Gun

Browning Golden Fusion

The latest member of the Browning semi-automatic family is lighter and slimmer than its predecessors. Richard Rawlingson takes a look.

Ever since John M. Browning unveiled the world’s first successful semi-automatic in 1902, this style of gun has been closely associated with the Browning name. In recent times the company has been working hard to re-establish its position in the important worldwide market for automatic shotguns with a whole family of products based around a new and highly effective gas operating system. It started with the Gold and later the stripped down version, called the Silver. Now we have a third model — the Fusion
— available in standard black and the high grade Golden model as tested here.
The company are pitching the Fusion as an all-rounder, aimed at the owner who might be as likely to take the gun into a pigeon hide or on the foreshore as the clay ground. It promises versatility and offers some novel features. In this increasingly competitive sector of the market, does it have what it takes to stand out from the crowd?

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

The heart of the new generation Browning autos is a gas system that is admirable in both its simplicity and its versatility, based around a combined valve and piston assembly that automatically compensates for variations in cartridge loads. Browning claim that the Fusion will cycle all loads from 24 to 57 gram, a huge operating range that would have been considered unthinkable even ten years ago. As with other self-adjusting systems, the design bleeds off excess gas from heavier loads through the valve, leaving only sufficient to cycle the mechanism.
Because everything is housed within this self-contained unit, the number of moving parts is kept to a minimum, as is cleaning and routine maintenance. The piston/valve assembly sits directly onto the connecting rod sleeve and these plus the return spring are the only removable parts when the gun is stripped down. Anyone used to older designs with their profusion of sealing rings and washers will be amazed at the simplicity of the design.
The other feature of the design is the use of lightweight modern materials, largely to keep weight down. The piston assembly itself weighs only 50g or so and the connecting rod sleeve is made from a composite plastic material. On the Fusion this is taken even further with the use of an ultra lightweight but very strong aluminium material for the magazine tube.
A complete strip down is easily completed by pulling off the operating handle to release the bolt assembly, while the trigger unit is removed by drifting out two pins. Routine cleaning should be about as simple as it gets on a semi-auto.
Loading can be done in the conventional way by dropping the first cartridge into the ejection port and operating the bolt latch before filling the magazine. Alternatively there is a speed loading facility through the magazine hatch that automatically feeds the first cartridge into the chamber and engages the bolt as you load — perfect for flushes and flurries!
Automatic loading of the next cartridge from the magazine can be prevented using the magazine cut-off facility, operated by a small lever on the left hand side of the receiver. Although of limited use in a clay shooting environment, this can be handy in the field if it is necessary to replace the shell in the chamber in a hurry. The other main operating mechanism is the safety catch, a large triangular button positioned, as we have come to expect, at the rear of the trigger guard.
The 30 inch barrel features Browning’s ‘back-bored’ profile and associated Invector Plus chokes. In addition to the four normal choke tubes supplied there is also a two-inch barrel extension. This is marked ‘Improved Modified (3/4), but had an unusual profile when measured on my bore gauge. The barrel itself measured .738”, but the extension opens out immediately to .755” and then tapers through the extended portion down to .721”. This would normally make it a slightly open half choke. I did not have time to pattern this choke, so have to take Browning’s markings on trust.
It is an interesting piece of extra equipment that could, for example, prove useful on longer range sporting targets, although I suspect the designers’ main purpose was to give wildfowlers some extra length if needed.
The barrel has a new rib design, ramped high at the breech end and falling towards the muzzle. The rib itself is narrow (6mm) and parallel and is finished off with another novel feature. The fore sight is a fibre optic type with a detachable core section. With the gun you get a little case containing a selection of replacements in different colours and sizes, so you can either choose the one you like best or change according to whim or light conditions as you please. The latest must have accessory or a gimmick? — I’ll leave it to you to decide.
A fair amount of work has been put into the shaping of the woodwork. The fore end is noticeably slimmer than on the early Gold models and much improved as a result. The stock has more meat through the comb area and will feel more like a target gun in consequence, while the grip is also reworked using an asymmetric shape. As is now normal, the stock fit can be adjusted using the kit of six interchangeable spacers supplied with the gun. The length is fairly standard at 375mm (143/4”) and as just a hard butt plate is fitted, could be extended without difficulty using a recoil pad.

COSMETICS
The standard Fusion has a plain black action with prominent gold name and Browning Buck’s head logo. Our test gun though was the Golden model costing some £500 more than the standard gun’s £734. For the extra you get upgraded wood with oil finish and a grey finished receiver decorated with black scroll work and gold game birds that undergo a metamorphosis in flight to clay pigeons. This is designed I presume to emphasise the gun’s all round ability, but I just think it looks naff — sorry Browning. Give me the plain black every time.
There are few quibbles with the standard of fit and finish and the gun is nicely presented in a slim black ABS case, complete with free trigger lock.

ON TEST
I remember the first Gold model I had on test as a bit of a clonker. It was nose heavy, with ponderous handling and one of the heaviest triggers I have ever encountered. Indeed the cheaper Silver was much sweeter handling because in sacrificing the rib Browning had reduced much of the weight forward of the hands.
The new model is a great improvement on both. The overall weight is lower, the gun tipping my scales at dead on 7 lbs (3.2kg), although this is rather more than the 2.9kg claimed in the current catalogue. That’s not a problem because I think the weight is a sensible compromise for the many roles the gun is intended to fill.
More important still is the much improved balance. The static balance point is right at the front of the receiver, but it is in the hands that the difference becomes most apparent. Gone is that nose heaviness and it feels much more neutral. The barrel extension shifts the balance point forward a touch, but not enough to have a serious effect on the handling.
Sadly the improvement did not carry through to the trigger. The pull is still inordinately heavy at just under 8lbs on my gauge and with a fair amount of creep to make it feel worse. It really did spoil the pleasure of using the gun and if it were mine I would send it straight off to a gunsmith who knows his stuff to get it sorted. Better still Browning could get it right in the factory. You do not look for excellence on a semi-auto but you should expect better than this.
Generally operation of the various functions is easy; all the main controls are large enough to be used with gloves on, including the magazine cut-off, and fall neatly to hand. The trigger blade however is on the small side with a tight radius and the trigger guard is similarly cramped. Those with large fingers could find space a bit tight.
I put a wide variety of ammunition through the gun and could not get it to falter, except as expected on some subsonic shells. The heaviest I could find in my store were some 52g Express 3” magnums (the barrel is chambered for 3” cases) and yes the gun handles them with ease. Whether you would want to fire too many of them through a 7lb gun is another matter, soft shooting gas gun or not. For normal clay and game loads the gun is typically smooth, although I would add a decent pad to complete the package.
There is much to like about the Fusion. If the graphics of this model don’t appeal there is always the standard black option at a reduced price while the operating system makes it easy to use and maintain. More significantly, the work on balance and handling has paid off handsomely. If only that same attention had been paid to the trigger pull I would have awarded the Fusion high marks, for it is genuinely a gun that could be put to several uses. As it is it slips a grade or two until Browning get that sorted.