Browning B2000

Ilove12gshotguns

Ilove12gshotguns

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Good day,

I just picked up a BNIB Browning B2000 in 12G 2 3/4 with a fixed full choke. I've a couple of question I would like to put out there and see what you guys think.


I would like to pick up a 3" chambered barrel, but don't have the foggiest idea on where to find one.

Would it be worth having the barrels threaded for Chokes? I'm pretty sure they would require the Briley thin walls.

Or should I just enjoy it the way she is, and use something else for 3" magnum duty.
 
What do you see as your need for a 3" gun?

Threading for choke tubes is a somewhat expensive proposition. If you have a certain use for the gun, you might just have it opened up to IC and just go shooting.
 
Why spend any more money on a semi that is at least 34 years old BNIB and were not the bomb or desirable when they were even new
I would use it as is unless you can get a 3" barrel very cheap
Cheers
 
I've got 3 B2000s, a 20 and 2 12s. To me they are an excellent shotgun. As far as barrels go, have fun trying to find one. I bought 2 out of the states many moons ago. Parts are as scarce as BBR rifle parts.
 
From my understanding they were excellent shotguns whose timing was poor, expensive to produce and interchange barrels for 2 3/4” and 3”. Fixed chokes also not desirable as the 80’s brought about removable chokes across the board.

Patrick
 
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A buddy had a 20g magnum and it would not cycle 2 3/4" shells worth a darn. Cleaned it, checked it, etc.....just would not cycle anything other than the heaviest of loads.
 
Most B2000's ive read about have 2 things in common,

1. Are built to a very high standard and are of excellent quality.

2. Will not cycle light loads.

There is a very inexpensive fix with that issue. The secret is to have the gas ports opened up just a touch, allowing more gas to come though with the lighter loads. Gunsmith wouldn't charge more then 60$ for this, it will have a little more recoil with the hot 2 3/4 loads.

I just need to decide if I want to keep this thing for clays and grouse, or want to run it as a 2 3/4 duck and slug gun.
 
VictoryXC said:
A buddy had a 20g magnum and it would not cycle 2 3/4" shells worth a darn. Cleaned it, checked it, etc.....just would not cycle anything other than the heaviest of loads.
Click to expand...

Well - In those guns, the barrel dictated what shells you need to use. If you have a 3 in magnum barrel, then 3 in shells are needed. If 2 3/4 in barrel, then 2 3/4 inch shells. The reason - these guns relied upon the gas ports in the barrel to regulate the action. Newer shotguns had adjustable actions (Baikal, Weatherby) or compensating actions (Beretta) that allowed the use of a single barrel with removeable chokes for a variety of loads.
As stated above, the B2000 was a good gun, that came onto the market at the wrong time.
 
High quality I am not sure about that
If you asked me this morning I would have said just another one of the average semi's that were around at the time in small numbers one that really never made an impact, people saved or kept for very long
Then I think back since I remember them brand new maybe three of them that showed up on the skeet/trap fields and now know they showed up in the same years 1974 that winchester introduced the super x1 which even by today's standards was the best semi ever made from a quality perspective
So did they get a fair shake, were they really that bad. I have no idea
All I know is the three I recall were sold off about a year later and replaced with winchesters many of which me included still own today and the b2000 just seemed to vanish into the sunset
I still see superx1 being shot I don't know the last time I seen a b2000
If I just got one would I waste any money on it NOPE. I would just shoot it until it shoots no more
Cheers
 
VictoryXC said:
A buddy had a 20g magnum and it would not cycle 2 3/4" shells worth a darn. Cleaned it, checked it, etc.....just would not cycle anything other than the heaviest of loads.
Click to expand...

cosmic said:
Well - In those guns, the barrel dictated what shells you need to use. If you have a 3 in magnum barrel, then 3 in shells are needed. If 2 3/4 in barrel, then 2 3/4 inch shells. The reason - these guns relied upon the gas ports in the barrel to regulate the action. Newer shotguns had adjustable actions (Baikal, Weatherby) or compensating actions (Beretta) that allowed the use of a single barrel with removeable chokes for a variety of loads.
As stated above, the B2000 was a good gun, that came onto the market at the wrong time.
Click to expand...

It didn't even cycle 3" shells very well. I don't see the point in a gun that you have to use only heavy 3" shells? Maybe they needed a lot of shells through them to break in. I have a Silver Hunter, Gold Hunter and had a Maxus. Far better IMHO. I would not put any money into a B2000.
 
I owned 2 B2000's in 12 gauge quite a few years ago. One of the guns that I owned had two barrels, one barrel chambered in 2 3/4 inch, 28 inches long with a mod choke and the other barrel was chambered 3 inch, was 30 inches long and was choked full. Both of these guns worked well with appropriate shells but the one downfall was the cleaning, if you want reliability from them then you need to keep the gas system and action cleaner than any modern auto loader I've used! A 200 target round of sporting clays was about as long as I could run them without cleaning, I certainly wouldn't start a second round of 200 with a dirty gun but the ergonomics were good, the guns handled well and shouldered easily, recoil was light and comfortable to shoot all day.
All in all I think they were a very good gun for their time but they're far outclassed by today's gas guns, in fact they aren't even in the same ball park. As far as a second barrel goes, I'm not sure where you'd start looking for one and frankly if it were me, I'd put the money for the gun, an extra barrel and threading the barrel for choke tubes toward a more modern gun.
 
I've worked on B2000's a fair amount. They do have a tendency to foul their gas ports, some seem to do it worse than others. I guess there's not a lot of "margin" in the gas system, as the slightest amount of fouling can turn them into a single shot. Also, the fouling sensitivity seems to depend on the type of ammo used...
 
I guess I'm lucky...mine has a 30" Full choke barrel and a 26" Skeet barrel. Better than choke tubes because I don't have to worry about losing the wrench!
 
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