Reader Jeff the Griz writes . . .
Last year my daughter joined her gigh school clay target team through USA High School Clay Target League (www.usaclaytarget.com). This is an awesome group that is normalizing shooting sports among teens.
Her school’s team is so large (49 students in 2019) they can only accommodate range time for 16 yard American trap. After shooting for the school, she did some skeet shooting during the club’s youth summer program.
She started with a single shot 20 gauge shotgun and quickly moved to an Remington 1100 20 gauge loaner gun at the club. Her enjoyment of the sport made the decision easy for us to invest in her own shotgun.
She was small for her age, so a 20 gauge was preferred. Then I had to consider length of pull and budget, added to the fact that sometimes she is shooting 100 shells or more per practice round.
Ultimately these factors pushed me towards a gas operated semi-auto.
A lot of shotguns fell into our $1000-ish budget. Unfortunately none were in the left-handed flavor. so a right-handed gun was chosen.
With all the ducks in a row, the options were narrowed. After spending weeks reading what information I could find on all the different brands and models, I ordered a Browning Silver Field Micro Midas shotgun.
This shotgun has a 26″ barrel and a 13″ length of pull. The gun uses Browning’s Active Valve System to manage light to heavy loads for shells of 2 3/4″ or 3″ in length.
At only 6 pounds, 2 oz unloaded, the gun is easy for her to hold, point and lead the birds. The gas system and 20 gauge chambering lighten the light shotgun’s recoil.
She has had the shotgun for almost a year and it has 1,680 rounds through it at the moment. About 1,500 of those shells were Remington Gun Club 2 3/4″ in the #7.5 or #8 shot size variety.
The last 180 were mostly Federal game loads or Remington Heavy Dove loads. I’ve added 5 shots of 3″ #5 Winchester Turkey to ensure 3″ loads do in fact cycle her gun.
This gun has never had an issue locking back on empty or ejecting. It has had one failure to feed that may have been operator error on her part, when the Browning was new to her.
The shotgun has had one failure to fire. This failure was likely an ammunition issue because the primer of that shell was deeply dimpled. There have not been any issues at all with failures to feed, but I must cautiously say this for two reasons.
First, for those unfamiliar with shooting American trap, only a single shell is loaded at a time and this shotgun has spent a majority of its use on the firing line of the trap range. Second, I am a bit OCD when it comes to keeping firearms clean, and this being a gas shotgun, I have never let it go beyond 250 rounds without a good scrubbing.
Cleaning is a must. This being a gas gun the gas piston gets filthy. This picture may be difficult to see, but this is only after 75 rounds of Remington Heavy Dove.
When I picked up the shotgun from my FFL I was extremely impressed with the fit and finish. The walnut stock is beautiful and the bi-tone finish on the receiver gives it a unique look. Unfortunately when I got it home, it took me nearly two hours to get all the grease off and out of every surface.
The only “new” gun that I have ever cleaned that was worse was a cosmoline-covered M44 Mosin I purchased for my 21st birthday. The entire time I cleaned the Silver Field Micro Midas I kept thinking to myself that Browning was really worried about these guns crossing the ocean from Japan.
Since owning the shotgun the only improvements added have been replacing the included flush-fitting Invector Plus-chokes with Browning Midas grade extended improved modified and skeet chokes.
Specifications: Browning Silver Field Micro Midas
Gauge: 20 gauge (12 gauge also available)
Capacity: 4+1 (2 3/4″ shells)
Barrel Length: 26 inches (a 24-inch models also available)
Overall Length: 45 3/4 inches
Length of Pull: 13 inches
Weight: 6 1/8 pounds
Chokes: Invector-Plus flush chokes (full, modified and improved cylinder)
MSRP: $1160 (about $900 street)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Fit and Finish: * * * * 1/2
Nice walnut stock and the bitone finish on the receiver is looks good. There are minor wear marks from the ejection of hundreds of spent shells, but the finish is holding up very well.
Reliability: * * * *
Keeping it clean and primarily loading one shell at a time for trap keep me from adding that fifth star.
Value: * * * *
The Browning Silver Field Micro Midas is a great youth-sized shotgun with a nice finish. This is meant to be a hunting gun, but it’s holding up very well for the amount of rounds its fired. The Browning website has a current offer of “insurance” for 50% off a full size stock for this shotgun.
Customize This: *
New chokes and … nope, that’s about it.
Overall: * * * *
This is a great firearm that’s held up well to a lot of shooting. I would have been extremely happy to have a shotgun like this for shooting clays as a kid. I know the Silver Field Micro Midas will serve her well the next few seasons.
Good read & thanks for sharing!
