Page 9 - Browning 800 Express Reviews

Sturdy and well made. Great accuracy. Lots of power in the .22 caliber. also like the auto trigger lock

trigger is a bet light.

Don't put your finger on the trigger until you are absolutely ready to fire!

Price was the one factor I purchased this pistol If you are looking for an all out brute power pistol, I suggest getting this pistol in .22cal I found using H&N hollow points 12.65gr. to not only be the most accurate but gives the most energy too. With H&N Hollow Points I am getting a full 8 fpe!! Thats! power for a spring piston pistol

The trigger sear engagement on the pistol I received would not stay. I was constantly adjusting it, that is until I put some thread locker on the adjustment screw. Seems to be holding now but should have come with a locknut / set screw from factory IMO

I can say for sure that the .22cal pistol that I purchased can get .5 - .750 inch groups at 10 meters using H&N Hollow Points 12.65gr. with a two hand hold & with arms rested on bench. This pistol should prove to be not only a vermin busting pistol but a good time fun shooting pistol. It is not as hard to cock as I had read on some reviews. I have no problem cocking it without the aid tool supplied with this pistol

I own both the RWS LP8 and the 5g Magnum.. This Browning is far more powerfull then the RWS's.. The Browning will cleanly penetrate through both sides of a 5 gallon bucket.. Neither of my RWS's will penetrate one side of the bucket.. ( oddly enough the 5g magnum is quite a bit less powerefull than the LP8 but that is another story) .. The Browning is very well built and I have found it to be extreemly accurate... I must say .. It was far better than I was expecting..

The only reason I did not give this a perfect score is : Im not a fan of the "extension lever" ... I go shooting every evening in my back yard.. If im going to shoot more than 100 rounds, I find myself reaching for my IZH 53M.. It has a lot less power but it is a pleasure to cock and shoot for long periods of time.

I did not need this gun or really want it... But after shooting it I am very happy I have it in my collection... I put a red dot Nikon scope on it ( view picture ) and I highly recomend this pistol.. But be very careful.. it is a PowerHouse...

More fun, more accurate, shoot more often than I thought I would. Accurate out of the box.

It's big. I keep the muzzle assist on all the time, no problem, use a little tape under it for friction. It IS exercise, and at 66 yrs, I welcome it!

After about 15 rounds, I had it sighted in for 15 yards with groups in a 1 inch area. The power allowed me to put domed pellets through a steel can at the same distance. For years I have been shooting a Baikal Izh 46 M. This is of the same quality. I'm glad for the barrel extension.

At this point I would chang nothing

The accuracy and the power.

It is a little on the heavy side for a pistol (I don't think that this could be changed).

I bought this gun as a replacement for a Crossman CO2 pistol, it is way more accurate at much further distances that the Crossman. My airgun experience is very limited, but I enjoy firing this gun. Target shooting is becoming very addictive.

ir the best place to buy this gun and the ammo to go with it.

Lets put a few pellets in the box to try out.

Yes you will need to use the cocking assist so as not to tear up your hand or break the front sight.

I have the .177. I like the compact power. Didn’t expect this much power. It’s real nice. I have gotten quarter size groups at 50ft, bench rested, red-dot scoped. Very fun to shoot! I also like the anti-recoil, but there is a price to pay on that I think. I’ll explain that below.

I think a shrouded barrel/cocking handle would be nice update to this gun for several reasons. 1.) The cocking handle that is separate is a little annoying. For no other reason that I have to look around for something else before I shoot along with my pellet. And NO… you can’t just leave it on the barrel. Mine slides right off plus it’ll make that gun way too long.. 2.) Shooting in the backyard can be tricky (loud) even if you are shooting targets with a proper backstop. The shroud might make this powerful pistol just that much sweeter (quieter) for keeping things on the down low. 3.) You’ll need to scope this gun. The fiber optics are very nice while they last. I put a Bushnell Trophy Red-Dot on mine and I could just go on and on about the accuracy improvements. The rear site is a little clunky (seems cheap) and will move slightly every so often. That in combination with the whole imaginary zero of the open site makes varying distances difficult to figure out. Scope it!

