That's the way my Citori XT was when I bought it in 2002. After 29,000 rounds with my diligently lubricating it every time before shooting, it's still the same.

Congratulations on purchasing a well made competition firearm!

 

Same for my bt99AR. Again congrats on a very well built comp. firearm.

Gary

 

A couple of well placed file strokes will fix it.

 

Yeah my BT-99 is still like that, I bought it about a month ago. I figure it will be broken in after a few more thousand rounds. I don't think I could bring myself to take a file to it though.

 

Better too tight than too loose.

 

What John said, simple fix.

 

The new Brownings can be very tight. I have read publications by Browning saying that this is normal and even intentional.
My latest gun, a bt99 ar loosened up quite a bit with a change in hinge grease. I'm using tw25b by kleenbore. Its a lightweight white lube.
No survivors
Bill

 

Congrats on a great purchase. Brownings will give you immense pleasure and years of service if properly maintained.

Break opens are normally tight when first purchased. The best advice I can give is to open and close it while away from the range. Only a lot of use will "work it in". I'd shy away from the file as well. These guns are made pretty precise.

 

I bought a 725 trap gun a little over a year ago and it is not as hard to break open as it was when it was new. It will open easier the more you use it.

 

Brutus,
After you open the gun and the hammer is cocked, close the action and open it again. Is it still stiff to open? HMB

 

Yes, very much so...

 

I would just roll with it and let it break in normally. I know John is right on with the file strokes. Try to shoot it this way for awhile. You won't be disappointed about it being stiff.

 

Many of the current-production BT-99s seem to be very tight where the forearm iron meets the receiver knuckle. Make sure to use a good quality grease in this entire area, and apply it liberally and often. If this area is dry, it can quickly gall, and make the gun very difficult to open. (Galling will leave lots of ugly marks on the metal as well).

 

Do what Jeff says, I know from experience after galling a new BT.
Jeff, I shot at 3-Rivers last night after the snow was shovled off. I can't wait to get to the $ ~ Mich

 

try lighter lube, an oil film will keep it from galling

 

This subject comes up every few months. If the gun opens fairly easly after you close it and open it the reason that it is "hard" to open after you shoot it is because you have to cock the mainspring and the shell ejector spring in the forearm. New O/Us are really hard to open . If it does eject the shells one solution is to remove the ejection trip rod or replace the spring in the forearm with a lighter spring. In my crossover I replaced the springs in the forearm with two 1911 springs. Now the gun just extracts the shells and does not throw them over my shoulder. If you just remove the ejector spring you my not be able to pick the shell out when it gets cold and you wear gloves. Use grease for a lube to prevent galling,that causes groves in the medal. I use white lithium grease. DO NOT USE A FILE!

 

Use a lighter lube. Tell your son hold the stock by the pistol grip, put the stock under his arm pit, lower his arm to hold the gun tight against his body and push his other hand to push down on the front of the gun. Tell him opening the gun will provide him some excerise to build up his forearms for greater endurance

 

With very tight tolerances, it does not take allot of lubrication. Often times just a very light grease, or heavier oil. The excess will gather in places where it eventually will start to soak into the wood. It also gains dirt, and powder residue becoming a mess. I don't think that filing for a novice is the right suggestion. Although filing the right area may be beneficial now, it will lead to a loser fit a little quicker.

Personally I think they should make a grease, with very fine abrasives to apply to these joints. This way it wears in evenly on the rounded parts, smoothing the high, or tight areas first. Of course the gun should be thoroughly cleaned after a brief break-in period.

 

Brutus,
Looks like you are going to have use lube and let the gun wear in. Using a product like JB Bore Cleaner
which is a lube with a mild abrasive could speed things up. HMB

 

My Citori is still a little stiff after a year of heavy shooting. I grease it for every shoot. Well made gun.

 

"A couple of well placed file strokes will fix it."

Why didn't Browning think of that? They sure don't know much about making guns. They won't be in business long.

 

"A couple of well placed file strokes will fix it."

Why didn't Browning think of that? They sure don't know much about making guns. They won't be in business long.

Because they're in a competitive market and it's cheaper to convince you that it's supposed to be that tight than it is to take the time to fit the forearm iron properly so they err on the tight side knowing it's easier to remove metal than it is to put it back on.
OTOH if you want to cause galling and premature wear on the hinge pin...........it's your gun?

 

It took a few thousand rounds for mine to loosen a little. Either that or I got stronger.

 

Have him open and close it at home while doing gun lifts. Or, get him one of Jordan's trap charts and he can practice at home while opening it and closing it. Doing this at home will speed up the process and it will develop his shooting muscles and stamina.

 

I agree with John. I see many guns with galling issues because the forearm iron was too tight.

Ken Rucker

 

oil not grease until it's broken in. Wipe it and reoil after every use.

Gee! John, I didn't know you worked on Browning's factory floor and know the engineering specs for each gun to be released from quality control to shipping. I love armchair know it all's they cause more warranty problems for more manufacturers than you ever can imagine, which drives the consumer prices up by the way.

Surfer

 

............................ I love armchair know it all's they cause more warranty problems for more manufacturers than you ever can imagine, which drives the consumer prices up by the way.

Surfer

When you prematurely wear out your new shotgun "breaking it in" I'm sure Browning will be happy to sell you another one.

 

Put a light coating of fine valve grinding compound on the pivot surfaces. Open and close it about 50 times should do it, if not repeat. It is easy and no Bubba file work.

 

It's the forearm making the pivot points tight. Like someone said take a little off the barrel tang. Mine was so tight I would not live long enough for it to loosen up.