Just inherited a Browning .410 pigeon grade over-and-under for skeet

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jski

jski

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This puppy has a beaver tail forearm and is made in Belgium, therefore I've concluded it was made between 1968 and 1978. It's in exquisite condition and will be even more exquisite when it comes back from Browning's Missouri shop where it's getting all new springs, firing pins, etc., "extreme maintenance".

I've shot skeet before but with 12ga and 20ga Citoris. What's the advice with a .410 for skeet?

And here's another biggy: I'm considering having the stock sized for my wife. She's been skeet shooting before but didn't like the kick from a 20ga. Since this is a .410 and heavy for a .410 at that, the recoil should be mild at most. But I'm afraid the .410 will do more to frustrate her than help her. Suggestions?
 
jski said:
But I'm afraid the .410 will do more to frustrate her than help her.
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Could very well happen, but they are fun to shoot if expensive. One way to find out is to shoot it.

.410 is considered an experts gun for skeet, and can be exasperating to break targets with. When I shot Registered skeet back 25 years ago the .410 was the only gauge I was unable to shoot a straight 100 with, had dozens of 99's, 98's and 97's, and many times that was enough to win an event then. You had to be in the sweet spot every time to run them, no extra pellets to maybe break that bird with a stray.

Congratulations and we expect to see some pics when you have time.
 
jski said:
Suggestions?
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Leave the gun as is and enjoy. 410s are great for skeet but they are, as you might say, 'an acquired taste'.

If the Mrs. Cant enjoy a light 20 gage semi then this isn't the gun for her. Sounds like she doesn't shoot much anyway and yes, the 410 would likely become a frustration.
 
The info on the receiver and barrels will indicate the date. Make sure it isn't a salt wood gun. A 410 IS an expert's gun. You might look into getting 28 gauge tubes for your wife's 20
 
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I think Browning will take care of possible "saltwood" problems if they are overhauling it. Yeah .410 does not blast a skeet out of the air like 3/4 or more .oz of shot does. I have found the Belgian Browning Skeet 1 and Skeet 2 chokes in .410s almost magical if polished.
 
Gordon said:
I think Browning will take care of possible "saltwood" problems if they are overhauling it. Yeah .410 does not blast a skeet out of the air like 3/4 or more .oz of shot does. I have found the Belgian Browning Skeet 1 and Skeet 2 chokes in .410s almost magical if polished.
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IF it is salt wood, and IF they take care of it, expect to get a nice bill for that work.
 
At one time Browning used some walnut that had been packed in salt to accelerate drying. The wood retained salt and rusts the dickens out of the gun. There are pictures of a salt wood T22 around here somewhere. Ugly.
 
When you take foreend off and see rusting or pitting where wood touches bottom s of barrels it probably has Salt wood if in the right year range. Of course to be sure stock needs to be pulled and receiver and Tang needs to be .Hecked. To replace spring s they will be doing that
 
kudu said:
Looks pretty, what does it weigh in at, just shy of 7 pounds maybe?
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Most likely at LEAST 7 pounds as Browning only made two frame sizes and that is a skeet gun, so weight would be there to make it feel like the other gauges.
 
When I was shooting competitive skeet, I'd bring out the .410 periodically between tournaments to adjust my attitude on the ability to hit the targets.

All my target rounds were loaded to about the same velocity so leads were the same between the 4 gauges. The .410 required more care to be on the money with the swing and lead to get the hit.

The .410 also pointed out mistakes and at times made it harder to correct mistakes.

In any case, it is fun to shoot .410 in skeet. Besides my tubed competition gun, I have a Mossberg 500 and a Browning Cynergy O/U in .410, all fun to be humiliated with on the skeet field.:)
 
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410 is indeed challenging.... especially for rank amateurs like myself. If the wife decides 410 isn't right for her could she go to a semi-auto 20 ga. ? Whatever 20 ga. she was using wasn't specified and my buddies 20 ga. Beretta semi auto is an absolute pussycat to shoot. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something soft shooting. It would be nice if she could try out a few 20 ga. semi's if not familiar with them.
 
Sending her back to Browning to have a maintenance job done on her and I've inquired if I could get an additional forearm for her. I really dislike the beaver tail forearm. I think I'd like a nice Schnabel forearm. Opinions?
 
I wouldn't recommend a 410 for skeet unless the shooter is so good that using a 20 ga is no longer challenging. Then it would be just the ticket to make it a challenge again.
 
Guys, I’m no expert but I did inherit it from an expert. Does that count?
 
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