Browning B-ss Owners Manual

							New Gun Owner’s Record
(Keep this record for future reference)
Browning Model
Serial Number
Gauge Purchase 
Price
Purchased From 
Date of Purchase
Please fill out and mail the Market Survey Cardat the back of the booklet.
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 reason
able care, 
this gun should provide you with many years of
pleasure and dependable service. If, by chance you have any
observations to make regarding its performance or appear-
ance, 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 market 
survey card found on the inside
back cover Thank you.
BROWNING
Route #l, Morgan, Utah 84050Distributed in Canada by Browning Canada Sports Ltd/Ltee.5350 Ferrier Street Montreal Que. H4P  1L9 
						

							BROWNING B-SS
1
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR FIREARMS SAFEIY
Please let us remind you that, as a gun owner, you
accept a set of responsibilities of the most demand- 
ing nature. How seriously you carry out these respon-
sibilities can be the difference between life and death.
Mistakes made with guns are final and cannot be paid for with money or regret.  PLEASE READ AND
UNDERSTAND THE PROPER HANDLING AND
INSTRUCTlON PROCEDURES OUTLINED IN
THlS  BOOKLET BEFORE USING YOUR NEW
FIREARM.
There is no excuse for careless or abusive handling
of any firearm. At all times handle this shotgun withintense respect for its force and power. 
Please read and practice the following cautions:
CAUTION
ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE OF YOURSHOTGUN POINTED IN A SAFE  
DIREC-
TION even though you are certain the shot-
gun is unloaded. Never point your shotgun at anything you do not intend to shoot. Be ex-
tremely alert and aware of all persons and
property within the range of your ammunition. 
						

							2
2.NEVER TRUST YOUR SHOTGUN’S ME-
CHANICAL 
“SAFE TY” DEVICE.  The word,
“safety,”  describes a gun’s trigger block
mechanism, sear block mechanism, ham- 
mer block mechanism or firing pin block 
mechanism. These are mechanical devices
that place your gun in a SAFER status. No guarantee can be made that the gun will not 
fire even if the “safety” is in the “on safe”
position.
Like any mechanical device a safety can
sometimes fail; it can be jarred or inadver-
tently manipulated into an unsafe condition. 
Mechanical “safeties” merely aid safe gun handling and are no excuse for pointing your
shotgun’s muzzle in an unsafe direction.
While it is a good idea to “test” your shot- gun’s mechanical “safety” periodically for
proper function, NEVER test it while your
shotgun is loaded or pointed in an unsafe
direction.
Safe gun handling does not stop with your
gun’s mechanical “safety” device. It starts
there. Always treat this shotgun with the 
re-
spect due a loaded, ready-to-fire firearm. 
						

							BROWNING B-SS
3
3.
4.
5.
6.
ALWAYS VISUALLY CHECK YOUR SHOT-
GUN  to be certain that it does not  inadver
tently contain any ammunition. Keep the
safety in the “on safe” position.
GLANCE  THROUGH  EACH  BARREL  EVERY
TIME YOU LOAD  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.
ALWAYS UNLOAD YOUR SHOTGUN WHEN
NOT IN USE.  As a safety precaution it is
preferable to disassemble your gun for stor- age. Store your gun and ammunition 
sepa-
rately-beyond the reach of children.
DO NOT PUT A 20 GAUGE SHELL IN A 12 GAUGE GUN.  We strongly recommend
that all shells of different gauges be stored in
completely separate and well-marked con-
tainers. 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 a barrel is to drop a 20 gauge shell 
						

							4
7.
8.
9.
10.
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 delib-
erately  have created a more serious hazard
to your gun and yourself.
DO NOT SNAP THE HAMMER ON AEMPTY  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. 
KEEP YOUR FINGER AWAY FROM THE
TRIGGER  while unloading.
BE SURE OF YOUR BACKSTOP.  Know 
the
range of your shotshells and be certain there
is no chance of damage or accident. Never
shoot at water or hard objects. Handle your shotgun, at all times with deep respect 
and
alert consideration to all within its range.
DO NOT CARRY YOUR SHOTGUN  
WITH
A ROUND IN THE CHAMBER. We recom-
mend you do not chamber a round until 
immediately before it is to be fired. 
						