When you are selecting a Red-dot for this gun keep in mind the turret body of the scope. You only have about 80-82mm of usable 11mm rail. I got the Bushnell Trophy Red-Dot (73-0132A) on mine and ended up having to order the BKL one piece ring mount (354-MB / BKL 1-Pc Mount, 30mm Rings,...) because I couldn’t get the tubed rings on the rail (set up was too long). The BKL set-up ended up working out very very nicely. / Like most gun lovers, I wanted to case this pistol... NOPE… No one sells a pistol case this big….. I had to go to a thrift store and get a standard briefcase strip the guts out of it, add some foam, turn the gun diagonal and whew! …just fits! This gun is a beast at 18” long and with my scope set up is 9” tall. Standard briefcase is 17-17.5” in storage length (I’ll try to post my pics) / Best pellets IMHO… #1. RWS Super H, #2 or an almost tie for #1 Beeman Silver Bear Hollow. I also like the H&N Hollow but stay close to 7gr for accuracy with good distance. (wish I had chrony..) …and lastly “hold is everything” with this pistol. Find a good one and keep it. ….Ok now the price to pay for the anti-recoil…. I’m on my second scope. The first red dot I put on couldn’t handle the recoil (I think). Since I got the scope at big box retailer, I’m just gonna do it all over again and see what happens (even exchange). It took about I’d guess 1000 rnds till it turned the afore mentioned Bushnell into a jingle bell. If the next one (same scope) doesn’t make it. Gonna try another make.

The Cost!!!

The rear sight would only go down so far and stop.. Should come with a scope....

Lots of power and almost no kick. Very nice...

Anti recoil, Looks, Feel and weight. Yes people say this gun is heavy but for a larger shooter like me, 250 lbs. I love it.

The balance is weird. Barrel end heavy.

Gun is pretty accurate. However in about 1 in every 25 shots it tends to "wing one" If you watch Pauls video I think it happens to him also. A bad pellet?? All in all a great gun for the money. Highly recommend

Breakbarrel, in .22 Anti Recoil very nice.

a little more power, im spoiled by the accuracy and power of the air rifle not an airfile but is good for a pistols

This gun in .22 likes RWS pellets did the best. Hyper velocity tested at 580fps RWS hobby at 525fps RWS Hollow Point 14.2 at 505fps Gamo Raptors only at 560fps. JBS and Crosman didn't do as well.

Recoil System, very nice. I purchase 22 cal version

Front muzzle fiber optic site always get loose must tighten regularly

This is my first break brarrel pistol. I am an air rifle guy break barrel so this is based on me comparing this gun to someone who is used to air rifles. This gun likes RWS pellets the highest velocity that i test 577.62 using RWS Hyper Velocity and 495.68 with RWS Super H-Point. Gamo Raptor at 559.56 Benj Disc H-points at 465.28, Polymags at 439.08 JSB RS at 479.48 and JSB EXACT Jumbos at 431.38. Get the RWS pellets you wouldn't go Wrong.

It has the speed.

Balance is WAY off. You will need a way to change that. You can try a scope. Up the craftsmanship at bit.

Where are the air pistols with speed and GREAT workmanship, I do not know.

It is a well built piece.

It is a real hog, in terms of its weight. Many people will need a support to achieve any acurracy. However, if you can keep the barrel steady, it will give you a tight pattern. And it is hard to cock, probably no harder than its competition, but my wife and some of my freinds simply cannot cock this air gun.

Power, will rip through both sides of veggie cans at 10 meters. Anti-recoil mechanism is nice. Fiber-optic sights are great, too.

Like others here, both allen setscrews under the muzzle brake/sight assembly loosened up after about 50 pellets. I used blue loctite and torqued them down. So far so good, but I keep an allen wrench handy when shooting. When shooting in 25F weather, the cocking action stiffened up after 40 or 50 shots and it felt like metal was scraping on metal. Weird and hard to describe. Subsequent shoots were ok though. Also, the cocking assist handle will wear the black from the muzzle brake pretty quick. Just cosmetic, but you will have exposed brass before long.

Overall very pleased with my new backyard plinker.

For the money, this is a great air pistol. It has plenty of punch, and is more accurate than I thought it would be. The built is solid as well.

It needs a bit more quality control to round some sharp edges and debur a bit. Also, I dont like the shape of the rear sight. A standard sight would have suffice but they put a contoured "bowl" shaped sight in the rear, which interferes with the sight picture. I'd also move the front sight back a bit, to give the shooter the opportunity to cock the gun without the cocking handle. It wont work for everyone, but those of us who are HUSKY size could do it, if the sight wasnt at the tip of the barrel.

