Tested: Browning Citori 825 Field Shotgun

Alaska. A fitting place to test Browning’s new Citori 825 Field shotgun. Especially when daylight shines for 16 hours and the target species is willow ptarmigan, Alaska’s state bird.

This past August found me in Cold Bay, Alaska, a place I’ve been to many times over the past decade. The sole focus of this hunting trip, however, was ptarmigan, not the usual waterfowl.

Ptarmigan numbers have been building the last three years on this stretch of the Aleutian Chain, and this summer saw another great hatch. With a 10-bird daily bag limit and countless miles to roam, the time was perfect to hit the tundra.

High-volume shooting at live birds is one of the best ways to truly learn how well a gun performs. Instantly, the new Citori 825 had my attention. The first flock of ptarmigan that flushed, I doubled. Okay, the first shot was easy, as the family flock was flying straight away. But the followup smacked a white-winged juvy’ as it banked hard right.

High Volume Shooting

I was solo on the first outing, something I prefer when testing a gun in order to see and know the results of my shooting performance. The next flock held tight. I picked a solo adult that banked left and dropped it. A handful more fell that afternoon. I was pleased with the start.

After five days of toting, shooting, cleaning and bonding with the Browning Citori 825, its balance and uniform weight distribution make for fast shouldering and smooth follow-throughs. Even on fast fliers, I was never playing catchup. I was skeptical about this trip as I have a severely torn rotator cuff awaiting surgery. Nonetheless, I could maneuver the 825 with ease and shot it with precision.

The smooth, fast trigger on the Citori instantly grabbed my attention. The refined Fire Lite 2 Trigger features a mechanical design that offers immediate second shot capability, a big bonus when targeting speed-demons on the tundra. This trigger doesn’t rely on recoil to set the hammer for the second shot. As a result, it yields a trigger pull with less take-up, a crisper break, and reduced overtravel. The result is no wasted time recovering from recoil to get on that second bird.

The Citori 825 boasts a styled receiver with a low profile design that further aids with recoil control and minimizes muzzle jump. This means you can stay in the gun and track fast-flying birds with utmost efficiency. I shoot with both eyes open, and doing so not only allows a big sight window, it lets you plainly see what your gun is doing in relation to the birds flying. What I immediately noticed with the 825 was that the end of the barrel stayed on the birds; it didn’t jump above the flushing flock on the first shot.

Quick and Accurate

The result was a fast, accurate second shot.

Another feature of the Citori 825’s build that stood out was the comfort of the front end. It’s close to the bore line which optimizes the swing and the ability to quickly and smoothly point it at a fast moving target. The feeling is fluid as you track, catch up to and gain the lead on fast moving birds.

A slim new top lever design accents the styling of the receiver and the safety/selector is easy to operate and intuitive to find. This means all you have to think about is acquiring your target and timing your shots.

Seven friends joined me on this trip; all were carrying the new Citori 825. While personally shooting a gun is the best way to learn what it can do, a solid second is to watch others wield it. This is especially true when the group brings in a range of upland shooting experience. From fairly new to seasoned veterans, I closely watched how others handled the gun. In fact, I watched them through the telephoto lens of my camera, choosing not to pack a gun on those hunts.

Follow-Up Eye Opener

I first noticed how quickly follow-up shots came from everyone. There were a lot of doubles before birds flew out of range. High speed camera shots also captured how well shooters stayed in the gun, tracking birds. Some hunters came out of the gun early, more due to flinching to an anticipated recoil that wasn’t there, but they recovered quickly and many shot doubles. A couple times, the group of seven hunters spread out across the tundra. When birds jumped in the middle of the shooting line, gunners on the outside were put to the test. By the time flushing ptarmigan reached them, they were at top speed. Still, everyone shot extremely well, overall, a testimony to the guns and loads 
being shot.

I put three different loads of nontoxic shot through my gun. One was straight #6 steel, another a #2/4 steel blend, and the third was bismuth. We were hunting within a wildlife refuge. All shells shot perfectly out of the modified and full chokes, which were simple to install and didn’t slip.

The bismuth loads packed a punch in other guns I’d fired them in. But the recoil of the Citori 825 was noticeably reduced with much less jump than what I’d experienced in other guns. The 825 features an Inflex II recoil pad that uses a combination of soft, smooth material that resists snagging on clothing. The directional deflection engineering explains precisely what I felt in terms of recoil absorbing performance. When the pad collapses under recoil, the internal ribbing structure pulls the comb down and away from the face, reducing the felt recoil. The end result is greater shooting comfort and faster, more accurate follow-up shots.

The Citori 825 is a top-of-the-line performing shotgun I look forward to using on mountain quail and blue grouse hunts back home. That’s how much confidence I have in it.

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