT ALL, it moves alot. Try it with your gun see how much the barrel wiggles around when fully tighened! any advise??? do i need that much practice just because its a new gun??? For an example i went out pheasant hunting today with my buddy, we saw 20 birds 10 of wich were roosters, five of wich should have been FOR SURE clean dead birds, i shot at all ten birds, can you guess how many i shot??? NOT ONE!!!!!!!! if it wern't for him backing me up we wouldn't have gotten the two we did.....i've begun to not trust the gun, thinking it cant hit anything, so i think maybe i might be jinxing it.....and as far as feel goes, the gun fits me like a glove!!!! its just my snap shooting has gone to helll.....anyways any advise wouldbe great.....all you browning gold owners out there, ever have any of my above problems???? how is Brownings customer service anyway???thanks for your help -Chris

 

[surf_ox]

i recently went from an 870 pump to an 11-87 semi....my accuracy has dropped.....i think it might be when you pump you are given a few nanoseconds more to think about your next shot....i also notice i take longer shots with semi than pump.....thinking to much now....

that and the fact i had to pattern my gun....

try checking the pattern on the new 3.5 compared to the pump.....i used a cardboard box broken down.....ended up changing choke tubes and doubling pellet hits in a 2 foot circle from 35 yards.....45 yards still had more pellets than initial shot

also was your pump a 3.5 inch .... the difference in the 2.75 to 3 i experienced may have changed things in my accuracy.....

head games in the field courtesy the gun manuf.

 

[yellowlab]

... i have a gold 3 1/2 for going on a year now and haven't had any problems with it .. i will address your dislikes as you brought them up... as far a rust ... my borther has had a gold for going on 7 years... and not a lick of rust on it... you may be thinking yeah he is a clean freak and always cleans his gun ... i would say he is lucky if he gets it cleaned every 3rd hunt... and he dosen't baby this baby the other day we were phesnet hunting in the rainest most misrable weather a guy could stand and when we were done he put the gun in its case and didn't take it out for over 2 days.... he is lazy and can be tought on guns...as for the barrel being tight ... i just went up and got mine and put a lot of force on it and couldn't get it to move even 1 mm. (but like i said mine is fairly new so later it could ware....and my bro's isn't hear so i can't speak for it...)... as for you missing .. alot of people say taht your accurrcy dose drop with a simi.. becasue you have less time to get back on target after the gun jumps...the only think that i really don't like on the golds is the beads can be fragel...(if it dose matter both of our guns are black syn.)
i don;t know if you just got a bad gun or peice of metal or what... who knows .... every one likes diff. guns....

 

[h2ofwlr]

Try doing a bench rest with it at 15 yds with your duck load and see if it is hitting offf of dead center. Remember to not hold the gun at all (takes out flinching).

So does the gun fit you? meaning seeing too much barrel? Often guys choose by stylke, model price, etc... misssing the #1 thing they should be considering - fit.

 

[Snaph]

I want to write a book about not trusting your gun. As soon as you think it is your gun...your screwed. It only takes one or two misses to think it is gun and not you. I know you said you are a good shot and the gun fits you like a glove. I believe that. I got more rabbits with my pump than my semi. I got even more rabbits with the single shot (than my pump) I started hunting with years ago. The other guy said it right (that posted) you think more with a pump. How many times have you been hunting and heard bangbangbang, than opposed to bang.....bang.......bang.

I might be called crazy but, I think semi's are just a way to waste more shells faster. Putting more shot in the air faster does not produce anything if you are shooting ahead or behind. I just think it takes time to learn the gun. Guns are like women...you can't treat them all the same and expect the same results. That is a great quote...I should make money on that.

 

[Ducksbeus]

Pattern ALL new shotguns before hitting the swamp and or field. Also, EVERY new gun needs to be taken down and cleaned spotless. Sometimes the manufacterer grease looks like rust. Clean all that stuff out of everything and relube with a good grade of gun oil. My new pump gun (Nova) shoots a little low and right, so, I keep that in mind while shooting. Pattern different loads with different chokes and you'll find one that you like. Youve got a fine gun there....dont give up on it yet. Y'all have a nice day!

:salude:

 

[machunter]

I recently left Browning pumps and bought a Benelli SBE II. This really is the finest shot gun I have ever shot. Consider trading the Browning for a Benelli. You will not be disappointed.

 

[gunman]

hey thanks for the hints guys, for the rest of pheasent season i think i'll shoot the pump, becides i'm sending the gun to Browning on monday for two reasons, the rust and the loose fitting barrel.....I would think i should get it back before summer, so i can practice the crap out of it...next fall will be the test. I've already begun to buy shells and such for next summer. Is all i want to do is get as good with the semi as i am with the pump.....the fiancee' just about killed me when i told her how much i spent on it, but it was my dream gun, everything i could ask for in a gun including the fit. and then for it to act up like this.....we'll see what happends next fall.....thanks again.....-Chris

 

[duckaholic_16p]

I own a browning gold and love it. I grew up with a cheap mosseberg and as soon as i had to the money i bought an 11-87. thought it was what i wanted. I couldnt hit the broad side of a barn. Something about the raise in the vent rib messed me up. So I bought a Gold. As far as any problems i had to send it back because after 1 month the dura touch coating started coming off. I sent it back and got a new fore-arm and stock. I havent seen any rust yet, and my barrel is tight. I wouldnt give up on it yet.

 

[claypigeon]

Chris :

WHOA! Hold up and calm down. Your lack of "hits" happens to toher people too. The barrel looseness, I think, is really foreend looseness - NOT the barrel itself. Loose foreends on synthetic guns is a reality on many of these guns. I think it occurs on guns like the Gold that has a "soft" plastic vs the "hard" type like on my new SBE II. I have a Gold that the foreend is a little loose on.