							BROWNING B-SS
5
11.
12. 13.
14.
15.
ALWAYS UNLOAD ANY GUN’S CHAMBER
AND MAGAZINE BEFORE CROSSING A FENCE, CLIMBING A TREE, JUMPING A 
DITCH  or negotiating other obstacles. Never
lean a loaded gun against a fence, tree, car
or other similar object.
BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.  Be sure no
persons, livestock, buildings or other objects 
are behind or near your target. Be absolutely
sure of your target particularly during low 
light periods.
FOR EYE AND EAR PROTECTION  we recom-
mend that you always wear shooting glasses
and hearing protection when shooting.
BE DEFENSIVE. BE ON GUARD AGAINST
UNSAFE GUN HANDLING  around you and
others. Don’t be timid when it comes to gun
safety. If you observe other shooters violating
the above safety precautions, politely suggest
safer handling practices.
EDUCATE AND  SUPERVISE.Stress firearms
safety to all members of your family, espe- 
cially to children and non-shooters. Closely
supervise newcomers to the shooting sports.
Encourage enrollment in hunting-shooting
safety courses. 
						

							6
BROWNING
SIDE-BY-SIDE
NOMENCLATURE
In conventional gun terminology the position and 
movement of shotgun parts are described as the 
occur with the shotgun horizontal and in 
normal
firing position; i.e. the muzzle is forward or front
the butt stock is rearward or rear; the trigger i downward or underneath; the sight is upward o
on top.
AMMUNITION
The current production Side-by-Side 12 Gauge Model is 
chambered to accept all standard factory 12 gauge
2 3/42 3/4 Magnum and 3” Magnum shotshells
Current production 20 Gauge Models also 
accept
2 3/4 2 3/4 Magnum and 3” Magnum shotshells.
GENERAL OPERATION
This shotgun is a two-barreled shotgun with the bar-
rels aligned side by side. It is designed primarily as 
						

							BROWNING B-SS
7
a field gun with two separately choked barrels that 
allow a rapid second shot when needed. The trigger 
is a single mechanical trigger.
BARREL SELECTOR
All current BSS models offer you the advantage of
barrel selection. The barrel selector button is located 
in the rear of the trigger guard, convenient and easy
to manipulate even while wearing gloves. Both the
left and right surfaces of the selector are checkered
to assure positive shifting. To fire the more openly choked, right barrel first, shift the barrel selector to
the right; to fire the tighter choked left barrel first, shift the selector to the left.
Highly skilled techniques of hand-fitting and polish-
ing have been used to accomplish the hairline fitting
of metal parts on this  
gun. These painstaking opera-
tions are necessary to prevent looseness, even after
long use. You may consider your new gun to be 
slightly stiff. This close fitting, however, assures you 
of long lasting dependability.
AUTOMATIC SAFETY
The Browning Side-by-Side is equipped with an auto-
matic safety. Whenever the breech is opened, to
insert a shell or for any other reason, the safety 
						

							8
automatically moves to the “on safe” position. An
“S” will appear above the sliding safety lever. Once
the safety has been put off safe to fire a shell, it remains off safe until it is manually returned to
the “on safe” position or until the breech is again opened. Despite this automatic safety precaution, 
always be certain that your gun is pointed in a safe 
direction, and check the safety manually or 
visu-
ally to avoid any chance of accidental discharge.
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR SAFETY IN THE “ON SAFE’
POSITION  UNLESS YOU INTEND TO IMMEDIATELY
FIRE THE SHOTGUN.
ASSEMBLY
A. BEFORE USING, clean anti-rust compound from
all metal parts, paying close attention to the barrel 
interior and the breech area. The various exposed 
metal parts of your new Browning Side-By-Side gun
are coated with a rust preventative compound for 
protection. Browning Gun Oil is especially suited to
remove this compound and give your new gun its 
first lubrication; however, any quality gun oil may 
be used. 
B. PRIOR TO ASSEMBLY, always make certain
there is no shell in the chamber. After cleaning