BROYYNINGR We are proud that you have chosen a Browning. In its manufacture we have endeavored to incorporate the very finest in materials and craftsmanship, and with just reasonable care this gun should provide you with many years of pleasure and dependable service. If, by any chance, you have any observations to make regarding its performance or appearance, we hope you will write us immediately. We would also like to know more about you as a Browning owner and would be grateful if you could take but a moment to complete and return the marketing survey card found on the inside back cover. Thank you. BROWNING B R O W N I N G New Gun Owner's Record Keep this Browning record for future r e f e r e n c e Model. Gauge.. Purchase Price.. Date of Purchase Please fill out and mail the Marketing Survey back of the booklet. Card at the BROWNING Route # 1, Morgan, Utah 84050 Distributed in Canada by: 8rowning Arms Co. of Canada, ltd. 5350 Ferrier Street, Montreal, Que. H4P 1L9 GAS OPERATED AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN In conventional gun terminology, the position and movement of gun parts are described as they occur with the gun horizontal, in normal firing position; i.e., the muzzle is forward or front; butt stock is rearward or rear; trigger is underneath; the rib is on top. a. A L W A Y S V I S U A L L Y C H E C K YOUR SHOTGUN - to be certain that it does not inadvertently contain any ammunition. Whenever you pick up a gun, immediately make sure the gun is on safe and the chamber and magazine are unloaded. b. A L W A Y S K E E P Y O U R G U N ' S SAFETY IN THE "ON SAFE" POSITION - even if you are certain the gun is unloaded. Check and double check, frequently while you are hunting. Be sure contact with a twig, a tumble on slippery terrain, the moment of excitement after a shot, or a dozen other seemingly innocent incidents have not left you with a gun, "off safe." Never point a gun you are certain is "on safe" at anything you do not intend to shoot. Safe gun handling does not stop with your gun's mechanical safety. It starts there. Handle your gun at all times with deep respect 1 CAUTION NOMENCLATURE and with alert consideration to all within its range. c. ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE OF YOUR GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION - even though you are certain the gun is unloaded and "on safe." Never point your gun at anything you do not intend to shoot. d. ALWAYS UNLOAD YOUR SHOTGUN WHEN NOT IN USE - As a safety precaution it is preferable to disassemble your gun for storage. Store your gun and ammunition separately - beyond the reach of children. e. DO NOT PUT A 20 GAUGE SHELL IN A 12 GAUGE GUN - if you value your gun and yourself. We strongly recommend that all shells of different gauges be stored in completely separate and well-marked containers. NEVER store shells of mixed gauges in a common container or IN YOUR POCKETS. EXAMINE EVERY SHELL YOU PUT IN YOUR GUN. The most certain way to bulge or rupture the finest barrel is to drop a 20 gauge shell into a 12 gauge chamber. The 20 gauge shell, unfortunately, will not fall completely through the barrel; its rim is caught by the FRONT of a 12 gauge chamber. Your gun will misfire, and under conditions of carelessness made lethal by haste, a 12 gauge shell can be loaded behind the 20. You could not deliberately have creat2 ed a more serious hazard to your gun and yourself. f. BEWARE OF BARREL OBSTRUCTIONS - for the safety of both your gun and yourself. Mud, snow and an infinite variety of other objects may inadvertently lodge in a barrel bore. It takes only one small obstruction to ruin (swell or rupture) the finest of shotgun barrels. g. DO NOT SNAP THE HAMMER ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER - THE CHAMBER MAY NOT BE EMPTY! Treat every gun with the respect due a loaded gun - even though you are certain the gun is unloaded. It is unnecessary to snap the hammer to prevent weakening of the main spring. It will not weaken even though the hammer is left cocked indefinitely. Neither will snapping the hammer on an empty chamber damage or break the firing pin. AMMUNITION: The gauge and maximum acceptable load are stamped on the right side of the barrel. Never use a load that exceeds these specifications. Magnum shells may be used so long as the cartridge length does not exceed the length stamped on the barrel. That is, a 12 gauge shotgun stamped "12 gauge shells - 2 3/4 inches" may use 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge Magnum loads but not 3 inch 12 gauge Magnum loads. 3 CAUTION: Do not take the measurement of an unfired shell to determine the length. An unfired 2 3/4" shell, for example, only measures about 2 1/2". Most shell boxes are stamped as to the length of the shells they contain and some shells are actually individually marked as to their length. The Browning 2000 must be used only with the gauge of ammunition stamped on the barrel. The barrel and action of this shotgun have been made with large safety margins over the pressures developed by established commercial loads. Nevertheless, Browning can assume no responsibility for incidents which occur through the use of cartridges of non-standard dimension or those developing excessive pressures. GENERAL OPERATION This shotgun is gas-operated. A portion of the expanding powder gases is bled off through gas ports in the barrel and used to operate the mechanism. During rearward travel, the bolt extracts and ejects the spent shell and cocks the hammer. During forward travel, a new round is fed from the magazine to the chamber. This operation is semi-automatic; the trigger must be released and pulled to fire each successive shot. After the last shell has been fired, the breech bolt locks open. This of course, facilitates speedy reloading. 4 shipped with the forearm attached to the receiver and magazine tube. In order to install the barrel it is necessary to remove the forearm from the magazine tube and affix the forearm on the barrel before mounting the barrel to the action. Follow the stens below: 1. THOROUGHLY CLEAN ALL ANTIRUST COMPOUND FROM THE BARREL,THE BORE AND OTHER METAL SURFACES. Remove with any good quality gun oil or gun cleaning solvent. 2. Unscrew the forearm cap and remove the forearm from the magazine tube. 3. Affix the forearm to the barrel by locating the entire forearm rearward of the barrel ring and gently sliding the forearm forward until the barrel ring is seated against the rubber forearm bushing (Figure 1). Do not force the rearward end of the forearm upward around the barrel as this could split the forearm. MOUNTING THE BARREL TO ACTION Your Browning 2000 is packaged and 4. Draw the breech bolt rearward so that it remains locked back. Be sure the safety is "on safe". 