T
his month’s gun test took place
on a trip to Slovenia organised
by Browning Winchester. Along with
a gaggle of shooting hacks from
across Europe, I had the chance to
try out a range of shotguns and rifles
with an unlimited supply of
ammunition. Over two days, I shot
well over 2,000 rounds of ammo!
The surroundings were congenial
too and I was impressed by how
friendly and modern Slovenia is. It
used to be the powerhouse of the
old Yugoslavia, and looked more
prosperous, had better
infrastructure and appeared more
developed than Croatia or Serbia,
where I have travelled previously. If I
had not known the location, I would
have thought it was Austria.On the shotgun front, three guns
really did it for me at this ballistic
beanfeast: the new Winchester SX4
in 20-bore form, the Maxus Sporting
Black Carbon Fibre, and the 30" 525
SL Laminate, which I have already
reviewed. I also had the chance to
test a 32" version of the SL which I
did not like as much as the super
30" gun. I thought it less
manoeuverable and a little heavy
with the longer barrels. My call,
should you be in the market to buy
an SL (and it is one of the best
over-and-unders from Browning
recently), would be the 30" version.
Let’s turn our attention here to the
little 20-bore Winchester. Next
month, we will compare it to the
12-bore Maxus. First impressions ofthe SX4 20-bore are that it is black
and quite small in scale. The lines
and general form are pleasing –
perhaps a little better than the SX3
in some areas. Put together in
Portugal, like other Browning
Winchester semi-autos, it’s not
going to win any beauty contests,
but it feels good when first handled
and points well with the light 28"
tube (the other option is 26").
The gun is built to the price – it
might be described as a despecified
SX3 – and it seems intended to sit
below a Maxus in the Browning
Winchester line (they are very similar
mechanically).
In 12 or 20-bore, it looks much
like an SX3, but there are
differences. The SX4 has a smallergrip with an improved non-slip
surface. As before, chokes are
Invector Plus, and the barrel is mildly
back-bored and internally hard-
chromed. And, as on the SX3, there
is a self-adjusting active valve
system, which will perform with a
variety of loads of 2¾" and 3" loads.
The gun is steel shot proofed and
shows the new S in a pentagon
symbol, which replaces the Fleurs
de Lys mark.
Anything else? There is a larger
bolt-handle on the SX4, a significant
improvement, and a larger
bolt-release and trigger guard. It
does not have the facility to put
shims between action and stock to
alter cast and drop as the SX3 did.
There is, however, the option off h s
Fast handling, soft shooting, comfortable and ergonomically sound: Mike Yardley is
impressed by the latest 20-bore semi-auto from Browning
WITH MIKE YARDLEY
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GUN TEST