An unlucky goose, Buddy, and a BPS 20 Gauge

Herstal Group recently changed its name to FN Browning Group, reporting a record year for 2023 achieving both the second-highest ever sales and all-time record profits. However, FN Browning has had to face the reality of a changing marketplace with one rather sad casualty. After some 47 years of production, the Browning BPS is no more.

Dad's first shotgun was a used Winchester Model 97 that he bought after saving up his paper route money. For many, many, many years, the good quality steel receiver slide-action shotgun was America's “working man's shotgun.” The Winchester Model 1897, designed by John Browning, sold over a million units and remained in production until 1957. It was the most popular shotgun in the American market for a good long while, being displaced by the Winchester Model 12 that sold around two million units. Those numbers may not be seen as wildly strong today, but in 1912 the population of the United States was just over 95 million.

When I started trapshooting, the Model 12 was revered. When growing up, if you had a Winchester Model 12 or an A-5, you were living large. Good quality pump shotguns were seen as more durable and reliable compared to autoloaders, and more affordable as well. As ammo grew more consistent, swollen paper hulls became largely a thing of the past, the pump shotgun began to lose its glow. For years, law enforcement's gun of choice was often a pump shotgun, a market where Remington once ruled the roost. Today, the demand for steel receiver pumps has dwindled. Winchester died, as did High Standard, as did Ithaca, as did Remington. Guns are discontinued primarily because the consumer demand has dropped to the point where they are no longer profitable to make.

At the same time, the price-based buyer has countless choices in semi-autos that are far cheaper than the BPS. Even the most recent BPS, with obviously downgraded walnut and unpolished matte blue sold for $750 or so. Suitably reliable Weatherby Element models with no pumping required can be had for substantially less all day long, as well as other models in the crowded inexpensive inertia gun segment. People have largely chosen semi-autos over pumps. In 1999, there was a lot of buzz about the then-new Benelli Nova and later, the remarkably unsuccessful Remington 887. The buzz, among hunters, has now largely been reduced to crickets.

The Miroku-made Browning BPS was remarkable, for it was available in all gauges. It was one of the last 10 gauges in mass production and was a successful 16 gauge as well: perhaps the last 16 gauge pump to sell in substantial quantity, a hit back in 2007. The Browning Pump Shotgun actually was a Browning: developed from the Browning-designed Remington Model 17 and the related Ithaca Model 37, the BPS was better suited to mass production using a barrel extension lock-up rather than threaded to the receiver barrels. The BPS was a truly ambidextrous design with the tang safety, neutral stock, and bottom eject. Launched in 1977, it was the last successful repeating shotgun introduced with a steel receiver.

The BPS 16 gauge entertains Rocky on the dove field.

The BPS was also the last successful Miroku-made repeater. I'm sorry to see it go, for it foreshadows the finite end of the 10 gauge and 16 gauge as readily available and popularly priced hunting shotguns as well.