Second, the easiest way to alleviate the missing shots is to FIRST do a simple test to see where THIS gun is shooting for YOU, based on how it fits YOU. The method of testing this I like is called the Scree Scudnick ( an old duck hunter in MN. ) Point of Impact test. First, get yourself a large piece of cardboard ( box, washer/dryer carton, etc. ) and mark a disc on it about the size of a baseball. Next, take a TAPE MEASURE nad measure EXACTLY 16 yards from the FIRING LINE that your gun muzzle is DIRECTLY over when you fire at the box. Reason for being so precise is understood by your gunsmith, but in a nutshell, your target will tell him how much correction in the stock dimensions are required. Anyway, put in the FULL choke, look HARD at the spot you painted on the box, deliberately - not rushed and not slow and aimed - raise the gun and fire at the spot as the gun touches your cheek. Do this 7 or 8 times in order to get enough shots on the target to actually blow a hole in it. Your gunsmith can take this target and tell you what needs to be done to stock to get it to fit you.

I shoot a lot of Sporting Clays with a Beretta 682 Gold-E o/u and do fairly well. My new SBEII went with me to a shoot last Sat. and my partners told me - as I was missing LOTS of clays I SHOULD have hit - that I was shooting 1 or 2 feet over the clays. So, I used the Benelli stock shim set to put the most drop on the stock. Will check it out today - hope it works out for me.

Anyway, don't despair yet. It could be simple adjustment by yoru gunsmith.

 

[gunman]

well how about time for an update just incase anyone was ever wondering what happened with the browning......I sent it back and while It was there I asked them to switch the safety as I shoot the shotgun left handed (though i am right handed) about a month later I get it back, nothing fixed but the safety....so i called them up and explained it to them again, so they said ok and I sent it out again, another month and a half goes by, and it gets back to me, barrel still loose and they washed the barrel of the rust stain, but the rust spot was still there!! SO I called them up again and talked with customer service, and he said they would not fix the barrel because it was MY fault becasue I didn't oil the barrel vent!!!!! I was like what the heck are you talking about oil the barrel vent! He was a real jerk about it, and I was trying to be nice as I could, but the kindness wasn't lasting long when he kept telling me it was my fault, I told him to show me were in the owners manual it says to oil that spot and I would not bug him anymore...didn't get an answer, just kept saying he spent $1500.00 on a shotgun and he has to oil that spot. So I asked for his manager, talked to him for awhile, turns out he didn't want to help either! So i asked for his Boss, the District manager, this guy said he would help me and wanted to see the gun, so they sent a call tag for it and it was shipped directly to his office, six weeks later it shows up on my doorstep with a new barrel and all, everything fixed. I called the gunsmith who was working on it before I got it back and he said the barrel was plain bad. the first thing they did he said was pattern it, he said it was shooting way low and to the left, He also said the fit was very poor, he said and I quote " if it was much worse it would almost be unsafe!!!!!" that made me feel better, and he said about the rust, the way they do the barrels is, if it gets the camo paint, it won't be blued,so its bare metal under the paint, and with my gun, it wasn't sealed completely by the paint, which left an opening at the corner of the barrel and the vent rib....so he apologized for the problems, I told him not to apologize it wasn't his fault, he said "yea, this one would be quality control".....so in the end it all worked out...and I can't wait for this fall! oww and one thing I did change on the gun, I removed the LARGE white bead and put on a small copper one, the white just kept sticking out to much when I would shoot....so thankfully they came threw for me in the end, now to get used to it before fall!!!! :thumbsup: -Chris

 

[Gooseboy]

alright! :salude:

 

[Webfoot12]

Glad to hear you got that straitened out. No to many things more frustrating than a poorly manufactured product from a reputable company.

I shot a friends gold hunter and thought it was a very smooth handling gun. I have my fathers old sweet sixteen and it is by far the best handling gun I have ever put my hands on. I think Browning makes a very good shotgun.

Good luck this season.

Michael

 

[had]

wow! great ending to the story. thank goodness for district managers!

 

[Ducksbeus]

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RULES :yes: :yes: :yes: I may have ta go kick the tires on one them Brownings :thumbsup: Y'all have a nice day!

:hammering: :hammering: :hammering: :hammering: :hammering: :hammering:

 

[texan68]

for that much $$, you should have gone with a benelli sbe or sbe 2. supposedly the best auto loader on the market.

 

[gunman]

I looked at them but I couldn't find one that realy fit me that well, but when i picked up the browning, it fit me perfectly, very comfortable......HEY anyone in mid minn. want to get together and make it a day of shooting? I really need to get some trigger time in with it, but it makes it difficult to shoot by yourself when I have a hand thrower......-Chris

 

[Wags]

Great ending. I own more Brownings than I'd like to admit, but I will admit Browning has one of the worst customer service departments in the industry. I still prefer there products over most.

 

[Kiwi]

I'm pleased things turned out for you gunman!!!

Ive got a browning gold fusion and love it !! No loose parts or rust ,but each time in the field its wipe dry and cleaned ,I alway spray with a light oil coating ( CRC) and wipe off the excess.

I use remington 3" fast steel 2 (1550 ft/s ) with imp mod choke ! :thumbsup:

 

[Merganser]

Gunman, I have been shooting a Gold Hunter since 1992 (close to a case of duck shells each season). Something I have learned: keep the shell storage tube clean and blow out the trigger mechanism with gun scrubber. I do this about every 3 or 4 hunting days. Also, the only lubricant that I have found to work well in cold weather is silicone lubricant. Something else, clean the spring that runs up in the stock every few years. Good luck with your Gold Hunter. It requires more cleaning than the old Auto 5 but is still a great gun.