Browning B-80 Question (new to site)

[HuntinGirl]

Good evening! I am new to your site, and found it from searching for information on a Browning B-80 my Dad acquired. Just looking for some clarification that we can not get from the online owners manual.

The barrel says 'Special steel 12 gage 3'' magnum invector'. (It has invector chokes that can be changed.)
We know it was made by Beretta and like the 303/302, since it was made in Portugal and stamped PB and Italy on the other side.

With dove season approaching, we have been furiously searching online, and we are getting mixed information about if this gun will have any problems ejecting 2 3/4'' loads.
Apparently, some barrels say 'Special steel 12 gage 3'' magnum invector 2 3/4''', but not ours! It only says 3'' magnum.

Surely Browning doesn't expect the gun to only be used with 3'' magnums, right?

When searching through the owners manual, we found the part about the Recoil Adapters, but it seems that we don't have to worry about that, since this gun was made in 1985. The manual says that "guns made before 1987 used recoil adapters only on 2 3/4'' models"... so what does that mean for ours?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (I hope I put this in the right section, and I apologize if its not!)

Thank you!

 

[9mm+]

Hi! I am no shotgun expert, but I suppose others can help. I do recommend that you post this in the "Shotguns" section of THR. What I can tell you is that my Remy 870 will eject both. Shotguns chambered for 3" shells can eject both 3" and 2-3/4" shells, but the converse is not true. In other words, if the shotgun is chambered for 2-3/4", it cannot eject 3" rounds. I hope this helps.

 

[oneounceload]

The easiest way to tell is to buy a box of standard target loads and go shoot them at some skeet or trap - you need to warm up for doves anyway, right? It should be just fine

 

[HuntinGirl]

We plan to shoot some beforehand anyway, but I read on here and with some google searches about problems with this particular model, and needing either the gas ports enlarged for 2 3/4'' shells; but those particular issues were with the ones whose barrels said both 3'' magnum and 2 3/4''. We were only asking because of those other people having issues.

We have a Mossberg 835 and a Mossberg 500 in 12 ga., and they don't have any trouble with any shells we use. But then again, the Mossbergs are pumps and the B-80 is a semi-auto. Like I said, we're only wondering about this model because we don't have any other Browning firearms, and the searches kept turning up issues that we were unfamiliar with.

 

[ArmedBear]

Yes, Browning did expect the gun/barrel combo to be used with 3" magnums. Self-adjusting guns that work with light and magnum loads automatically didn't come around until the late 1980s (Remington 11-87, Beretta 390, etc.).

Generally, a barrel change will adapt the gun to 2 3/4" standard rounds. Is it worth doing? Depends on how much you have to pay for another barrel.

 

[SeekHer]

From the Browning B80 manual online page 14
Ammunition
With the E80 barrels inscribed 3" and 2¾". The E80 Plus barrels are designed to accept either sized shell...

From having the previous version, the B-2000, you can fire 2¾" with no problem in the 3" barrel but very light target loads may have to be hand ejected...

I've never had a problem using 2¾" field loads of #7½ in my 3" barrel...

 

[berettashotgun]

I grew up shooting an AL-2 Magnum bought new in '72 - still in the family.
1st : turkey,dove,quail, pheasant, prairie chicken (lesser and greater ) duck and goose.
Never had a problem with 2 3/4" shells.
Most of today's shells are 3+ dram rating anyways.