Top Selling Guns | March 2023

In this month’s GunBroker.com Top Selling Report, presented by GunGenius.com, spotlight we’re taking a closer look at shotgun sales, specifically the over/under market. Over/under shotguns have been a mainstay for competitive shooters and upland hunters in the United States for almost a century, but prior to the 1930s stackbarrel shotguns were very rare in the states. The reason was simple: over/under shotguns made in Europe were expensive, costing much more than the repeaters and side-by-sides of the day.

John Moses Browning decided that American hunters would indeed embrace a well-built over/under shotgun, but it would have to be an affordable firearm. To that end, Browning began work on what would become the Superposed, though John Moses Browning would never see the design through to competition. Browning died at FN in Belgium of a heart attack in 1926 before plans for his over/under shotgun were finalized.

Browning’s son Val took over the reins of the Superposed project, and by 1931 the first Browning over/under shotguns were sold to the U.S. market. Initially priced from $107.50 for the field model to $374 for the exquisite Midas Grade, Superposed over/unders were more expensive than most American pumps and side-by-sides. However, just as Browning believed, the American market did in fact fall in love with the Browning over/under—and that love affair continues today.

Browning Shotguns Remain Strong Sellers

This month we’re taking a look at Gunbroker’s March sales in the new and used over/under shotgun segment—a market that John Browning almost single-handedly created. And I’m sure that he would be pleased to know that his namesake brand continues to dominate that segment. For March 2023 the Browning Citori 725 has earned the top sales spot for new O/U shotguns, displacing the Browning Citori that has fallen to third place. Browning’s other over/under, the Cynergy, holds onto fifth place in new over/under shotgun rankings.

But Browning doesn’t just dominate the new over/under market. For march, 2023 Browning’s Citori was the number one selling used O/U shotgun just as it did last month. Browning’s Cynergy over/under shotguns moved from fifth to fourth place on the used over/under shotgun sales rankings this month.

All three of these shotguns bear the Browning name, but in many regards they differ. When Browning moved their over/under shotgun production from Belgium to Japan in 1973 the Superposed was renamed as the Citori—a word that Browning’s marketing team admittedly made up at the time. But the made-up moniker hasn’t hurt sales, and the Citori has remained a perennial best-seller.

The Cynergy was Browning’s take on a twenty-first-century over/under shotgun. With its racy lines and liberal use of composite stock materials the Cynergy looks futuristic, but it shoots well and is durable enough to bear the Browning name. It also marks a transition from inertia triggers in the Superposed/Citori to mechanical triggers. If you pull the trigger of an unloaded Superposed one firing will drop, but because there is no inertia to cock the second hammer you’ll only get a single trigger pull. Cynergy guns with mechanical triggers allow you to drop the firing pins in the top and bottom barrels with subsequent pulls of the trigger.

The most recent addition to the Citori line is the 725 family of shotguns. These guns look similar to the original Citori, but a redesigned boxlock design allows for a trimmer, shallower receiver. Like the Cynergy, the Citori 725 also features mechanical triggers.

Interestingly, when browning designed the original Superposed he insured that it would be more affordable than other over/unders on the market. Browning guns still remain a relative bargain, and they are considered the gold standard by many shooters. However, Citori and Cynergy shotguns are no longer the cheapest over unders. Many imported stackbarrel shotguns cost less than Browning’s guns, but Gunbroker.com’s figures tell the truth: shooters and hunters are willing to pay for Browning quality.

---

Other Browning Guns Are Big Sellers

Browning also does well in other segments of the new and used shotgun market according to Gunbroker. For March of 2023, Browning guns earned the top spot in new single-shot sales (BT-99), second place in the used pump gun market (BPS), and were ranked first and third in used semiauto sales (A5 and Gold, respectively).

Outside the shotgun market, Browning guns did well, also. The company’s X-Bolt remains the second-best-selling new bolt action rifle this month behind Ruger’s American. Browning’s A-Bolt was the third most-purchased used bolt-action rifle, and their BLR was the third most-purchased used lever-action.

Browning has proven that quality guns sell well, even if they aren’t the cheapest firearm in the segment. John Moses Browning started designing innovative, dependable firearms well over a century ago, and he would certainly be proud to know that his namesake brand maintains a strong and dedicated following.

Top Selling Guns Sold in March 2023

Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/

To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.

Editor's note: In the report, guns are rated from one to five within each category, with the number one gun being the most popular that month. The numbers are color-coded to show any changes in the ranks from the previous report.

Black = Steady
Green = Up
Red = Down

Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/

To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.