More For Your Money

It may not be a tiny price tag, but it’s certainly not a huge one either, and this ‘clay-busting machine’ comes with all the bells and whistles, and shoots like a dream, writes Mike Yardley

- Mike Yardly

This month, with the clay shooting season in full swing, I thought we would have a look at a serious clay-busting machine, but one that does not carry too scary a price tag – the new black-action Browning ProSport. It comes with an RRP of £3,560 including VAT. Not small change, but not too terrifying by today’s post-Brexit, low pound-to-euro and -dollar standards. Also, the ProSport is not just a gun but a veritable Mecanno kit for the ballistically inclined! It’s worth noting that there is still a similar but less well-specified Black Edition sporter on offer with a non-adjustable stock at £2,850, and the silver-action Grade 1 is there, too, at £2,290, with an additional £200 for the adjustable version.

First impressions of the 30" test gun are very good. It is a particularly handsome beast. The 725 form is familiar, but somehow the plain black action accentuates the clever job Browning engineers did in lowering and sculpting the B25/525 to create the more svelte 725 receiver. The lines are very clean indeed. Restrained gold lettering makes a pleasant contrast on the black action, and there is also a gold plated adjustable trigger appropriate to a competition gun… it’s all in good taste, and I have always preferred black actions with subtle gold detailing on competition guns.