Browning ST-100: A Super Trap 80 from Belgium

Browning ST-100 was marketed as Trap Gun and in Europe is also known as Super Trap 80 model. It is unusual in that it possible to vary the parallelism of the barrels to vary the placement of the patterns from each barrel.

Design

The Browning ST-100’s barrels are not joined by a rib, like most over-and-under guns, but are distinctly separated except for the breech lump and a band around the muzzles. About eight inches behind the muzzles, there is a linking wedge between the barrels, which can be adjusted into any one of five positions, altering the barrels’ set and shifting the shot patterns. A table in the instruction book gives the theoretical differences, but practical tests show that while the sense of the shift follows the table, the exact distance may vary slightly.

This apart, the rest of the gun is conventional except for the ventilated rib attached by five supports and is capable of flexing, necessary because of the barrel adjustment feature. The single trigger mechanically operated, rather than inertia, to select the second barrel. The degree of choke can be chosen from various options; the top barrel is always full, while the other can be had in steps from modified to full.

The gun delivers tight patterns from either barrel, and the inter-barrel adjustments work well, though it needs to be checked by firing. The finish is good and in keeping with the Browning standards for excellence.

Technical specifications