5. Grasp the butt stock by the pistol grip and anchor the butt end on your hip. With your other hand grasp the forearm and barrel and after a final glance through the bore to be sure there is no barrel obstruction, carefully work the forearm down the magazine tube and introduce the barrel extension into the receiver (Figure 2). 6 6. As the barrel and forearm are seated into final position, be certain the Ushaped cut in the barrel extension (Figure 3) mates fully against the Fig. 3 barrel guide in the upper inside of the receiver (Point A, Figure 4). Also check that the metal forearm tabs in the rearward end of the forearm (Figure 5) slide into the opposing receiver recesses (Point B, Figure 4). 7. Screw the forearm cap onto the magazine tube. HAND TIGHTEN ONLY. Never apply a wrench or any kind of severe force. Removing the barrel is simply done by reversing the above procedure. If you prefer to store your gun with the action and barrel separated, it is suggested that the forearm be attached to the magazine tube and receiver. This secures your forearm and prevents it from possible damage. Do not press the carrier latch and let the breech bolt ride home under its own force, unless the bolt is actually feeding a round into the chamber. It is always advisable, whenever the bolt is being closed on an empty chamber or being closed after the barrel has been removed from the action, to hook your thumb or finger around the bolt operating handle and let the bolt ease forward. CLOSING THE BREECH The cross bolt safety blocks the trigger from operating. In the "off safe" or "fire" position a red warning band is visible, on the left side of the trigger guard_, alerting the shooter of the gun's ready-to-fire status. To accommodate left hand shooters, this safety can be reversed by a gunsmith in a matter of minutes. When reversed, of course, the red warning band will then appear on the 8 CROSS-BOLT SAFETY right side of the trigger guard. Unlike many other guns with cross bolt safeties, no extra parts are necessary for this conversion. BE SURE THE MUZZLE IS POINTED IN A SAFE D I R E C T I O N , A N D T H E SAFETY I§ "ON SAFE." The Browning 2 0 0 0 is equipped with the speed loading system Browning Automatic shotguns are famous for. It is not necessary to jiggle the first round into the chamber and then trip the carrier latch (bolt release) to ready the first round for firing. Nor is it necessary to insert a round into the magazine and then cycle the bolt to chamber the first round After being sure the breech bolt is locked open, all you do is thumb the first round into the loading port on the left side of the receiver.. Push this first round forward so that the brass head of the shell is about an inch forward of the carrier latch trip (Figure 6). Release the shell by withdrawing your thumb completely out of the loading port and letting the shell slam rearward against the LOADING carrier latch trip. Instantly this round will be whisked into the chamber ready for firing! 9 (Remember to keep your fingers away from the ejection port on the opposite side of the receiver. The bolt drives forward with force during the loading of this first round.) The second, third and fourth shells to be loaded are then thumbed completely into the magazine. You will not be able to insert the fifth shell you load completely into the magazine. This fifth shell (the second shell in lineup for firing) is inserted so that it lays in the loading port with the crimped end protruding only partly into the magazine (Figure 7). Be certain that this shell lays straight and is entirely within the loading port. It is held firmly in this position and will not fall out or rattle. This is also true when the plug is installed - the third (last) shell to be loaded (second in firing sequence) lays visible in the loading port. The shell which lays visible in the loading port can be quickly removed, if you want to switch loads in a hurry. Suppose your 2000 is loaded with duck loads and geese decide to veer your way. Simply pluck the visible shell from the loading port and insert a goose load. Cycle the bolt. Your chambered duck load will eject, and the goose load will be chambered. 10 SWITCH LOADS FAST Once loaded, all that is necessary to fire the gun, of course, is to push the safety to the "fire" position and pull the trigger. The first shell will fire and be ejected. The second will automatically be chambered. The trigger must be released and pulled to fire each successive shot. THE BREECH REMAINS OPEN after the last shot has been fired. This allows you to reload quickly, if you desire to. If the initial shooting of your 12 g a . B-2000 is done with trap, skeet or light field loads, you may experience a few malfunctions in the first box or two of shells. After this short break-in period your B-2000 will operate well with light or heavy loads. As well as speed loading, the Browning 2000 features speed unloading. Before unloading, BE SURE THE SAFETY IS "ON SAFE" AND THE MUZZLE IS POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION. The shells in the loading port and magazine are unloaded first. Simply ease the shell UNLOADING BREAKING IN WITH LIGHT LOADS FIRING in the loading port outward with your thumb until you can remove it. To remove the shells in the magazine depress the cartridge stop. The cartridge stop (Figure 8) projects from the bottom of the bolt slide. With the cartridge stop depressed let each shell ride rearward and out of the loading port. In this manner you can remove all the shells except the one in the chamber. This shell is removed by drawing the breech bolt rearward and catching the shell as it ejects. A magazine plug, restricting the Browning 2000's capacity to 3 shots, is furnished with each gun. TO INSTALL THE PLUG first remove the trigger group (see pages 23 and 24). Merely push MAGAZINE PLUG the solid end of the magazine plug through the opening in the follower until the plug is MAGAZINE FOLLOWER completely within the magazine (Figure 9). Important: Be certain that the split end of the magazine plug is rearward. TO REMOVE THE PLUG first remove the trigger group (see pages 23 and 24). Then take an empty shotshell and place the mouth of the shell against the magazine follower (Figure 10). Thumb this empty shell far enough into the magazine to place a sec ...