Browning 2000 Owners Manual

							BROYYNINGR
We are proud that you have chosen a
Browning. In its manufacture we have endeav- ored 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
BROWNING New Gun Owner’s Record
Keep this record for future reference
Browning Model.
Gauge..
Purchase Price..
Date of PurchasePlease fill out and mail the Marketing Survey 
Card at theback of the booklet.
BROWNING
Route # 1, Morgan,  Utah 84050Distributedin Canada by: 8rowning Arms Co.  of Canada, ltd.
5350 Ferrier Street, Montreal, Que. H4P 1L9 
						

							GAS OPERATED AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN
NOMENCLATURE
In conventional gun terminology, the posi-
tion and movement of gun parts are described
as they occur with the gun horizontal, in 
normal firing position; i.e., the muzzle is for-
ward or front; butt stock is rearward or rear;
trigger is underneath; the rib is on top.
a.
b.
CAUTION
ALWAYS VISUALLY CHECKYOUR 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.
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR GUN’S
SAFETY IN THE “ON SAFE” 
POSI-
TION  - even if you are certain the
gun is unloaded. Check and double
check, frequently while you are hunt- 
ing. Be sure contact with a twig, a
tumble on slippery terrain, the mo-
ment of excitement after a shot, or a
dozen other seemingly innocent inci-
dents 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 mechan- 
ical safety. It starts there. Handle
your gun at all times with deep respect
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							and with alert consideration to all
within its range.
c. ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE OFYOUR GUN POINTED IN A SAFE 
DIRECTION 
- even though you are
certain the gun is unloaded and “on safe.” Never point your gun at any- 
thing you do not intend to shoot.
d. ALWAYS UNLOAD YOUR SHOT- GUN WHEN NOT IN USE 
- As a
safety precaution it is preferable to
disassemble your gun for storage.
Store your gun and ammunition sep-
arately - 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 sep-
arateand 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 rup-
ture 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 mis-
fire, and under conditions of careless-
ness made lethal by haste, a 12 gauge
shell can be loaded behind the 20.
You could not deliberately have creat-
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							ed a more serious hazard to your gun
and yourself.
f. BEWARE OF BARREL OBSTRUC-TIONS 
- 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 onesmall 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 max-
imum acceptable load are stamped on
the right side of the barrel. Never
use a load that exceeds these specifica-
tions.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.
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							CAUTION: Do not take the meas-
urement of an unfired shell to deter-
mine 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 individu-
ally marked as to their length.
The Browning 2000 must be used only
with the gauge of ammunition stamped
on the barrel. The barrel and actionof this shotgun have been made with
large safety margins over the pressures
developed by established commercial
loads. Nevertheless, Browning can as-
sume no responsibility for incidents 
which occur through the use of cart-
ridges 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.
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							MOUNTING THE BARREL TO ACTION
Your 
Browning 2000 is packaged and
shipped with the forearm attached to the re-
ceiver and magazine tube. In order to install the barrel it is necessary to remove the fore-
arm from the magazine tube and affix the 
forearm on the barrel before mounting the
barrel to the action. Follow the 
stens below:
1.
2.
3.
THOROUGHLY CLEAN ALL ANTI- 
RUST COMPOUND FROM THE
BARREL,THE BORE AND OTHER
METAL SURFACES. Remove with 
any good quality gun oil or gun clean- 
ing solvent. 
Unscrew the forearm cap and remove 
the forearm from the magazine tube.
Affix the forearm to the barrel by lo-
cating the entire forearm  rearward of
the barrel ring and gently sliding the
forearm forward until the barrel ring is
seated against the rubber forearm bush-
ing (Figure 1). Do not force the rear-
ward end of the forearm upward around
the barrel as this could split the fore-
arm. 
						

							4.
5.Draw the breech bolt rearward so thatit remains locked back. Be sure the
safety is “on safe”.
Grasp the butt stock by the pistol gripand anchor the butt end on your hip.
With your other hand grasp the fore-
arm 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).
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							6. As the barrel and forearm are seatedinto final position, be certain the 
U-
shaped 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 (Fig-
ure 5) slide into the opposing receiver
recesses (Point B, Figure 4).
7. Screw the forearm cap onto the maga-
zine tube. HAND TIGHTEN ONLY. 
						

							Never apply a wrench or any kind ofsevere force.
Removing the barrel  is simply done by
reversing the above procedure. If you 
prefer to store your gun with the ac- tion and barrel separated, it is suggest-
ed that the forearm be attached to the
magazine tube and receiver. This se-
cures your forearm and prevents it
from possible damage.
CLOSING THE BREECH
Do not press the carrier latch and let the
breech bolt ride home under its own force, un-
less 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 re-
moved from the action, to hook your thumb or finger around the bolt operating handle and
let the bolt ease forward.
CROSS-BOLT SAFETYThe 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
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