Can anyone tell me what the extra mark for the bottom barrel indicates . It’s a 1965 B25 Superposed

Discussion in 'Browning Superposed Shotgun' started by Eugen Weber, Mar 19, 2020.

  1. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

  2. Anatidae

    Anatidae .270 WIN

    ** = modified
    **- = improved cylinder
    The letter S with a horizontal hyphen through it normally denotes ‘Skeet’

    none of the markings on this gun look original (IMO).

    The asterisks do not appear to be factory stamped or stamped by Browning in the US. The character is not consistent with factory tooled stampings.

    So at some point the gun may have been re-finished or the barrel block was built-up and re-fitted to the receiver and there was a poor attempt to duplicate the choke markings.

    Then at a later date, it appears the chokes may have been opened and re-marked SK/SK by adding the faint S with a hyphen through it on the top barrel, and the faint S was added to the existing hyphen on the bottom barrel.
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2020
    Rudolph31 likes this.
  3. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    The Barrel is Belgian, and the Asterisks are consistent in comparison to a similar age Superposed a friend owns. The Hyphen is what threw me it is a consistent depth to the Asterisks, with same black finish that appears to be original . The barrel does not have anything that indicates to me that it has been machined or a re fit . I’ll have to do some more research, thank you for the response though, and I’ll report back if I solve the mystery.
  4. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    Eugen,

    Welcome to the forum!

    Those marks don’t look original to me either. But I’m an Auto-5 guy, Anatidae is a Superposed expert. Most of his posts are on Shotgunworld; it’d be worth your while to take a look.
  5. Anatidae

    Anatidae .270 WIN

    Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rudy

    I don't consider myself an expert,
    though ​
    - I still have more questions than answers.

    Technically, I should have said: "none of the markings in the photo look original". Obviously, I haven't seen the rest of the gun.

    Yes - welcome to the forum, Eugen. Good luck in your research. I can agree - the hyphen and 4 asterisks appear to have been stamped during the same time period.
  6. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

  7. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    I’ ll post some good photos of the gun tomorrow so you can see some more of it and maybe be able to tell me what you think when you have a chance to have a look.
    I really appreciate the feed back from you guys.
  8. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    Had a look at Shotgun world and found a photo there that has the exact same Asterisks as the ones on my barrel , so I do believe they are original as is the hyphen. It’s the S’s that look off for some reason.
  9. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    The link to the photo would be helpful.
  10. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

  11. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

  12. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    upload_2020-3-20_17-33-3.jpeg

    Attached Files:

  13. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    Found out this is a 1959 model and not a 1965 as I was told . Measured the Bores for top and bottom barrels and found that the bottom barrel has a tighter cone than the top barrel , thus the extra mark (Hyphen ).
    26.375” barrel , I guess the one draw back is that it has a Packmeyer cushion on the stock . So not totally original but it’s in decent condition and I like quality and the fit and feel of it .
  14. john stevens

    john stevens .22LR

  15. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    Thanks for posting that photo John, I tried to post that picture from Shotgun World , but wasn’t able to paste it to my reply.
  16. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    Is it possible that the bottom barrel with the double slash is Skeet 2, and the top Skeet 1?
  17. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    Definitely Skeet barrel , checked the chokes with a bore gauge today and found that the bottom barrel has a tighter choke dimension then the top barrel and I believe that is why the Hyphen is on the lower barrel. At least I know now.
  18. john stevens

    john stevens .22LR

    The photo is from my 1959 20ga. Grade I
    Eugen Weber likes this.
  19. Eugen Weber

    Eugen Weber .22LR

    Markings are very similar, again I thank you for posting your photo. Also found that the Serial numbers on the Barrel block, take down lever and the receiver all match.
  20. john stevens

    john stevens .22LR

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