Early Browning Citori questions..

[forindooruseonly]

For you guys who are familiar with Browning Citoris from the early 80s, I've got a couple of questions. There is a Citori for sale locally that I'm interested in, but I'm not familiar with these so is there anything in particular I need to look out for?

It's a Miroku 12 gauge, 2 and 3/4 or 3 inch shells, 26" barrels with fixed Mod. and Imp. Cyl. chokes, no scrollwork on the receiver, vent rib, and in 98% condition with bright bores. Lockup seems tight. The owner says it dates to 1982. It also has a browning hard case with it. One of those brown takedown cases.

First, are there any issues specific to these guns? I've been extremely happy with my other Japanese made Brownings, but I dont know much about Citoris. Second, what is the gun and case worth? I'm not try to flip this, but I don't want to overpay either for something that I'm going to shoot. He is asking a thousand for gun and case. Finally, I'm assuming I can't shoot steel loads out of this one, correct?

I appreciate whatever you guys can tell me. Thanks.

 

[MagDad]

I have a 28 inch barreled Citori Mod and Full 1980s build and I know of no issues with these guns. Mine has been rock solid.

 

[Old Unc']

there should be absolutely no issues with the gun, so long it wasn't abused. The addition of a Browning hard case ups the value of the package by no more than $50 bucks. The gun sounds fabulous and remember, the Citori is patterned right off the original Browning Superposed. Enjoy...

 

[drsfmd]

remember, the Citori is patterned right off the original Browning Superposed.

No, it's not. It was a new gun from the ground up, and there's absolutely no parts interchangeability.

Frankly, and I'll take heat for this... IMO the Citori is a better gun than the superposed. It lacks the hand work that the superposed had, but it was built for better longevity.

 

[Steve H]

I have a Citori that I bought new in 1984. It is the most solid gun I have. 28" tubes with screw ins. I have bought a few shot guns after that one but I keep going back to the Citori as my shooter.

 

[One_Jackal]

If you take real good care of a Citori, you can get about $100 less than the cost of a new one at the time you sell it. So if you keep it for 20 years it will be worth a lot more than you paid for it.

 

[Gordon]

And the case is worth $150. I would think steel use would NOT hurt your chokes, especially the new steel 7s and 5s for upland game. It hasn't hurt mine!

 

[oneounceload]

Is it an actual Browning or the Miroku one? Mirokus are 1/3 less than the same gun with Browning stamped on it. Personally, I had one from that time frame and found the 26" barrels too short for me when swinging and it is a heavy field gun.

However, if the top lever is nicely way to the right, indicating not a lot of use or a recent rebuild, $850 to $1000 with the case is a decent price range, but not great because of the fixed chokes. That being said, IC/M is one of the best upland choke combos going, so it is up to you. If it was me, I would point out every flaw there is, including fixed chokes, and see if he'll go about $800

 

[Old Unc']

Drsfmd, Sorry, you are absolutely wrong. Miroku even used the original draftman's templates that Herstal provided back in the 70's. The documents were of the original mechanical drawings that both JMB and his son developed. The actions of both the Belgian and Japanese guns are almost identical...

 

[drsfmd]

They are about as similar as any other shotgun with an inertia trigger...

Again, there's no parts interchangeability between them.

 

[Old Unc']

you are right, parts are not interchangeable, at all. The B25 is hand-built and hand-fitted, the entire gun. The Citori is basically a CNC gun with some hand-fitting. The actual designs are 95% the same. Kudos to JMB...

 

[forindooruseonly]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm going to meet with him this afternoon.

oneounceload, it is a Browning stamped gun. The lever indicates little wear, and the gun is in excellent shape. I'll see if he'll come down some based on the chokes and the couple of handling dings I saw, maybe I can work a deal.