|
Hello all,
I just bought myself a new-old shotgun (on a whim) and I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know very much about it. It is a Browning Lightning O/U made in Belgium and chambered for 2-3/4 shells only. It has "Browning Superposed" stamped on the bbl but I'm not sure what that means. Ser# is: 719 S71. I would really like to know the approximate age of this gun and any other interesting details about it. I was told that Browning hasn't made shotguns in Belgium for quite a while.
The safety lever also acts as an O/U selector switch. Am I correct in assuming that the one selected (the letter exposed) is the first bbl to fire? Also, is it safe to dry fire this shotgun? I've fired it a couple of times on some spent shells but I wonder if I should get some snap caps for this.
I was hoping that this would be a good "general purpose" clay pigeon gun. I don't know very much about the different variations of the sport yet, but I understand that you can be very disappointed if you take a skeet gun to a trap shoot and vice-versa. There are no markings to tell how the chokes are set up and they are not changeable.
Lastly, I would like to know (or maybe not) if I made a good deal. I fell in love with it at first sight and I don't make my best decisions that way. I paid $675 for it. It has some nasty scratches in the wood on the lower stock, but it is otherwise near mint. My guess is that it spent many years ignored in the back of a closet, occasionally getting whacked by the vacuum cleaner. The barrels show no signs of wear, and the whole thing locks up tight as a drum. The bluing is flawless and there aren't even any marks inside to suggest that it was even fired. Only the scratches in the wood keep it from being perfect.
Sorry for sounding so clueless about this gun, but any advise or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
|