To get a better feel for the gun, Jeffrey and I fired Young's corporate course with the Silver Hunter. We fired 200 rounds at a pretty good clip, and the gun didn't even stutter.

Before beginning the 1,100-round shootout, the author sprayed FP-10 lubricant into the Browning Silver's action.

Next, we opened all the cases and commenced to shootin'. I fired the first 100 rounds--half at clay targets and half into a small hill across the pond. Next, Jeffrey fired four boxes into the hill. We fired all the rounds as fast as we could load the gun, yet the gun didn't falter. A closer examination revealed that the Silver Hunter was not as dirty or hot as I would have expected. That's clear evidence of the Active Valve sending unused gas and gunk out the front of the gun rather than back into the action.

The gun was still working fine, so we took turns loading and shooting as fast as we could. At about round 600, my "friend" Jeffrey said he'd had enough. "Maybe your job isn't so great," he opined. No kidding.

Fortunately, Young was game for a little bit of shooting, so we kept going. At round 670, the Silver started to feel a bit balky. It continued to run, but I couldn't help but think its flawless run was about to end. Then, as suddenly as it started, the clunky feeling disappeared, and the gun continued on without missing a beat. I can only assume that whatever piece of crud was binding the action worked its way out somehow.

All told, we fired 1,000 rounds of sporting clays loads and about 100 rounds of field loads without cleaning the shotgun. Through it all, the Silver Hunter performed flawlessly. Jeffrey and Young were a big help, but I still ended up running more than half those rounds myself in less than 3 hours. My head ached, my neck was a bit sore, and my thumb looked like it had been run through a meat grinder. But the gun was no worse for wear.

After digesting 1,100 rounds, the Browning Silver Hunter's mechanism was not as filthy as the author expected. The Active Valve gas system expelled excess gas and gunk out the forearm rather than back into the action.

After taking a few Advil, I gave the Silver Hunter a thorough examination. The inside of the action was dirty, but it was not as filthy as I expected it to be, based on my experience with other brands of shotguns. The bolt was a bit tougher to pull back than it was before the shootout began, but the stiffness was not enough to be a bother, and it disappeared after I cleaned and lubed the gun.

Further disassembly revealed a dirty bolt carrier and gas piston, but both parts were in better condition than I expected. The trigger group was also surprisingly clean. Mechanically, everything worked as well as it did when I started, and the cosmetic stuff cleaned up pretty easily.

I test a great many guns. At the conclusion of my testing, I weigh the pros and cons of each gun. In the end, it always comes down to one question: "Would I buy one?"

Browning's Silver Hunter certainly possesses many of the qualities I admire in a shotgun. It is reliable, feels good in my hands, has some smart design features like the Active Valve gas system, and is attractive to my eye. And perhaps most importantly in my book, it is a great value. I may not purchase the test gun just yet, but next time I'm in the market for a sporting shotgun, you can bet that Browning's Silver Hunter will be at the top of the list.