1959 Browning Superposed Pigeon 20 gauge

[rufgr]

I recently purchased a 1959 Browning Superposed Pigeon grade 20 gauge shotgun for $2700 from a large gun shop. I thought this was a very good buy and almost broke my arm getting my credit card out. The gun was in very good condition, has 28 inch barrels and is marked as being choked modified and improved cylinder. The top barrel actually measures .594 and the bottom .606. So actually the gun appears to be full over modified. I have never seen a Browning with chokes tighter than marked.

The problem with all of this is at some point long ago a left handed shooter had stuck a foam rubber cheek pad to the stock. I was hoping I could get this off without damaging the stock finish but that did not happen so I removed and refinished the stock and forend. While I had the action out of the stock I soaked it in ATF and acetone to remove the 60 years of gunk that had built up. I know this negatively impacts the value but I think that actually happened when the pad and cheek piece were added.

The gun weighs 6 lbs 3 ounces and I plan to use it as my "new" grouse gun. I have a good recipe for a 20 gauge spreader load that I wiil shoot out of the full choke barrel.

 

[jrm53]

Beautiful Browning shotgun and it looks like your finish on the stock and forearm came out very nice! Jeff

 

[Valmet]

That’s a very nice vintage Browning and should serve you quite well in the fields.

 

[loc n load]

I hope you put a lot of birds in the bag with that 20 ga. Your refinish work came out great, that wood is gorgeous. That 6 lb gun will be a joy to carry in the field.
I have a couple of Browning O/U’s in 16 ga. that have been great bird guns.
Enjoy your 20 ga., good hunting.

 

[H Richard]

I have both a 12 and 20 gauge in the Citori Lightning Browning version, and both are great guns that just "fit" you. Mine are mainly used for Skeet and Sporting Clays. I just don't hunt any longer.

 

[Heinz]

Nice shotgun. You did a great job on the stock. If you are going grouse hunting we will need pictures of the bird dog(s)

 

[tops]

The gun was in very good condition, has 28 inch barrels and is marked as being choked modified and improved cylinder. The top barrel actually measures .594 and the bottom .606. So actually the gun appears to be full over modified. I have never seen a Browning with chokes tighter than marked.

Amount of choke is relative. You cannot just measure the muzzle dia. to determine choke. You also have to measure the bore.
An example is back boring. If you increase the bore dia. it increases the amount of choke even though you didn't do anything to the muzzle. Larry

 

[swagmeister]

A beautiful old Browning. Great job on the refinishing. You probably bought it because you liked it, and not with the thought of losing money on it in the future due to refinishing the stock and forearm. It is still a very valuable firearm. That one would be a definite keeper for me. Thanks for showing.

 

[Birdhunter6]

Beautiful gun and stock refinish. Thanks for showing it off. When I was 18 a coworker let me shoot a round of trap with his Superposed. I was sold. I couldn't afford a Browning O/U till I was 40, but I have 4 now and hunt everything but deer and turkey with them.

Please let us know how it works on grouse. Very challenging targets but well worth the effort when they come off the grill.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have two Superpose Lightnings, a 12-gauge 30" F/F and a 20-gauge 28" M/F. both have the long tang and round knob stocks. There is something about a gun with a slightly foreword balance. Our club had a Sporting Clays station with the trap about 10-12 feet, rear and left of the shooter. There was a tree a little ahead of the shooter, and the birds had about 30 feet before they smashed into trees. Thrown as a true pair the only way to get both was to get the first bird before the first tree. I have 9 O/U's and 2 automatics, The only guns I could hit the bird before the first tree were the two Superpose and 30" Citori in 410, nothing else was "lively" enough. When a Full choke in any gauge hits a clay target at about 15' there really isn't even smoke left!

Ivan

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Spreader Loads for tight chokes are accomplished by having something in the wad that disrupts the shot column. I have seen three products for reloading that actually work.

"Spead-R" makes an over the **** plastic cart that has a finger sticking into the shot about 5/8". Using 1/8 ounce less shot and you standard wad and loading. This produces a pattern close to Modified from a full choke.

Ballistic Products makes a plastic "X" that is inserted in the shot cup after filling with shot. Also produces a Modified like pattern from a full choke.

Third, and only in 12 Gauge. There is a wad that replaces the AA-12 wad that holds one ounce of shot and has a fat post already in it. You can use it on a progressive press, and you don't change any of your other components! It produces an I/C like pattern from a full choke. I forgot the name of the company, but I remember they are in Northern Kentucky. by the 5000, they're about 10% more expensive than AA-12's (they are referred to as a "Post Wad") For older guns with fixed chokes, the spreading loads are like a gift from God! You have your full choke for those long shots, and you have two shots of wide discernment for closer birds.

Ivan

 

[2152hq]

Most of the earlier FN/Brownings in 20ga will measure .610 for a bore dia.
That's a tight 20ga bore (small dia).

Depending on where you look, the 'spec' given for 20ga bore dia is .615 to .617" these days.
I've even seen .620d listed for 20ga bore.

That is a lot of difference when you assume any of those bore dia figures in figuring the choke constriction in .000 instead of having the actual measurement.

Just measuring the choke constriction actually tells you nothing about what the choke is.
God thank us it's not a 12ga and the US Dime's don't come out of the pockets to check the choke.

You also have to remember that when these guns were built in the 50's and early 60's that cardboard and fiber wads and Paper hulls were all that were around.
There tended to need a bit more constriction upfront to shoot the same pattern as todays plastic wads and hulls do.

The forcing cones are very short and abrupt in these guns also when compared to plastic shell and wad ammo guns made later.

Every mfg'r had and still has their own way of deciding specs on choke constriction and bore diameters.

A beautiful FN Superposed! Congrats. Nothing quite like the early small bore guns.

Your refinish is a great job. Collector status be damned. It's to be used and enjoyed.
No one would enjoy using it with 'Stick-Stuff' on the butt stock.
Not even if it was Factory original collectible sticky-stuff.