Icon Logo Gun Mart

The Browning 525

The Browning 525

The gun that I have selected for our special feature this month is the Browning 525. I am especially fond of the latest, Invector Plus, version of the 525 with 30” barrels and have shot one for more than a year with my youngest son, Harry, a keen clay buster and game shot, Harry Yardley. It is a gun which in my opinion not only shoots very well – I particularly like the configuration and feel of the sporter model whether one is shooting clays or feathered quarry – but one which offers absolutely outstanding value for money. You just won’t get more bang for your buck. It is a Can’t-Go-Wrong gun that may be bought in complete confidence. You can get more bling, but functionally, you would have to struggle to get more gun (and if you want the bling there are models like the Prestige and Heritage within the series/range which offer it).

Why am I so confident in recommending the 525? Well, it is well made, well designed, well finished and reliable. It is reasonably attractive (though aesthetics are not its strongest point). In 30” multi-choked sporter form, however, it is a true all rounder. With the latest high performance fleur de lys 3” proof (compatible with High Performance steel shot), there is almost nothing that can’t be done with it – skeet, sporting, domestic trap, pigeon shooting, walking up, driven days, and forays on the marsh or foreshore with steel shot.

It will do the lot and do them well. There are few other guns which are more versatile than this model – undoubtedly the best mass produced, mid-priced, gun Browning have yet made. And, not to put too fine a point on it, one of the best guns in the world for the money.

The B25

Before going into some of the technicalities of the specific gun, though, let’s put it into an historical time line. The 525, follows, the 325 and 425, all may said to be progeny of the famous Belgium made B25 Superposed – the last, great, creation of the Morman gunmaking genius John Moses Browning. Books have been written about him and many on his guns, but at the least, anyone who is interested in the man might seek out his Wiki entry on the internet.

Made in Japan

The story of the Japanese made Brownings which begins some 40 years after his death is almost as interesting. In the 1960s and 70s the Browning company became aware that a firm in Japan, B.C.Miroku, who also made car parts, who were copying their guns. They had been doing a rather good job of it too, and the guns were being seen in increasing number in the UK (my first skeet and trap guns were Mirokus) and the US, where they were marketed under the Charles Daley name.

The Miroku shotguns were well made, a slightly simplified version of the original B25 (I might add here that the very earliest Mirukes had V springs powering their actions which were of a rather shorter pattern than the ones we see today.). Anyway, Browning despatched a delegation to Japan to negotiate with Miroku, they didn’t manage to get them to stop copy Brownings, instead they entered into what has since become a very long standing commercial relationship whereby the Japanese manufacturer ended up making the great majority of Browning over-and-unders (leaving the remainder to be put together in time honoured fashion in Browning’s Herstal works in Belgium).

The Japanese-made Browning, sometimes called a Citori, came to the market sometime around 1980 and was a hit from the start. It evolved from the 325, to the 425 and, more recently, the 525 (an essentially similar gun to the British specifified 525, the 625, was available only in the US). All these guns are based on a slightly (and cleverly) simplified, mass-production friendly version of the original Superposed design. The B25 itself it might be mentioned is partly machine made, but a lot of hand work goes into it (as indeed it does to the Japanese made guns – but not quite as much – though they are notable for being hand regulated and patterned in traditional manner just like their more upmarket cousins).

What are the Differences?

The most obvious difference perhaps concerns the fore-end. On the Japanese guns it is detachable from the barrels on routine disassembly. On the B25, the fore-end remains attached to the barrels (though it may be removed by means of screwdriver). The original Superposed a hinged projection from the forend arm slots into the underside of the action (which can be a bit fiddly to locate when putting the more expensive gun together). I prefer the arrangement on the Japanese made guns - common to Brownings of that origin and Mirokus.

story continues below...

The Japanese guns have an inertia single trigger mechanism. The Belgian guns retain a mechanical system. There are significant differences of form. The machine-made stocks on the Japanese guns are usually a bit chunkier than those on the usually bespoke Belgian B25s. Another difference concerns barrel weight. The Belgian guns usually have lighter, thinner walled, barrels with fixed chokes, while most of the Japanese guns have multichokes in barrels which trumpet slightly at the muzzles to accommodate them and which are generally of heavier profile (though the barrels on the latest 525s have been lightened – see below). The differences in stocking and barrels gives the mechanically quite similar guns rather different handling qualities.

