Browning Gold & SX2 differences.

[nickthecanuck]

Can anybody explain to me how the speed load function on the Browning Gold works?

I have a FN SLP, which is basically a short SX2, and I have been wondering if it would be possible to make it work like the Browning. I think they share the same receiver so it seems like buying a Gold FCG and shell latch and installing them in my SLP would do the trick.

Can anybody confirm or refute this for me?

I think those are the parts that are different because the way my SLP locks back on empty involves the shell latch preventing the shell lifter from moving up. Then the immobility of the lifter stops the bolt's forward movement. If a shell pops out of the magazine it moves the back of the shell latch out of the way and thus allows the lifter to move up and the bolt to move forward.

 

[nico]

Everything I've read about them says the Gold and SX2 are functionally the same gun.
I hadn't heard about the speed loading system. I have an SX2 though and (based on the description on Browning's web site) I'm not exactly seeing the point of the speed loading system. If the action is open and you want to put a shell in the chamber why wouldn't you just insert a shell through the ejection port? It would be nice to be able to load the magazine with the action open though.

 

[nickthecanuck]

Because I only want to have to practice loading the shells in one location. Easy, idiot proof, no buttons to push.

Also, it is faster with the speed loading feature and I plan to use the shotgun in 3 gun competition.

 

[DHart]

Nick... I spoke with someone at FN today who told me that the "quick loading" feature compromises reliability to some degree. I presume that's why they don't offer it on the FN self loading police model.

 

[berettashotgun]

SX2 from Belgium, Gold is from Japan. I think

 

[nitesite]

SX2 from Belgium, Gold is from Japan. I think

Other way around, friend!

"How does the speed load function work?" - Quite well, at least on my Gold Fusion. Haven't exactly studied it to see just what makes it work, but it's a feature that I just love!

Do the SX2s have a magazine cutoff like the Golds?

That feature makes crossing fences safer with my Gold Fusion than any semi-auto I've ever carried.

 

[DHart]

What is the magazine cutoff? Is it a switch to prevent more rounds from entering the receiver?

 

[nitesite]

What is the magazine cutoff?

It is a lever located on the left side of the reciever, just behind the forend. Pulled back, it prevents the shell(s) in the magazine tube from entering the reciever and being lifted and chambered during normal cycling. I like it because I can pull the bolt back and eject the chambered shell, but not have the next shell jump in. The bolt stays locked back until I flip the lever forward and only then does the next shell chamber. Great for fences.

Waterfowl hunters like being able to instantly change to a larger size shot for a high-flier. Imagine having all #2s in the gun and a different shot opportunity presents itself. Let's say you could eject that #2 and load a T-shot in thru the ejection port, press the button and you did it all in a couple seconds.

Or you have a cripple and don't want to use an expensive 3" shell to finish it off. Flip-eject-drop in a 2-3/4 cheapie-press the button and voila!

 

[DHart]

nitesite... thanks so much for the detailed explanation. I'm fairly new to shotguns and have only had a Mossberg 500 Persuader around the house for defense... the world of autoloaders, competition, hunting with shotguns is unfamiliar to me. Your explanation makes it really clear how useful the mag block function is! Do only Browning Gold shotguns have this feature? (It's not on Win SX2 or Rem 1100/11-87?)

From what you've said it sounds like the Gold would be a superior shotgun in 3-gun competition if one needs to change shot types from one target to another... is that something that's done in 3-gun comp?

 

[DHart]

Does Miroku make the SX2 for Winchester, like they make the model 92 Winchester? My experience with Miroku/Japanese Winchesters (A new Model 92 Trapper) is that they are of exceptional quality... very, very nice indeed. As we all know, the Japanese know how to make very fine quality products. Kind of weird having a Winchester coming from Japan, but no weirder, I suppose, than having a Browning coming from Belgium... we're definitely living in a global world of commerce these days. Even though Winchester and Browning are no longer American companies (FN Herstal owns them both), I'm glad the brands are still being made.

 

[berettashotgun]

I'm looking at a SX2 marked "MADE IN BELGIUM" must be the only one

 

[nitesite]

Well, I must stand corrected. Brownings and Sx2 both come from Belgium.

 

[Kingcreek]

My SX2 say "made in Belgium" also
I have mag cut-off levers on my Beretta 390 Sporting and also a couple old belgian Browning Auto 5s.

 

[PJR]

The magazine cut-off doesn't make the Gold or the SX2 or the Berettas with the same feature one bit safer. I won't depend on the mag cut-off as I won't depend on a mechanical safety. If you have to cross a fence or other obstacle in the field the only safe way is with a gun that is empty AND open.

 

[TrapperReady]

PJR - The safest method would be to always completely unload the gun and open the action. Of course, you could always disassemble the gun entirely and reassemble it on the far side of the obstacle.

When I have a gun with a magazine cut-off (Benelli, Beretta 391, A5) I will engage the cut-off and retract the bolt, emptying the chamber. I then take the just-ejected shell and insert it crimped-end-first into thereceiver, through the ejection port. I carefully ride the bolt forward, until the pressure from the bolt is holding the shell in place. Essentially, I'm creating a stove-pipe jam, which ensures that the bolt is out of battery.

Once that's done, I lay the gun on the ground (pointed in a safe direction) and cross to the other side. I then reach through and retrieve the gun. All I have to do is then retract the bolt, insert the shell into the chamber, let go of the bolt and dis-engage the magazine cut-off.

 

[HSMITH]

I have Golds and an X2. I don't use the mag cutoff for any reason and really would like it to be deleted. I see the purpose but I have had a double flush on pheasants to find out I have a one shot gun until the stick that is jammed in the cutoff is whittled out. I was a little warm about it, public land and over a lab a double flush around here is a real rarity. Besides, I can rack all three rounds out and load the shells I want just as fast as finding the lever with gloves on and getting it flipped. Racking them out and grabbing the shells from the correct pocket also does not cause me to ever have to take my vision to the gun or to use two hands so I can continue calling or whatever I might want to do.

The speedload, now there is a 'feature' I can sink my teeth into. The only downside I have ever seen is my Golds are a little less tolerant of being dirty than the X2. My theory is when you add 'features' the level of complication goes up, when a mechanism is more complicated there are more places for a potential problem. Keeping a Gold clean isn't hard and they run really well.

 

[DHart]

HSMITH... assuming equal barrel lengths, stocks, etc., which of the two would you feel you could rely on most for defense use, a Gold or SX2?

 

[HSMITH]

X2, my Golds are reliable and can be counted on but the X2 just gives me a little more confidence.

 

[DHart]

I appreciate your opinion... the Gold is an appealing gun for sure, and I'd love to have one someday, but something gives me just a touch more confidence in the X2 myself... I too believe that more complicated mechanisms introduce greater potential for problems.