I'm old enough to remember when Japanese products started coming into the States after the war back in the 50's. The merchandise was basically just junk, cheap buys of poor quality and low price, like transistor radios, clothes and plastic toys etc. Then in the next decade there was less and less items made in the good ole USA. I remember Browning firearms being made in Belgium and that didn't bother me. Then they started having "made in Japan" on them and that did bother me. Would they be of the same or similar quality as the Belgium made guns or cheap remedies as the other imported products? I found the answer from my local gun dealer, an old codger with a world of knowledge who was born in the 1890's. He was in his late 70's when I met him and had seen this country go from covered wagons to automobiles to air planes to seeing men walking on the moon! He told me the best swords ever made in all of history were forged in Japan, (Samurai) No country, not even Solingen Germany could compare to the meticulous metal craftmanship of Japan. He told me a firearm made in that country with Browning's name on it would have to be of the highest quality and superior to other brands. He loved Colt, Weatherby. Remington and Winchester but Browning the most only because of quality and where it was made.
Years ago I bought a Browning Stainless Stalker after reading a review in Guns and Ammo. After shooting at the range I noticed what I thought was a crack in the receiver under the bolt handle and the stock had something weird going on. I called Browning and they asked me to ship it to them. When I did they got back to me and stated the receiver wasn’t cracked but the wood-stock was delaminating. So they we going to replace the rifle. I said I bought it because of the synthetic stock! They said those won’t be built until spring. So I waited and received one of the first ones imported. With that said, read my issue in the A-bolt section. I will say this about Browning, I bought my wife a Ruger Stainless rifle in 243 Win. The internals are rough, as with the finish. Every time you unload after hunting it scores the brass badly. The Browning fit and finish is much better.
In my A5 family, there may or may not be one lone Japanese 20 gauge. (It was stupid cheap, I couldn't pass it up. It happens to be the only 20 gauge AND the only Japanese A5 I own.) Upon close inspection, the machining is equal, the fit and finish is equal, and this is looking through a pair of glasses that were worn by a machinist for 20 some years. ( And by machinist, I mean a real machinist, not a computer enhanced/controlled/operated machine babysitter. Cut threads, internal, external.left hand,right hand, cutting tapers without a taper attachment, etc. With a real micrometer, not some new fangled digital readout gizmotron.) Anyway, the Japanese barrel seems to be a shade thicker, hence a little more weight. The finish of the wood (on my sample batch of one) is perfect, as is the bluing. But there is just something about a Belgian A5 ......................................
Thanks for the input. I agree, there is just something about the Belgium made and something also about the Japanese made. What ties them together is the tradition of Browning's superior quality compared to other manufacturers!
And I don't think quality of Browning firearms (in general) has diminished, as many other firearm manufacturers have seemingly encountered in recent years. Wait a hundred years and see how many other guns are still holding up.
I agree a Belgium made browning may be worth more then a japan made one, however, as long as they go bang I really don’t care. I have a Japan made gun( not browning) and the fit and finish is super. Think where we would be without the invector barrels. I will take a barrel that I can choke any day.
I have a Springfield 12 gauge pump with adjustable choke. When I showed it to my gun enthusiast son-in-law he was stunned! He'd never heard of such a thing. LOL
Yea that’s old school. Might have been the shit back then. To me it makes a shotgun useless. Can’t shoot with that big boat on the end of the barrel. I guess it’s effective, but not for me.
I've considered eliminating it by shortening the barrel and making it a home defense firearm. It's probably not worth $50 if I tried to sell it.
I have a 20" Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip but really don't care for the slide release compared to Browning, Remington and Springfield. Plus I think the full stock is a benefit rather than a pistol grip for self defense.