The Japanese Brownings have a steady feel to them, but perhaps not the finesse of the Belgian guns. They are also very popular, of course, because of their pricing. You can get a 525 for around £1,500 but a B25 starts at about 12K.

B525 Specifications

The game version of the B525 with a 6mm rib hits the scales a little over 7lb, the latest sporter version is about half a pound heavier (and better for it in my opinion – I am no fan of lightweight O/Us for any application save perhaps yomping over hills or woodcock shooting). The new 525 in all guises is quite light for its bore and barrel length. The barrels, hard chrome plated for improved longevity too, now weigh about 3.5 oz less than previous models. This is a very important change.

The barrel shoulders of the 525 are beaded, as is the top of the action. In essence, the model has been streamlined, but not quite as radically as the excellent new 725 (another gun which will appear in my top 10). The barrels of the 525, meantime, are 3inch chambered and bear high performance proof marks. They are of monobloc construction. This is another part of the story, because Browning held on to demi-bloc construction for many years (where a top barrel tube is attached to a bottom one with integral lumps – the over and under equivalent of chopper lump).

This method of manufacture, famously perfected by Beretta and seen on their guns for a hundred years, came in as far as Browning were concerned about halfway through the 425 production cycle. In the decade or more it has been employed, Browning’s have mastered the technique to the degree that it is almost impossible to see the join between barrel tubes and monobloc. I would not exaggerate in saying, that Browning monobloc barrels are amongst the finest I have ever seen, all the more since internal hard chrome plating has been introduced – Browning did once suffer from chamber and bore rusting (one of the few faults on an otherwise splendid design).

The barrels of the latest 525s, like some other guns in the Browning range, are backbored. What does this mean? They are a little wider in bore diameter than most 12 bores. They also have longer forcing cones (another comparatively recent introduction for Browning). The old cones were only about 1” long – and Browning insisted their merits for some years – now the guns have cones about 3” long. The combination of these features, together with typically good Browning stock shapes, helps in my view to make the latest 525 a soft shooting – noticeably softer than some previous stack barrelled Brownings. Enlarged bores and elongated forcing cones are often associated with lower felt recoil. On the ballistic front, it is often suggested the mods improved patterns too. I believe this is the case, the pattern fringes seem more efficient in back-bored guns – there is less central concentration – and the modification has most effect when large payloads and pellet sizes are employed.

Shooting Impressions

Well as is our usual habit, we will finish by noting how they shoot. I have already given much of the game away. The latest 525s offers significantly improved performance. Not only do the back-bored barrels, long cones and sensible stock shapes lessen felt recoil, they improve second shot recovery and general ‘shootability’. Handling is improved by removing weight from the barrels. These latest 525s feel more refined, not like a B25 – they have a character of their own.

For a multi-choked 30” gun, the 525 is quite pointable and livelier, more willing, thanks to a reduction in weight forward. Comparing game and clay guns (the main difference of which, apart from decoration, is a 6mm rib on the former and an 10mm on the latter which also has slightly greater overall weight), I would say recoil is reduced in the sporter and control enhanced (which it is why it my favourite).

It might be noted that you may encounter two developments of the 525, an Invector choked version with standard bore and chokes, and the later Invector Plus gun with back-boring and longer pattern choke tubes. Both are good, but the latest guns are more desirable.

If you are tempted to buy a 525 – whether a Sporter or Game gun, I advise the latest ‘Invector Plus’ pattern – easily distinguished because when you open the gun it will say ‘Invector Plus’ rather than ‘Invector’ on the side of the monobloc. A few small changes have made a very big difference. It takes up an honourable place in my top 10. I can hardly pay it a higher compliment than to say it is the gun (along with my old Beretta 303 auto) that I have used to teach my son to shoot with.

Prices start at around £1500 for the basic B525 Game model, but for an up to date price list of all models and details of your nearest stockist visit www.browningint.com or contact International Sport Brands on 01235 514550. GM

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • The Browning 525 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

Arrow