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Browning Phoenix Topcote

Browning Phoenix Topcote

Another new semi–auto from Browning isn’t anything especially new when you consider that most of them tend to be what already exists with nothing more than a new motif moulded into the receiver. The marketing department down at BWM Ltd happily explained why the new semi was called the Phoenix. It would seem that for all those who lament the passing of the legendary Auto 5 (A5) or ‘hogback’, this all – new Browning is meant to echo the style, shape and general appeal of that classic design. Now if ever there was a ballsy proclamation, that was it, as the old A5 is a hard act to follow.

I have various friends who either own or have owned A5’s and whilst you can’t call them a refined type of shotgun compared to modern day autos, they have a certain something. Enjoying a 97 year production run, the A5 was built under licence by other top American and European companies and reigned supreme under all circumstances. So to announce a modern counterpart takes some guts. No matter how you angle the job, Browning - if in name only - is going up against a shotgun that, if it had had teeth could chew granite and strike fear by its sheer presence alone.

Three Options

I’m all for giving a new gun a chance, even if it does completely embarrass itself. Delivered in a black and gold cardboard box, once assembled the immediate impression was that the new Phoenix Topcote was - for an American-biased semi - actually quite attractive, though it would have been nice to see a plastic hard case, as just about every other modern gun maker seems to supply with their smoothbores.

Manufactured at Browning’s Viana factory in Portugal, the Phoenix range is available in three options - the glossy weather Topcote, a composite/synthetic likely to be the choice of wildfowlers and keepers, along with the more familiar combination of wood with a bright receiver. Part of Browning’s now well established Gold series, the Phoenix shares a whole host of components - most notably the self-regulating, gas/piston operating system - with its sister shotgun the Winchester Super X2.

So yes, the Phoenix is a result of badge engineering. That said, the Winchester’s more than proven track record will ensure that this gun is, if nothing else, reliable - a major consideration for semi-automatic buyers.

Priced at £650 or thereabouts what you get is a very elegant and rather striking shotgun, a semi–automatic that doesn’t look like a workhorse. A bright white bead sits on top of a high, vented 6mm rib that expands into a 10mm cut out along the top of the receiver. Glossy black in finish, the Phoenix also comes with a set of four, flush-fitting Browning Invector multi-chokes. Identified by the usual notch system, Full, 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 mean that unless you’re up to something unusual, you won’t have to buy any more. If you do, these are some of the best value and easily acquired choke tubes on the market.

Art Deco

The receiver itself is what could be best described as semi matte black and much the better for it. Equally, no attempt has been made to introduce incongruous looking game birds; instead simple art-deco scrolls depicting a risen phoenix decorate the left side of the action, with the Browning Buckmark logo to the right and also on the base of the trigger guard. Both sides are interwoven with the word Phoenix picked out in gold. If criticism had to be levelled at the action as a whole, it would be the chromed shell lifter, which, when compared to the rest of the gun, looks cheap!

In keeping with other European semis, the top of the Phoenix’s receiver is dovetailed for scope mounting. More than hinting at the fact that European and American hunters will use it for wild boar and deer. This facility it would seem is now to be a feature of all Browning and Winchester’s future semi-autos so if you’re off piggy bumping, all you need are your optics and rings.

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One anomaly is the bolt. This two-piece design can be awkward to re-assemble into the receiver, as you have to hold the gun vertically to align the two components so you can re-insert the cocking handle. It slides out easy enough for cleaning but is a bit problematical to reassemble. The best way to do the job is to remove the complete trigger mechanism housing (TMH) first, which is done by drifting out its two cross pins. Then slide the bolt assembly in and refit the TMH.

Furniture wise, the forend is of the usual hand filling semi-beavertail type whilst the pistol grip should; given the small amount of right-hand cast, suit most people. The chequering is crisp and comfortable whilst the butt plate is of the old fashioned black plastic style embossed with the word Browning.

Three Round Salvos

Balancing exactly where the loading gate and chamber join together, the Phoenix’s 7½ lbs moves easily from target to target. With the gun acquitting itself with equal ability over Coniston SG’s Skeet, DTL, Sportrap and Compak layouts, basic choke adjustment was all that was required. Sticking to the Italian-made Browning Trap Max cartridges, the Phoenix proved to be smooth to shoot, never once failing to cycle between rounds even when multiple three shots salvos were fired in rapid succession.

The trigger though requiring a definite pull, is crisp and predictable. The gold blade set well back in the guard whilst the cross-bolt safety’s contours allow easy operation even with gloves on. A more than welcome detail for shooters who’ll use the Phoenix along the foreshore or on dark, cold nights in pursuit of vermin.

Its now time to make one of those grand sweeping statements that’ll get the armchair experts attaining the vertical, give clay ground specialists something to take their minds off their habitual bad scores, and have me ostracised and forcibly ejected from every shooting organisations from here to Cleckheaton.

Shoots Like

The sightline over the receiver and the ramped, elevated rib ensures the shooter’s eye is perfectly placed, the white bead exactly where it should be when peripheral vision aligns target and muzzle. And now the one you’ve been waiting for. When the Phoenix is mounted and moving, it feels and performs like a good over & under in that it shoots where you want it to. At no time did I have to modify my muzzle/target relationship. No matter how you look at it, the Phoenix shoots like no other American biased semi-auto and is all the better for it.

In shorter form the Phoenix would of course feel and handle differently. But it’s the combination seen here of 30” barrel length, overall dimensions and mass that gives this semi-auto what I would call its smooth, fluid character. I, like the majority of Americans, prefer a heavier gun. Not because of recoil problems but to me they feel right and have a beneficial effect on my swing. It’s rare I find a short barrelled gun I can get on with.

Accepting the Phoenix as the successor to the A5 takes more than a little stretching of the imagination. However, what Browning have achieved is to introduce a good looking semi- automatic that shoots well and handles like somebody somewhere knew what they were doing when they designed it. Whilst accepting, especially when split into action and barrels that the Phoenix is a Winchester Super X2 at heart, the makeover has now provided Browning’s version with a European feel and shooting abilities.

For any confirmed semi-auto user, the Phoenix is more than worth adding to your collection, whilst any potential first timer could do a lot worse than acquire themselves one of these Brownings. Apart from the gun’s overly complicated bolt extraction procedure, pound for pound I’d consider the Phoenix to be about the best usable gasser currently on the market that will suit both English and European styles. Be it on looks, cost or handling, I for one would be surprised if this or any of the Phoenix range failed to find favour.

PRICE: £650

  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Browning Phoenix Topcote - image {image:count}

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gun
features

  • Name: Browning Phoenix Topcote
  • Calibre: 12-bore (3” chamber)
  • Capacity: 2+1
  • Type: semi-automatic
  • Action: gas/piston (self-regulating)
  • Barrel: 30” (on test gun)
  • Multi choke: Y Browning Invector
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