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- Last updated: 16/12/2016
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Automatics, semis, call them what you will, are shunned by the British game shooting world but a good repeating shotgun is a real asset for rough shooters and vermin control. The ability to take a second and third shot is a bonus over corn for pigeon or as a squirrel bolts along a branch above you. Manufacturers have noticed that semi`s are more PC these days and have produced many new or updated models of late.
The Browning Maxus is one such semi-auto, certainly showing its origins from the older Fusion design and newer Winchester SX3.
Composite
The Maxus is available in various guises. There are six models to choose from to date. The Premium Grade 3 is your top model with brushed nickeled action with animal engravings and oiled Grade 3 Walnut stock. More practical is the standard model with blacked action and grade 2 stock also with a Super magnum version available in this guise. For rough use and my choice would be the Composite model 9here on test) with dulled action finish and synthetic furniture. A new option on this model is the eye catching Carbon fibre model with a carbon fibre weave pattern applied to stock and receiver surfaces. Finally the Camo Duck Blind as the name suggests is clad in Mossy Oak Camo pattern for days on the marshes.
Common to all is the sleek ergonomic design with many an adjustable feature and unique cartridge manipulation system. What you have is a family of semi`s designed for all sporting scenarios backed by Browning`s excellent pedigree.
Stock
The black synthetic stock is moulded in two halves and does feel a little “hollow” but its textured finish helps in grip and to stop reflections. There are twin panels for stippling to pistol grip and forend and grip is further aided by the upright pistol grip gait and scalloped forend that seems to dip and lower itself away from the barrel. If the drop and cast to the butt stock is not to your liking then a clever series of thicker and angled insets are supplied with every Maxus that drop in between stock and receiver so you can “tune” the stock to your fit. This is further enhanced by the length of pull being able to be lengthened again by plastic extension inserts, supplied. The butt pad is also innovative, the Inflex design has internal baffles that when the shotgun is fired the recoil is actually lowered and angles the stock away from the face so a quick second shot is easy.
The forend has a very interesting locking mechanism. The speed lock is as it says - fast - no unscrewing a locking nut to remove the forend just one press and a hinged locking catch, like a standard double barrel design, allows the forend to slide off the magazine tube. You can attach a sling to this catch and also to the butt via the moulded in swivel recess.
Barrelled Action
The action is made from alloy of high tensile strength, so light yet super strong and has a matt/satin black finish with twin scope recess cut for mounts. It’s a nice looker, well proportioned with an articulated bolt head and bolt system that does not use a firing pin spring in operation. The single claw extractor coped with all the shell extraction well and reliably launched them at speed away from you. A very speedy bolt operation that feels smooth and not laboured in any way.
The trigger is dubbed “Lightning” and is a new design although drops out like any other semi via twin retaining pins. The pull for an auto is very impressive, 5.75 lbs on my scales and also minimal creep although you are unlikely to feel this when a pigeon flies over you. Although the lock time is now 0.0052 seconds so the Lightning is reputed to be 24% faster than its nearest competitor, regardless it was very good out in the field. The bolt can be retracted and locked back as normal and then released by the bolt release button on the right of the receiver but the Maxus has a few other options.
There is a magazine cut-off lever on the bottom left action side. This allows you to cut off the magazine from feeding so the bolt can be retracted and a cartridge removed from the chamber. This can be a safety feature for climbing over fences or when a fox turns up and you can exchange a No 6 shot shell for a BB load. There is also the Speed Load Plus system where a cartridge can be loaded into the magazine not quite fully and is then instantly chambered into the chamber ready to be fired at a moment’s notice.
Action time is fast due to the Power Drive gas operated system. This will work with loads form 24 to 64 grams weight because the pistons travel has been increased by 20% for more reliability, particularly with the light loads. The valving is also redesigned to keep “crud” outside the functioning parts for a cleaner operation and the larger bleed valves vent gas more efficiently with heavy loads. With the lack of connecting rods from piston to bolt carrier, instead twin short stroke pushers, literally knock the bolt carrier open and rearward. This and the lightened bolt carrier helps with the Maxus`s fast action /reloading sequence.
Barrel dimensions are interesting too, this Synthetic came with a 26 inch barrel supplied with five chokes and choke key for any eventuality. These are Invector Plus chokes that contribute to a more even pattern /shot density down range. This is further enhanced by the extended Vector Pro forcing cone that effectively elongates the forcing cone dimensions and also with the back bored barrel cuts out a lot of pellet deformation by friction on the barrels walls and stops a lot of recoil which is why the Maxus is so sweet to shoot. There is a redesigned flatter 6mm rib and simple long green glow front bead
Pattern and Field tests
You hear too often a shotgun shoots good patterns, well I have to see it for myself, so I tested the Maxus with different loads on pattern plates and simulated rabbit targets out in the field. In this way we can see visually actually how the Maxus copes with different loads. I also chronographed each load.
The pattern plates were set up at 30 yards and the Maxus had a Modified choke installed. First up were the Remington Shur Shot Field load 70mm length with a payload of 34 grams of No 4 Shot that gave a mean velocity of 1308 fps from the 26 inch barrel. The pattern was well distributed for a larger shot size and centrally placed with 70 pellets within the inner 15 inch circle.
Second up were the Gamebore Clear Pigeon load with 30 grams of No 6 shot in a 70mm length. These gave a velocity of 1121 fps with very consistent velocities with only 32 fps difference in velocities. They patterned very well at 30 yards with very dense even patterns, with an incredible 92 shots centrally placed.
The Pure Golds from Gamebore also shot consistent patterns but its fibre wads construction gave a few problems in getting a clear chrono reading, with only a couple of readings of 1171 and 1143 fps. Also eight out of a box of 25 failed to eject properly.
Lyalvale Express Pigeon Special 65mm length with 29 grams of No 6 shot gave good 1243 fps velocity and functioned flawlessly through out the tests. The patterns showed a wider spread from the modified choke but were very evenly spread. There were 67 No 6 shot within the central kill zone.
The Lyalvale Express Supreme Game 65mm with 30grams of No 5 shot reputed to achieve 1400 fps velocity looked good but again the wadding caused serious chrono reading faults although the patterns were very good with 63 pellets within the inner circle at 30 yards.
I placed various rabbit sized cardboard cut outs in the fields and had several people walk past at 30 yards and then engage as you would in the field. The Gamebore Clear Pigeon load was really good and very soft on recoil also and yielded 31 pellets to the top half i.e. heart /lung and head - that’s dead.
I took the Maxus out pigeon roosting, rabbit shooting and squirrel ambushing with great success. Its light and very fast handling and the speed load certainly helped as pigeons flighted into the tree tops one after the other. The recoil was noticeably lighter than other semis I have tested allowing a fast second shot when required. The synthetic stock to me is the most practical for a working gun especially as you tend to lay it in the grass as you gut a rabbit or retrieve a downed pigeon. It certainly preferred plastic wads to fibre wads in terms of relaibilty and although I did not use the magazine cut off I think it’s a good idea.
Conclusion
This is a good looking semi at a good price in my book, the Maxus is a great all-rounder in terms of field use or rough shooting in this guise but wood stocks and camo are available for other tastes. When I sorted a load it liked its light weight and fast action became very instinctive to shoot i.e. forget about the gun and keep your eye on the game and lead! Patterns were very good but stick to plastic wadding for best results. I like the adjustable stock features as these are important, especially to get a shotgun to fit you properly and the price of around £1150 is good value. If you want a nice looking soft recoiling and versatile semi automatic shotgun the Maxus is a great choice. Please contact BWM on 01235 514550 for more details.
PRICE: £1150
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