I have a 12ga BPS Upland special that I inherited. It was purchased by my grandfather shortly before he passed and is unfired. If I had the box you wouldn't know it wasn't brand new except for the fact that they discontinued that variant years ago. I have the complete set of chokes, wrench and instructions too.

Can anyone tell me what a reasonable price to ask for it might be?

Thanks!

rkumetz,
They are starting to trend up on GunBroker. There was a 410 Medallion BPS high grade listed for well over a grand. Doubt he will get it,,,but. If yours is the gloss stock, roll stamped receiver, etched version I would keep it. If you must sell, just me, I would not take less than 850.00+

The Browning BPS Upland Special has a 22" barrel and and English stock. The stock will be straight without a pistol grip. Does this sound like the gun you have? I purchased a used but not abused one for $350 several years ago. I suspect yours would be worth considerably more in like new condition.
Take it out and shoot it and see if you like it.
Follow a few auctions on gunbroker.com to see what they are actually selling for not asking price. That way you can determine a more accurate market value for your make and model gun. Face to face sales may be less than the national market price. Either way it's a great gun and can be used for hunting, home defense or targets. Take some time to enjoy your grandfather's gun and keep his memory alive.

My guess on value is between $650-$800
Sub gauges with actual bids are bringing considerably more.

It is indeed the 22" barrel with the straight English stock. I like it. It is nicely made in Japan
(not sure where the current ones are made but my guess would be Turkey) but it
is also a bit heavy at a tad over 7lbs. My hunting is limited to woodcock and grouse which
are all in heavy cover so I have had my eye on a lighter weight sub gauge O/U for some time.
As a LH shooter my choices are somewhat limited.

I do however appreciate both the sentimental value and the workmanship.
Whether to sell it or not is a bit of a conundrum.

Why are your choices limited because of being LH? I am also LH and there are many guns that actually work better for LH even though they were designed with RH in mind

Most of the European and Turkish O/U are cast for a RH shooter. The BPS happens to be neutral which is fine. Not sure I want to be toting a $2500+ shotgun through the woods. Seems like one trip over a log could be very expensive indeed. On the other hand I don't want a $300 Walmart special either.

I am very open to suggestions.

I took a few photos just so everyone is on the same page.

Hang on to it for a year before you sell it. Sellers remorse can last a lifetime. Yes the BPS is a bit heavy in 12 gauge but they point very well. Knocking grouse or woodcock out of the air with my grandfather's shotgun would have tremendous appeal to me. I make it a point to shoot my father's 870 several times a year to help keep his memory alive. I always remember something different about him on each outing whether it's doves pheasants of clay targets.

The Blue Book puts the value at $475 for 98%. Full retail new was $700. They were made from 1985-2017. Without the box it can't grade out at 100%. The only numbers that mean anything on Gunbroker are closed sold auction prices. List prices tend to be inflated.

Yeah, I have had this one since '95 or so. On on hand I was reluctant to sell it because it gas sentiment value and is nicely made. On the other I was reluctant to shoot it thinking that would lower the value.

Where is browning making BPS's these days?

I copied and pasted this directly from Brownings website.


https://www.browning.com/support/freque ... tured.html

Most Browning guns were made in Belgium by Fabrique Nationale (FN) until the mid 1970s when some production was shifted to Miroku in Japan. Today's Browning firearms are made in either Belgium, Portugal, Japan or in the United States.

Belgium
Custom Gun Shop
John M. Browning Collection shotguns

Belgium, assembled in Portugal
BAR, all versions
Salt Lake City, Utah
Buck Mark .22 caliber pistol
Buck Mark .22 caliber rifle
1911-22 pistol
1911-380 pistol
Viana, Portugal
Maxus shotgun
A5 shotgun
Silver shotgun

Miroku, Japan
X-Bolt bolt action centerfire
AB3 bolt action centerfire
BPS slide action shotgun
Citori over and under
Citori 725 over and under
Cynergy over and under
BT-99 trap shotgun
Gold 10 gauge shotgun
BLR lever action
T-Bolt rimfire
BL-22 rimfire
22-SA rimfire

Unfortunately without the original box it won't bring top dollar. The gun looks to be in pristine condition. Auctions on gunbroker.com starting at a penny with no reserve seem to bring the the most money in my experience. You can list it on GunsInternational.com for a set price.

I suspect that if I was to sell it the amount I would get for it would only be a downpayment on a
decent lightweight O/U. Not many are light enough make it work spending $2K. The Citori 725 Feather Superlight is 5.5lbs in 20g which is as light as a Stevens 555. The former compares in quality to the gun I have now. The latter probably not. I see a lot of bashing of the lower priced O/U on the forums but
it is hard to tell how much is substance and how much is just snobbery. A VW is a decent car unless you are used to driving a Mercedes.

I can say that in looking over the BPS again while taking the pics the workmanship seems much nicer
than some of the CZ's and such I have picked up in stores. These days it is impossible to find many guns of any sort in stores that you can actually pick up and examine due to the impending end of the world and the apparent need for people to defend the toilet paper they are hording.

Looks like a very nice, older upland special (I noticed it has the single shot switch at the front of the receiver). Newer BPS’s, with the exception of the trap model, do not have this. I currently own (1) in 12 ga. Had a 20 ga version also and stupidly sold it. I have killed more dove with that short 22” barrel than any other shotgun I’ve ever owned. No way would I sell it, ESPECIALLY since they’ve been discontinued. I vote keep the gun, and use it! As stated above, it makes a dandy quick pointing upland gun, INCLUDING turkeys. I’ve shot great skeet scores with mine, and it’s maneuverable enough to be pressed into home defense use even. I never understood why these models weren’t more popular.

Here's a reference that will tell you the info on the gun from the serial number:

https://www.browning.com/support/date-y ... otgun.html

I've got a BPS Hunter in12 gauge that I really like.

I am a bit confused. The SN indicates it was mfg in '84 which sounds right.

The 152 would make it a Hunter not an Upland special but it was purchased with the English stock and 22 inch barrel.
I find no info about any other model of BPS that was set up that way other than the Upland Special.

Keep it. It isn’t costing you anything anything but space, and remorse will drive you crazy. Go shoot it and see if it doesn’t become your favorite gun.