Popped into the local funshop to kill some time and came across a Browning BPS 10 gauge, barrel said 24" but it looked to be cut down to 20-21" or so and re-threaded for choke tubes. Didn't have a tape handy to measure it.

Was in pretty good shape as far as bluing, a couple spots of rust on the magazine cap and under the slide, and looked like it had been dropped on the vent rib, as one section in between supports is dinged down towards the barrel.

Any ideas as to value? I think they had it at $479, but I"m a pretty regular customer , so I would guess $450, worth it?

Always had a thing for out of the ordinary stuff, and always thought a Ithaca Mag 10 "Roadblocker" would be cool.

ive read a while back that a 3.5 inch 12 gauge shell gives about the same performance as a 10 gauge shell... typed it in google and came across this: http://www.chuckhawks.com/10_gauge_obsolete.htm

unless you really want that sg or a 10ga, id pick up a new 12ga chambered in 3.5 for similar $. my 2 cents

Yeah, the only reason the 10 gauge made a re-appearance was to throw massive loads of steel shot at ducks and geese. Now with better non lead loads and the 3.5" 12 gauge, I see no reason, other than nostalgia, for owning a 10 gauge. Especially a 10 gauge with a 21" barrel. Seriously, WTF was that thing made for? A weightlifting midget duck hunter?

The big 10 still has is place. There are a greater amount of pellets in equal shot size in a 3 1/2 inch shell compared to a 3 1/2 12 gauge shell. Add a ported pattermaster choke tube to it and you have a longer range waterfowl gun. There are a few 1400 plus feet per second loads for sale yet today.

Dont get me wrong for 90 percent of hunters a 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge will be more than adequate. However after spending a weekend hunting with a die hard duck/goose hunter and listening to its merits it appears they still have a following.

I found the BPS recoil ALOT less than a Benelli Nova with 3.5 inch loads.

I don't waterfowl hunt (yet anyway), and have a few 3" 12ga shotguns.
Really it'd be more of a curiosity piece, and for blowing stuff up. I tend to like shorter barrel shotguns. Only one I own that would be "sporting" is the 25" 11-48 I have.

I have a couple of cheaper rifles I might consider trading for it, gonna have  to give it some thought

keep the availability of 10ga ammo in mind, esp price. cant say ive seen much of it, but then again i really havent been looking

I bought a box of Federal Premium 1450 fps BB loads for $24.99. It going to be a dollar a shot or more any way you slice it. Personally I would like to see the pattern with 18 pellets of 00 buckshot.

I own an 870 express and feel the BPS 10 gauge would fill a gap for ducks geese and turkey. I looked at a 26 inch BPS in advantage max 4 camo for $619.00 new. It feels really soild and the finish was very excellent. Its a heavy pig but that cuts down on recoil.

Another down side is nobody makes a 10 gauge trap load for practice. I guess you could roll your own.

I had a BPS 10 gauge and an Ithaca Mag-10 that I used for goose hunting. That is, until 3.5 inch 12 gauges starting to become more popular. I definatly noticed a difference in pattern, range and "knock down" between a 10 gauge and 3 inch 12 gauge, but the difference between a 3.5 inch 12 gauge and a 10 gauge was much less defined.

Ithaca made a version of the Mag-10 called the "Roadblocker". This was essentially the same shotgun with a 20 or 22 inch barrel, sans a magazine extension. It was designed to take advantage of the power of the 10 gauge slug against vehicles. Which HP White discovered in the 70's was quite an advantage indeed...

Eventually, I stopped using 3.5 inch guns. The only time I use them anymore is for pass-shooting geese and for turkey. . Otherwise, good shells/choke/shooting can make the most out of 3 inch 12 gauge shells. The type of pass-shooting I generally do is such that 30 yards is a "close shot". When you are laying in a cornfield-grave, shooting over decoys you probably could get away with 2 3/4 BB or BBB. The extra shot is also advantageous for turkey hunting. While its nice, plenty of people hunt this stuff with 12 and even 20 gauges.

Where I used to live, 10 gauge shotguns were still popular and stores like Walmart and Kmart stocked ammo for this gauge. Since the 3.5 inch 12 gauge got more established, this ammo selecton would shrink and shrink. I cant remember the last time I saw 10 gauge ammo at a retail store, even at places like Cabelas...Since you can still find 16/28 gauge, 10 gauge is out there but there are fewer loads that are harder to find and more expensive.

Whatever possible advantage 10 gauge might offer over 3.5 inch 12 gauge, only a very small number of hunters in a small number of situations would ever notice the difference. Use quality tungsten/bismuth shells with adequate shot sizes, proper choke selection and good shooting/hunting technique and you will have no trouble "making it rain" with 3 inch 12 gauge. Suffice to say, I don't really "believe" in 10 gauge anymore and my "love affair" with 3.5 inch loads is pretty much over with...My SBEII and Supernovas/Novas have 3.5 inch chambers, but its a P.I.T.A. to keep this non-standard ammo around. Its way to easy to stuff a 3.5 inch shell into my M2/M3 Tactical.
Also, have you ever fired a 3.5 inch 12 gauge BBB/T/F/000 buck/Slug or equivalent 10 gauge loads? Its a boderline religous experience and is probably the harshest recoil that many people will ever feel...

Since 10 gauge ammo is expensive/hard to find/barely necessary, you don't hunt waterfowl*which is 98% of the reason to own a 10 gauge* and that its a BPS and you are looking for a "conversation piece" I would pass. The BPS is a great pump, I love all of mine but unless they are a "highly finished" firearm, they arent much of a conversation piece. I don't remember if I have ever seen a BPS-10 that wasn't black/synthetic.

If you want a conversation shotgun, get a "punt gun" or hang an IAC 1897 "trench gun" with a bayonet above your mantle.

I found the BPS 10 gauge recoil ALOT less than a Benelli Nova with 3.5 inch 12 gauge loads.

I love my Nova's, but I will agree that the recoil more than comperable shotguns. Everyone who as ever put a 3.5 inch shell through mine has shared that sentiment.

I have my grandfathers New England(? have to look again) single shot 10. That thing is interesting to shoot

Looked at the BPS again, it's bizarre, the barrel is stamped 24", but measuring down the side from the front of the receiver to the muzzle I got 23.5"? It looks like the muzzle had been filed. Unless it was just cleaned up?
And in the Blue Book, I didn't see any short 10's listed in gloss finish wood and blue. 28" and longer bbls. It's definitely a odd duck.

Still gotta see how much they'll deal on it, I could see cutting it back to 18.5" and parking it Maybe make a +1 extension too.

They have a Ruger KM77 VT in .223 too, which I'd definitely get more use out of.