Its a good value. very accurate. Quite powerful. Dont expect RWS quality out of it, but then again, its almost half the price!

the gun is pretty solid and fits my hand well, although my hands are on the large side. i am getting used to the hi-vis sights and didn't think i'd like them, having fired semi-competitive pistol competitions and many, many thousands of rimfire and centerfire ammo in the process. the gun is accurate. i am consistently getting sub 3/4" groups at 10 meters with different pellets. the recoil of the spring is about the same feel as my rimfire guns so it is a familiar push. i like the power as well. i don't have a chronograph currently so cannot confirm the claims of 700 fps but it seems really fast. penetration of the pellets is good too.

the cocking extension should just be attached to the barrel assembly. i taped mine on with Gorilla Tape and shimmed alongside the front side with a few layers of posterboard. the trigger could be improved to break a little lighter although it is ok.

so far, i've tested Daisy pointed pellets, Crossman pointed, Crossman Hollowpoint, RWS Superpoint, & RWS Hypermax. the best accuracy is coming from the RWS Superpoints, most groups of mine are 1/2" or better at 10 meters(all groups are 5 shots). most of the lead pellets penetrate between 320 - 340 pages of my Cabelas super catalog. the best pentrating pellet is the RWS Hypermax, usually going to page 400. i plan on using this for small game hunting and pest control as well. the Crossman hollowpoints mushroom nicely and i think would do well for hunting but are the least accurate, although good enough for hunting.

After exhausting Pyramydair's wonderful articles, I decided on the Browning 800 Mag .177 as my first pellet gun!! Purchased in Jan 2010. VERY PLEASED with performance out of the box with 1.5'' pattern. VERY POWERFUL -just as advertised. Recoil feature works well. I think user comments on hard to cock are a little over-rated, or they don't eat Wheaties! Now .75'' is best pattern with open sights. These sights work well in basement gallery, and expect even better once outdoors!! RECOMMEND to any adult shooter with some upper body strength.

Have had similar problem as one other reviewer where spring-pin on rear sight has worked it's way out after about 200 shots. Don't know if this is a spring-pin problem, or the rear sight needs a stronger spring to provide the resistance to the sight assembly. Fix is easy.

As a 1st time airgunner, I have found the RWS and GAMMO SAMPLER pellet packages EXCELLENT to help choose what pellet works best in pistol!! RWS package is okay for shipment, but not for extended use. Have separated and moved contents to 35mm container for ease of use.

I did like the feel and balance.

The rubber seal in the breech is done cheaply.

I purchased three mdl. 800's from two different vendors....two .22cals & one .177cal air pistol. All three had issues...one .22 cal had a defective rear sight(wouldn't change pellet impact upon adjustments), the replacement .22 cal one, would cock about half the time. The .177 cal pistol's rear sight was bent slightly to the left. All three gun boxes were not damaged in any way. So I chock this up to poor quality workmanship, The velocity claims are definitely lower than advertised.Browning will regret putting their name on this one!

Awesome value for the money. Very powerful. Seems well made. The anti recoil feature works well and makes this a pleasure to shoot. It seems to be very accurate. I can sometimes put eight out of ten pellets through one ragged hole at ten yards in my garage (see my customer image). It's not as hard to cock as I expected. Fairly well balanced, in my opinion, particularly considering the overall size and weight of the gun. The trigger shape is nice and the trigger pull on mine seems fairly light but could be a bit crisper. Very quiet.

The rear sight is kinda cheesy. Mine seems to not be attached to the the receiver straight or perhaps the sight blade is crooked. Something is crooked with the rear sight. I haven't investigated it that much since I have a Leapers red dot mounted on it. The muzzle brake came loose after about 200 shots and needed some blue locktite on the set screws to get it to stay in place. My trigger doesn't seem to return crisply after a shot which I find a bit annoying. The safety is sharp on the side and quite stiff (although it seems to be loosening up). It can start to wear a sore on your finger if you shoot a lot (I try to click it off with my fingernail and will take some emery paper to the sharp side, eventually)

My Gun shoots Crosman Premier HP 14.3gr at an average of 515fps for 8.41fpe. Very seldom does it drop below 510 fps or above 518 fps (this is after about 800 pellets). That's very impressive, in my opinion, for a pistol which you can shoot accurately and quickly from almost any position. With the handling, accuracy and power this gun offers I think it may do some hunting. People have complained that the cocking aid should have a way to be attached to the barrel but I disagree. I find that I cock the pistol holding it by the grip in my right hand and breaking the barrel with my left. Once the barrel is broken I pull the cocking aid off and slide it into my left trouser pocket. I then pick up a pellet from the tin , load and shoot. Shooting well is about routine so the one extra step doesn't bother me.