Browning Fusion. 23 October, 2000

Browning seem to be continually re-working new versions of their semi-auto, the Gold. The latest model carries the name; Fusion.

Historically , Browning has a greater connection to the semi-auto market than any other manufacturer. And can trace this back almost to the turn of the century, when John Browning invented his auto 5. The auto 5 worked as a result of direct recoil from the cartridge taking the barrel and bolt back to eject the fired case and reload the second; a very reliable system that has been widely copied and served the auto 5 well throughout it production life which has only recently come to an end.

Running along side this gun Browning have had various other autos on the market in recent years the previous best of which was the B80; produced in the early eighties. But since then the Gold has certainly been, in my opinion, their best effort.

The gold works on the gas principle. This is where gas from the fired cartridge is siphoned off through ports or holes in the barrel. These ports go through the barrel loop and direct the gas down onto a piston that is able to slide up and down on the magazine tube. When the bolt is forward, the piston is held against the barrel loop. So when the gas hits the piston assembly it has the effect of throwing it back which in turn pushes the bolt back, taking the fired cartridge with it. The spent cartridge is then thrown clear of the gun and the bolt travels forward again, picking up the second cartridge and placing it in the chamber ready for firing; all this happens quicker than the blink of an eye, or about that speed.

The key to a auto being reliable is that it should be simple in design and its parts precisely and well made, Because even a simple auto has many moving parts and so as each part depends on the next to be in the right place at the right time, each part must be well made.

Mechanically, Browning have hit a winner with the Gold, as it has proven to be a very reliable auto and has remained virtually unaltered since its debut.

Some of the changes are quite subtle, but the overall effect makes this quite a smooth handling gun, and obviously being an auto the system also makes the gun smooth to shoot.

With the Fusion most of the changes have been to the woodwork.

The stock has useful length of 14 ¾ “ ,and is finished with the standard Browning butt plate. Butt plates on new guns are always a plus for gunsmiths as it gives the maximum amount of wood for lengthening with a pad, and if the gun needs to be shortened then the work is quite straight forward.

The pistol grip is a little fuller and also has a palm swell which does fit the hand well though for choice I would have preferred a slimmer grip without the palm swell. Palm swells are often very comfortable, and can be used by left handers ,but they will not get the full benefits from it.

Browning have had left handed shooters in mind with this gun as it is supplied with a set of stock shims that as well as casting the stock for left or right hand depending on which way they are used, they also alter the drop of the stock.

When standard the drops at heel and comb are 2 ¼ and 1 3/8 respectively, which are good stand measurements for most shooters.

The forend has been slimmed slightly so that it seems a little more pointable and easy to grip. And is finished with an oil finish which is both practical and attractive. The forend cap has been re-vamped to a conical shape that does add to the lines of the gun and is recessed into the end of the wood. It indexes down tight onto three prongs that are pushed up by the magazine spring.

Chequer on both the stock and forend appear to be machine cut and is very neat, with a good pattern for plenty of grip.

The action shape has the rounded top which certainly is easier on the eye than the older square backed style. Loading is also easier with this gun than some of its competitors, as it has a split floor plate which allows the gun to be loaded even when the bolt is back in the open position. The gun is also furnished with a magazine lock; this allows the magazine to be locked when there are cartridges in it and then the chambered cartridge may be removed without the need to unload the gun completely. A useful feature for crossing a ditch or similar.

The safe button is certainly big enough so as not to be a problem for cold fingers to find when wildfowling. The safe is also quite easily reversible so that it is more comfortable for left handed shooters a useful and convenient feature, but also a necessary one as the safe is quite obtrusive to the trigger finger unless changed, and even the correct way round it touches the finger, though in fairness I wasn’t conscious of it when using the gun. I did actually shoot this gun on a couple of occasions and on my first attempt I shot one of my best scores for a long time , so I was certainly impressed with that.

The barrel on the test gun was a 28” but 26 and 30” are also available according to the catalogue. IT is 3” magnum so it will happily take anything that you want to put through it with the exception of the high performance steel shot, but it will happily shoot the standard loads providing the half choke is used as a maximum.

The barrel is over bored to 18.8mm that is about 0.740” so that recoil is reduced as much as possible, this also goes hand in glove with the Browning Invector Plus choke system. As a extra precaution to protect the barrel, the bore is chrome lined.

This gun handles and points very well, and in my hands shot as well as I would hope- they don’t always though that is rarely the fault of the gun.

The gun is designed as an all rounder and I think that it fulfils that very well; just as happy wildfowling or pigeon shooting as it would be at a clay ground.

It also comes in a practical plastic carrying case, with a trigger lock, stock shims and spare choke tubes. There is even a useful selection of spare foresight beads in a range of colours to suit any situation.

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