Well - I put about 100 rounds down each one yesterday afternoon, and there is still no clear winner.
Here's what I like so far.
Browning
PROS:
- 3.5" chamber - never needed anything over 3" so far, but I have about 9 3" 12 gauges, and none with a 3.5" chamber.
- simple wood and uncarved receiver give it very clean lines. I'm not really about flash when it comes to any of my guns, so I like the muted looks.
- positive ejection - man does it ever THROW those empties! Never had any issues, with AA's or Fed Top Gun or Winchester target loads (walmart specials and the better quality ones).
- Handling - it's quick in my hands and has good balance. Feels a bit barrel heavy, but balances about 1/2" in front of the hinge.
- I like Brownings, and have always had good luck with their shotguns and rifles, so I believe they make a quality product.
- Chokes tubes - I already have a full set of 6 extended choke tubesI bought for my Citori, but kept them when I sold it - (SK, IC, LM, M, IM, F), and they are easy to change and indentify. I also own another set of 4 'Diana' grade extended chokes, so I have PLENTY of choices.
- Cast - it's almost neutral, and I'm a lefty, so any cast for a righty is not ideal.
- mechanical triggers. My citori had the inertia reset, and while it never gave me trouble, I somehow seem to prefer the mechanical. I seemed to be able to get off a followup quicker with the Cynergy- is that possible?
CONS
- There are not many.
- Safety is a little on the stiff and small side. I found the contact area for your thumb to be quite small. It is quite 'angular' and your thumb grips it well, but when wearing gloves (like I was yesterday) it can get lost. Also, the barrel selector is average and standard, but clear and not sticky at all.
- Plastic spacers under the forend - okay, it's not really a con because it's not visible when assembled, but I still don't like a lot of plastic on a nice shotgun.
Fabarm
PROS:
- The wood looks sweet. Really nice. I know it's 'fake' but just for classy looks, it blows the Browning away. It seems very durable, and I've read it even stands up to deet. Nice stuff.
- Fibre optic front sight - I never really used one on a shotgun before, and I must say I really like it! I was much quicker on-target and could pick up the red dot quite nicely. I'd actually like to try a green insert if possible.
- Saftey and barrel selection is much nicer on this gun! The safety has a nice wide spot for your thumb, and the click-off is much more crisp and defined. The barrel selector is like a 'paddle' within the saftey, and the whole safety doesn't move when you switch barrels. It looks nice, and works nicely too! As long as you figure out what * vs ** means. The Browning is labelled O and U.
- Trigger pull and position - adjustable and nice and crisp. Better than the Cynergy, but still not like my Tikka.
- Receiver looks really nice - the titanium finish is very nice, and the engraving is not garish or lame - it's borderline, but looks classy.
- Handling - again, very quick in my hands, and I think marginally faster than the Browning. I think the forend feels slimmer and seem to be able to bring it on target from a high-ready somewhat quicker (I practice all my clay shooting from a low or high ready - premounting is lame). Feels less barrel heavy, but it balances at almost the same point as the Cynergy.
- Tribore tube and HP chokes - Granted, I haven't done any scientific research, but the claim of 20% more pellets 'on-target' must have some level of proof behind it. There are only 4 choke dimensions, and I'd really like extended tubes - but they are an extra $67/piece!
CONS:
Again, not many.
- Stock cast - this might be the deal breaker for me. It has a fairly significant cast for a RH shooter. I found the recoil to be slightly greater than in the Cynergy (I think it's lighter than the Browning), and I'm not sure if that's part of the stock cast. My cheek and shoulder hurt like hell last night, but I guess I can't give all the blame to the one gun.
It points well, and I don't notice it in my sight picture.
- Somewhat 'unproven' in terms of long term reliability, but so is the Cynergy.
- A small hitch with the locking lever. If you push it over 'just' enough to unlock it, and then break it open, it won't close properly. You can alieviate by opening the lever totally to the right (which I always do), but is a small annoyance. I believe Claybuster aluded to this issue in his review of the Axis.
- When the action is broken open, there is a small bit of spring resistance preventing the gun from fully opening in the open position, depending on the angle at which your holding it. Hard to explain, but it made it difficult to get the shell in the lower barrel (the most common one to reload) unless the action was totally open. The rim of the shell would blocked by the top of the receiver. I'm sure most people know what I'm talking about, but I can't describe it well.
- Recoil pad - it's a little thin! I have a limbsaver on the Cynergy, so maybe that's also why recoil felt more stout on the Fabarm.
And as far as performance - I'm almost the same with both! I think I shoot slightly better with the Fabarm, as noted before, due to the slightly 'faster' handling. But I can't say I shoot 24/25 with one, and 16/25 with the other - I'm usually around 21-22 with both.
I really WANT to like the Fabarm a little more, as I think it's a bit more ###y and unique than the Browning. I also generally prefer the looks of the Fabarm.
So, after than long and winding post - any comments/ideas?
