A friend has one on his 725. You adjust the comb via a hole in the recoil pad. If you want a thinner pad one must get the rod cut and rethreaded. Suggest buying one without an adjustable comb and get one put on with after market hardware. Browning is like the ford motor company they get something good and then screw it up somehow.

 

I'm totally puzzled why they have stuck with such an inferior design..it was junk when it was introduced 12yrs ago..and though they have tried tweeking it to make it more reliable its still junk...some units are able to to be lived with but most barely stay tight enough,long enough to make getting your gun through shakedown and spot on to your desired POI..if you're lucky you can epoxy the whole mess and never need to move it...aftermarket replacement hardware is well worth the investment but a whole aftermarket comb job is best,..is Browning listening??? apparently not considering how much this subject has came up over the years

 

I have a Browning XS Special with the one-screw through-the-pad adjustable comb. I've had trouble with the screws in the cheek piece coming loose, so I used Loctite to fix that.

But, the whole concept is ok. One screw loosens the whole thing, you adjust it up and over, and one screw tightens it back. I was impressed the first time I used it.

However, the LOP fits me. If you had to change that, it could be an issue.

And, I wouldn't say it's better than aftermarket adjustable combs. But the aftermarket hardware usually takes three hands to adjust, and rarely is the offset easy to match for the front and rear posts.

YMMV

Danny

 

I have a 2 month old 2014 XT with 2500 rounds through it and have had no problems with the adjustable comb. I do have washers under the comb on the posts so the posts are not supporting all the down pressure.

The comb adjustment rod takes an Allen wrench to adjust and is cut deep, I added an adjustable butt plate with a 1/4 inch spacer so I drilled a hole through both the spacer and butt plate for the adjuster rod then ground the adjustment rod flush with the butt plate so it wouldn't interfere with the butt pad and plate adjustment, I probably took an inch off the comb adjustment rod and there is still enough Allen thread to stick the Allen wrench in and adjust. If I would have ran out of Allen thread I was just going to slot the the comb adjustment rod and use a screw driver to make adjustments.

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I've had a BT99 since 2004 with there adjustable comb. I've found in my experience there comb works fine and I don't consider it a piece of junk. I set it where I wanted it when I purchased the gun and it has never moved or gotten loose. It has worked great for me. Tom

 

Why not buy the fixed MC version and pay Rod or Tron to cut your comb and provide good quality aftermarket hardware? Then you can have everything you want for around $3050 + tax.

-Gary

 

One thing I could never understand is neither Browning nor Beretta has ever come out with OEM adjustable comb hardware that is ANYWHERE near as good as the most rudimentary aftermarket hardware. Its either over complicated, made of poor materials, unrepeatable, or a combination of the three. Beretta got closest w/ the B-Fast hardware, which is basically a graco knockoff.

 

You are way ahead to have your favorite stock guy do the comb rather than get the Browning sub-std. junk!

Ken Rucker

 

I have an XT with adjustable comb. I had to place washers under the comb because it kept slipping. I eventually sent it to Rod's and he replaced it with his hardware. Get a regular MC stock and have Rod's or another reputable stock guy put one on.

 

My first BT99 had the factory adjustable comb. It was nothing but a pain in the arse. I had to constantly fiddle with it as it would never stay tight. When I bought my son a BT99, I bought his without an adjustable comb and had Greg Hissem cut and install the adjustable comb. Man what a difference. I swear that comb does not move unless you want it to.

As a side note, I wasn't too impressed with the cheap arse plastic comb hardware that came on my Beretta 682 Gold E either. I promptly replaced it with the Graco direct replacement comb hardware kit. It was a piece of cake to install. Much happier now. Why do they ruin quality shotguns with junk?

As stated several times above, buy without and have quality installed by a pro.

 

Here was my thinking when I purchased my XT with comb. I had read that the Browning hardware on the comb wasn't all that great before the purchase so I researched replacement hardware and found a couple places that sell drop in parts. So my thinking was I can buy the XT and have a comb right off and if need be I would buy the hardware to fix it, this would save me money and time in the long run since I would either have to send the stock off for a couple weeks or leave it locally for a week to have a comb cut plus pay around $200 for parts and labor. The drop in hardware from SPS is $70.00. As of right now I am happy with the factory comb but then again I am one of them set it and leave it kind of guys so I don't monkey around with it every time I shoot.

