Browning BPS
- Category
- Shotgun
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.52 kg
- Introduced
- 1977
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Browning BPS (Browning Pump Shotgun) is a pump-action shotgun introduced in 1977 and manufactured by Miroku in Japan for the Browning Arms Company. Its design traces directly back to John M. Browning's bottom-ejection pump shotgun patents, which also gave rise to the Remington Model 17 and the Ithaca Model 37. The BPS is distinguished by its bottom-loading and bottom-ejection system, which ejects spent shells downward through the underside of the receiver rather than to the side, making it a truly ambidextrous shotgun equally suited for right- and left-handed shooters. It features a top-tang thumb safety, dual forged steel action bars for smooth and reliable cycling, and a receiver machined from a solid block of forged steel. The BPS was offered in every standard shotgun gauge -- 10, 12, 16, 20, 28, and .410 bore -- making it one of the most versatile pump shotgun platforms ever produced. The 12 and 20 gauge models feature Browning's Invector-Plus interchangeable choke system with back-bored barrels for optimized shot patterns, while the 10, 28, and .410 bore models use Standard Invector chokes. Notably, the BPS was the only 10-gauge pump-action shotgun ever manufactured. After 47 years of continuous production, the BPS was discontinued in 2024.
The BPS was the first pump-action shotgun ever marketed under the Browning name, despite John M. Browning having invented the pump-action shotgun concept over 80 years earlier. His original bottom-ejection designs went to competitors -- the Winchester Model 1893 and Remington Model 17 -- before Browning Arms Company finally built their own pump gun using his Model 10 blueprints. The BPS was also the only 10-gauge pump-action shotgun ever produced.
The BPS includes a magazine cutoff feature consisting of a rotating ring at the rear of the magazine tube, allowing the shooter to switch between 'R' (repeating) and 'S' (single) modes. In single mode, the bolt can be cycled to eject a chambered round without feeding the next shell from the magazine, allowing the shooter to swap ammunition types on demand. The 3.5-inch chambered 12-gauge models were built on the larger 10-gauge receiver frame, which contributed to their heavier weight but improved recoil management with heavy magnum loads. The French Gendarmerie Nationale adopted a tactical variant designated BPS-SGF (Special Gendarmerie Francaise) in 1994 for law enforcement operations. The BPS was manufactured exclusively by B.C. Miroku in Kochi, Japan throughout its entire production run.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Browning Arms Company
- Category
- Shotgun
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1977 to 2024
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Overall length
- 1238 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.52 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Pump action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Trigger pull
- 25.0 N
- Capacity
- 4
- Magazine
- Tubular
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 40 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Bottom ejection- Dual steel action bars
Forged steel receiver
Invector plus choke system
Back bored barrel
Inflex ii recoil pad
Magazine cutoff
Silver bead front sight
Ventilated rib
3 inch chamber
Ambidextrous design
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 622 12 Gauge shotguns | 3.52 kg | 3.29 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 570 12 Gauge shotguns | 1238 mm | 1150 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 650 12 Gauge shotguns | 711 mm | 711 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 647 12 Gauge shotguns | 4 | 3 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Browning BPS
How much does the Browning BPS weigh?
The Browning BPS weighs 3.52 kg (7.75 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Browning BPS?
The Browning BPS is chambered in 12 Gauge, 10 Gauge, 20 Gauge, 28 Gauge, and .410 Bore.
How many rounds does the Browning BPS hold?
The Browning BPS holds 4 rounds, fed from a tubular magazine.
How long is the Browning BPS?
The Browning BPS is 1238 mm (48.7 in) long overall, with a 711 mm (28.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Browning BPS?
The Browning BPS is made by Browning Arms Company (United States).
When was the Browning BPS introduced?
The Browning BPS was introduced in 1977 and discontinued in 2024.
How does the Browning BPS operate?
The Browning BPS uses a pump action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- French Gendarmerie Nationale
- 1994
Provenance
Confidence in this record
85%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/browning-bps' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "browning-bps", "name": "Browning BPS", "manufacturer": { "id": "browning", "name": "Browning Arms Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1878, "website": "https://www.browning.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:43", "version": "5d8cf4fb4b938ebaed9e76da3c57ad4cd9f27d22ee35d8b2265942435fbb875c" }, "category": { "id": "shotgun", "name": "Shotgun", "description": "Smoothbore firearms designed to fire shot or slugs" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1977, "barrel_length_mm": 711, "weight_empty_g": 3515, "action_type": "pump_action"}