My only question would be, shouldn’t your daughter be cleaning the shotgun instead of you? 🙂
This year… She’s been warned.
Doh! I see a typo. High School not gigh school. Dan thanks for posting. I have the other review done but I need photos.
Very cool, great review, and kudos to your daughter! Proud dad times are the best times.
Totally agreed! Treasure the time you get to spend together. Great shotgun and review, also.
Thanks. I am grateful she has always liked to hunt. The shooting just started recently, it was previously difficult to get her to practice before hunting season.
Im guessing I have another year before dad isn’t cool enough to hang around anymore, really want to get her into wing shooting.
Inertia shotguns don’t seem to get as dirty. But at less than 6 pounds that extra help with kick is likely much appreciated.
The first semi auto shotgun I ever fired was the old Browning a5. Very good shotgun. But to steal a line from R.Lee, “you really had to want to shoot something” with that gun. It kicked. It worked, but it kicked.
Review of my Benelli is written, have plans for photos this week.
Look forward to it. I’m liking my m2 so far. I have a couple of youth model 20 ga.’s. I have grandkids and a 5 foot tall wife. They can get rambunctious with the right loads.
My youth models are not benelli’s.
My M2 is a 20 gauge and I wouldn’t trade it for a pile of 12’s.
One more beautiful thing about Benellis… they’re fast and they point and swing naturally and easily… most American made shotguns by comparison feel like you’re trying to balance two hogs on the end of a shovel.
RGP. There’s a lot of things I like the 20 ga. for. Unfortunately here in CA they made lead shot illegal. I simply get better performance out of a 12 with steel.
My favorite rabbit gun is a 20. The first year we made the switch to steel I saw wounded animals get into brush and holes that would not have happened with lead shot. I know they died. But at what suffering before?
jwm: No idea if they’re allowed in California, but Kent Tungsten Matrix loads are available for a 20 gauge. They’re (expensive) and non toxic but they actually perform better than lead and they even have a longer effective range than lead. They’re also softer than steel and can be used in older guns that can’t be used with steel.
RGP. I’ve seen Kent brand here. Not that particular load. We can’t mail order here anymore. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Nice review, Mr. Griz. And I see you went to the Jon Wayne Taylor ‘school of gun photography’ by the pics. Nice combination, and a solid end result.
If I ever get off my ass and write the review for my new CZ 2075 RAMI, I hope I can capture the spirit of this review…
Thanks. Yeah I looked at his recent reviews and I snapped a lot of pics. I cant see the clays burst in the photos, maybe for my Benelli review??? I snapped about 10 pics to catch the yellow shell flying through the air.
20 gauge guns rock. They’re smaller, lighter, and seem to kill stuff as well as anything else, and the ammunition weighs less. I haven’t bothered shooting a 12 for at least ten years now and don’t miss it one bit.
My daughter has been shooting a 12 the last few weeks. Might have to bump her up, when points add up, the more pellets the higher chance to break clays. For know she’s happy, but always keeping an eye out for a trade deal on a BT-99.
They’re good, but it’s a shame that 16ga is so rare. Personally I think it’s even better in the happy middle category.
A 16 gauge built on a true 16 gauge sized frame is as good as shotguns get!
28 gauge on 28 gauge frame would like a word with you…Line 2
Very cool to see Dad & Daughter throwing lead together. Maybe that girl will branch out into 3-gun. Then you can keep really busy in the cleaning room. Good man!
She’s not a fan of handguns. Maybe soon. For now I’ll keep her shooting shotguns and rifles.
Have her throw rocks at the pistol station and move on!😆
Great write up Jeff.
Always good to see parents taking pride in teaching their children about shooting sports.
Great write up Jeff!
Reminded me of teaching my daughter on the AR before she went into the Corps. She did very well in boot camp.
Great times.
Nice writeup.
Not a fan of the “big ole deer” on the reciever, but it a nice looking gun.
Shotguns may be the most fun gun, there is.
And I like a 16 on a 16 frame as well.
I am a falconer. I think when a hawk eats that rabbit shot with steel at least it lives. I find it difficult to understand why my friends insist on shooting ground squirrels with led when they are the primary food for the prairie falcon’s young in the spring. I would like to see all of us give up the idea that lead is so wonderful. Hubbard
Silver…Midas… Naming fail. Otherwise looks like a decent shotgun. Thanks for the review.
Hey Jeff, nice review and great to see your daughter getting into shooting. Like you, somehow I’m the one that gets to clean my daughter’s CZ .22LR when she’s done with it!
Inspired from the tv series Yellowstone, this Kelly Reilly Blue Coat is poncho-style outerwear. Kelly Reilly portrayed the role of Beth Dutton, daughter of John Dutton in the series.
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