Browning Arms Shop

Rebuilding a Browning BPS Magazine Tube Spring and Follower

The Browning BPS is a pump-action shotgun that has earned a loyal following among Australian shooters for waterfowl hunting, sporting clays, and rural pest control. Its bottom-eject design and rugged steel receiver handle the dusty conditions of the outback and the damp coastal ranges around Melbourne and Sydney with equal ease. Over thousands of cycles, however, the magazine tube spring and follower can lose tension or develop flat spots, leading to feeding hiccups that no amount of cleaning will fix.

Rebuilding the magazine tube assembly is a straightforward bench job that most licensed owners can complete in an afternoon. The process requires only basic hand tools, a clean workspace, and replacement parts that are widely available through local gun shops and online specialists. This walkthrough covers the full disassembly, inspection, and reassembly, with practical notes for shooters in Australia who must keep their category A or B firearms properly registered with state police while performing any maintenance.

Setting Up the Workspace and Tools

Choose a well-lit bench with a soft mat or a folded towel to protect the shotgun's bluing from scratches. A pegboard or magnetic tray keeps small components like the magazine cap detent and spring from rolling onto the floor, which is a common mishap in busy home workshops. Many Australian shooters who work out of a garage in Brisbane or Perth lay out a printed reference diagram alongside the parts so the reassembly order stays obvious.

Before touching the firearm, confirm it is unloaded, the action is open, and the magazine is empty. Clearing a dedicated area for the job helps prevent the kind of distractions that lead to lost springs or scratched wood furniture.

Tools you will need:

Unloading and Field Stripping the Shotgun

Start by pointing the muzzle in a safe direction and cycling the action to confirm there is no round in the chamber. Remove the sling if fitted, and set the safety on once the chamber is empty. For Australian owners, this is also a good moment to check that the firearm registration details with your state police are current, as the serial number will be exposed during the strip-down.

Field stripping the BPS follows the sequence outlined in the factory manual. Push out the receiver cross-bolt and separate the barrel and magazine tube assembly from the stock and trigger group. Keep the trigger group seated in the stock unless you are specifically servicing it, as removing it adds unnecessary steps and risks losing the hammer spring. Lay the barreled action on the padded surface with the magazine tube pointing up.

Removing the Magazine Tube Components

The magazine tube unscrews from the barrel after the magazine cap is removed. Hold the barrel firmly and rotate the tube counter-clockwise, keeping an eye on the small detent and spring that live inside the cap. These pieces are tiny and tend to launch themselves across the bench if the cap is loosened too quickly, so a controlled motion saves time and frustration.

Once the tube is free, tip out the old follower and spring. The follower is usually a plastic plug with a small tab that rides in the magazine tube slot, and the spring is a coiled unit that pushes shells upward. Inspect both items closely before discarding anything, as the wear pattern tells you whether the problem was simply age or a symptom of rough handling in the field.

Inspecting the Old Spring and Follower

A fatigued spring will show kinks, rust pitting, or a permanent set that prevents it from returning to its free length. Bend it gently against a flat ruler; if the coils stay compressed after you release them, the spring has lost its elasticity and needs replacing. The follower should be free of cracks, missing tabs, or excessive wear on the rim that contacts the shells.

Signs of wear to check:

If the tube wall shows deep scoring, replacement may be a better long-term option than rebuilding. Light surface marks can be polished smooth with fine emery, but any gouges deep enough to catch a fingernail usually mean the tube has been running dry for too long.

Installing the New Spring and Follower

Drop the new spring into the magazine tube first, making sure it sits flat against the internal shoulder. Insert the follower with its tab aligned with the slot in the tube, then compress the assembly with a dowel or the old follower used as a pusher. This is a fiddly step that benefits from a slow, steady hand and a friend holding the tube steady if you are working alone.

Before threading the tube back into the barrel, smear a thin layer of quality gun grease on the threads. This protects the finish and makes future removal much easier, particularly in humid coastal climates where salt air can seize steel-on-steel threads. Spin the tube on by hand until it bottoms, then snug it gently with a wrench; the BPS design does not require crushing force.

Reassembling and Function Testing

Slide the barreled action back into the stock, line up the cross-bolt holes, and tap the cross-bolt home with a brass punch. Cycle the action several times to confirm the slide and bolt move freely, then dry-fire the trigger group with the action open to check the disconnector and sear engagement. Reload two or three snap caps and run the full cycle to make sure the new spring pushes shells up into the carrier without binding.

Once function testing is complete, wipe the shotgun down, apply a light coat of oil to the external metal, and store it in a locked cabinet that meets your state requirements. Shooters in South Australia and Western Australia should confirm their safe storage rules, as compliance officers do conduct audits. For those considering a bolt-action companion to pair with the BPS on hunts, an X-Bolt comparison highlights the trade-offs between two popular Browning centre-fire models.

Maintenance Schedule and Sourcing Parts

A rebuilt magazine tube assembly will run reliably for many thousands of rounds if the shotgun is cleaned after wet hunts and lightly oiled at the start of each season. Australian shooters who frequent the ranges around Townsville or the clay fields outside Adelaide often schedule a magazine spring swap every two to three years, as humidity accelerates metal fatigue. Keep a small parts kit on hand so a failure in the field can be corrected without waiting on a post-order.

Reputable aftermarket springs and followers are available through established Australian retailers who understand the local category classifications and can ship to licensed dealers. For shooters who like to document their projects, a canvas print sizing guide helps plan framed images of completed work for the workshop wall, turning a routine maintenance job into a satisfying record of craftsmanship.

Browse the Browning Arms Shop catalogue to find genuine replacement parts and compatible accessories for your BPS. A rebuilt magazine tube restores feeding reliability and extends the life of a shotgun that many Australian hunters consider a lifelong companion on the range and in the field.