 

They are using the same crap they've been using, with no improvements. I believe the Browning comb hardware is well engineered, but underbuilt. The SPS isn't a true drop in system, being that you will need to drill the adjuster holes under the comb area and they must be centered. But, the SPS is a very good alternative as well as the Graco. The only other way to go about it is to remove the old hardware, fill with wood and start over.

Either way, better than the Browning system.

 

Wary of the Browning adjustable combs. Purchased a Browning Special Clay Edition from GU(Omaha)and had a local gunsmith (Bill Voss) install a Graco adjustable comb hardware for shooting doubles. Make sure to check the location of the bolt hole in the stock to insure sufficient height for the hardware installation.

 

We all should know the Browning comb assemblies are junk. That said, if an individual like the one who started this thread has issues with a MC comb being much too high, then the game changes. It is quite possible that simply undercutting the MC comb and doing an installation will not give sufficient drop. It is then best to purchase the gun with the factory unit which is already quite low and have aftermarket hardware installed!!

 

When I bought a XT c combo I got the Monte Carlo stock and had an adjustable comb and pad put on. That way I had the Monte Carlo stock with the comb and pad plus dependable hardware for close to the price of the factory set up with a straight stock and junk parts.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys! So going off what olliedawg said about not getting enough drop with cutting the Monte Carlo, it sounds like I may be better off getting the adjustable stock, unless Tron or Rod can essentially cut the comb to the straight stock dimensions? Like I said, I haven't shot the gun, it just felt high and not as comfortable as the adjustable version while shouldering it in the shop.

-Kirk

 

I do not have an XT in my collection. But I do have three XS. The xs with the adjustable factory comb is 1 7/8 at the comb. the non adjustable is 1 3/4 at the comb. I much prefer the lower comb. my adjustable comb was set the day I bought the gun and has not been changed since. Get what you like best. John

 

I agree with Ruck and Tron - guys who work with these comb issues every day. The Browning hardware IS junk. By the time I retired from the stock modification business I probably had nearly 100 of these thrown in a box from taking them out and replacing them with either my own comb hardware or the Graco replacement system. The problem is that they frequently lose their grip on your setting and either collapse or slide sideways. Spacers can stop the collapse but when it slides sideways you're screwed. If you even know it has slid sideways, where did you have it set to get it back accurately? The knowledgeable people at Browning in Utah know it's junk but are powerless to do anything about it. A theory might be that Browning paid the inventor of the hardware a LOT of money and committed to have a LOT made up and the bean counters have told the engineers to keep using them since they invested a lot of money. I don't know this for a fact, so don't quote me, but that's a possibility of why they are still using them. Outside of that, the 725 and all of the Citori based XT receivers before that are fine guns.

The Beretta Memory System is pretty junky, too. Not that they don't hold their position, but springs and nuts fly out of the comb portion of the hardware and shooters that like to change their comb height between singles and doubles have a lot of difficulty.

Kirk - If the Monte Carlo is a touch too high and up to 1/8" lower might be all it takes to be comfortable for you, ask one of these good stock guys if they can remove up to 1/8" off the bottom of the comb after they make their cut. Then you have the capability to lower it up to 1/8" if need be. No more than that much off or you'll end up with a comb that is narrower than the base and it will look bad. Or, purchase the straight stock with the factory adjustable comb and immediately have a stock guy replace the hardware with the Graco replaceable system - much more solid.

Best of luck,

Greg Hissem

 

Just shot my 10th round with my new 725 Trap Combo. I got it from Guns Unlimited. Came with Gracoil comb and butt - they have it done before you buy it & it ships the same day! I really like it becouse I can fit it to me. Oh yea, I'm a lefty and so is my new gun! Life is good - with a Browning!

 

Thanks for the info guys, decision coming soon, I'm going to Omaha in July and will definitely stop by Guns Unlimited to handle as many prospects as possible.

-Kirk

 

try to keep in mind too that the non MC guns already start about $250 cheaper and that sending one out to Tron or Ken comes back rather fast due to their excellent turn around time

 

I thought I saw a discussion a while ago where some gunsmith was offering to replace and upgrade the stock Browning adjustable hardware ? Any thoughts ...

 

My son shoots an XT and over the weekend at the Buckeye Classic the wood screws that hold the wood to the metal plate backed out, causing the comb to move enough that his alignment was off.

Before that the clamps loosened up enough for the back end to move sideways, throwing off his alignment. I was able to put it back before it cost him very many targets, but this has happened more than I want to keep fixing it.

Jim