The test gun had an attractive walnut stock with a satin finish and well-executed checkering. The wood was dark and attractive, although somewhat straight-grained. It had a satin finish, rather than the traditional Browning gloss. The stock was capped with a cushy, 1-inch ventilated recoil pad. Length of pull was 14.25 inches.

The author was impressed with the Silver Hunter's excellent wood-to-metal fit.

Special Touches
So far, the Silver sounds pretty much like the rest of Browning's autoloaders. But Browning did make a few changes to simplify the Silver line, thereby making it less expensive and possibly even more reliable, despite its lower price tag.

First, Browning's engineer borrowed the one-piece carrier from sister company Winchester's Super X3. The SX3 has enjoyed an enviable reputation for reliability, so Browning's engineers studied the SX3 on high-speed film and decided that its simpler one-piece carrier was one of the keys to its reliability.

However, the one-piece carrier does not allow the speed-loading feature the Browning Gold shotgun utilizes. Still, the speed-loading system is something I can live without if it means more reliability.

A DIRTY JOB

I could have left the gun as-is and wiped off the exterior for photographs after my 1,100-round shootout, but my conscience wouldn't let me. I had to give the Silver Hunter a thorough cleaning before I could get a good night's sleep. Fortunately, the miracles of modern chemistry made clean-up a snap. I do not use cleaner-degreasers as a matter of course, but they are a huge help when cleaning up any gun that's been neglected or subjected to a high round count without a cleaning. I used the Brownells TCE Cleaner Degreaser to clean up the Silver Hunter. A few blasts from the aerosol can were all I needed to make the working parts sparkle. Next, I used Birchwood Casey Barrel Boss and a bit of Brownells Shotgun Wad Solvent to clean the bore. I used Briley's excellent Turbo Choke Cleaner liberally soaked with Wad Solvent to scrub the chokes, and then I followed up with a few passes of the Barrel Boss soaked with Shooter's Choice. Finally, I lubricated the working parts with Shooter's Choice. Be sure to lubricate liberally after using a cleaner-degreaser because it strips all the lubricant off the metal; you are literally starting with bare steel. --Greg Rodriguez

Some of the Silver's other changes are less noticeable. For example, the cartridge stop is built into the cartridge latch rather than on the slide. Also, the Silver's action does not have to maintain a delicate balance between the action spring and the magazine spring. These features combine to prevent the shells in the magazine from trying to open the action when the shotgun is resting on its butt.

Putting It To The Test
I really liked the Silver Hunter. The 7.5-pound gun felt good in my hands, and it fit surprisingly well, despite the fact that the length of pull was a half-inch too long for my short, stocky frame. I was anxious to put it through its paces--but not in a conventional manner.

Grange really emphasized the Silver Hunter's reliability when we first talked about the gun, so I decided to put his claims to the test and try to make the review gun cry "uncle." I called up Winchester Ammunition and had them send over four cases of Winchester's superb AA clays loads for my little experiment. If 1,000 rounds without cleaning or lubrication didn't stop the test gun, I reasoned, nothing would.

At the first opportunity, I took the Silver Hunter to the Rio Brazos shooting preserve near Simonton, Texas, to test it on hard-flying chukars and sporting clays. Some may have negative images of preserve birds, but the Rio Brazos's birds fly fast and hard, and the sporting clays course there is an ever-changing nightmare for even the most experienced clays shooters. Fortunately, manager Robert Young keeps a special "corporate" course for more challenged shooters like yours truly.

I started out the day hunting with my friend John Wood. I am not sure how many rounds of game loads I fired, but it had to be at least 100 based on the number of birds we shot. The Silver Hunter handled nicely and came up quickly, which certainly contributed to my excellent hit rate.

After a hearty lunch, I drove over to the clays course with Young and another friend, James Jeffrey, who offered to lend me his considerable shoulder for the duration of the endurance test. Since I had already fired a little over 100 rounds through the gun and still had 1,000 rounds to go, I sprayed a bit of FP-10 into the action before opening up the first case and bringing on the pain.