The good times keep rolling at Browning, with new products coming not only at SHOT Show, but throughout the year. The company’s SHOT Show 2025 booth was hopping in Las Vegas, and this was our first look at many of the new models and variants.
Hunters will be the happiest demographic, though there’s some classy finery for discerning clay shooters, too. Here’s what we found from the Buck Mark brand.
Citori 825
It’s difficult to improve a proven platform like Browning’s Citori over/under series of sporting and hunting shotguns, but the Citori 825 lineup builds on the earlier 725s. Changes defining the 800-level O/Us include enhanced controls and a lower overall profile. The latter is geared toward putting the shooter’s eye closer to the barrel’s axis, which should ultimately aid in accuracy.
There’s a full-width hinge pin and tapered locking lug, which seems to be similar, if the not the same as on the 725. Browning adds a mechanical Fire Lite 2 trigger to the 825, which advertises a lighter pull and crisper break, along with reduced overtravel. Chrome chambers, a floating rib, and Inflex II recoil pad round out the package.
Related Review: Pure Hunting Class – Browning’s Over-Under Citori 16-Gauge Shotgun
Everything partners with upgraded wood stocks checkered to match the sleek lines of the receiver. Invector-DS choke tube systems come standard, though the exact configurations vary by model. The 10 variants released for 2025 range from the 825 Field priced at $3,149.99 to the elegant Golden Clays Trap with MSRP at $6,666.99.
X-Bolt 2 Models Flood the Market
The X-Bolt 2 was released late in 2024, but Browning went off the rails and added nearly 30 newbies to the X-Bolt 2 family for SHOT Show 2025. Browning’s X-Bolt 2 is a redesign of its X-Bolt line of bolt-action rifles, now covering everything from long-range varmint hunting to target shooters, the deer crowd, mountain hunters, African plains game, and even competition work.
Related Review: Into Hell’s Canyon – Browning X-Bolt in 6.5 Creedmoor
Though features vary by model, by and large, the same features hit on each. The receiver is reconfigured for smoother bolt operations. There’s a DLX adjustable trigger, a magazine system touting greater capacity, tang safety, bolt unlock button, free-floated barrels, X-Lock scope mounting system, and removable muzzle brakes.
Many use some sort of Vari-Tech stock system allowing full user customization including LOP, comb, and grip angle adjustments. Carbon-fiber stock and barrel selections are expanded. Precision shooters will appreciate Target variants with a full diameter receiver, target DLX trigger, Xtra Capacity Mag System, 20-MOA Picatinny rail, and ARCA/Swiss readiness.
Of course, many of those features run standard throughout out the XB2 family, but with 28 (yes, that’s correct!) more variants flooding the gates of 2025, expect many different features specific to the model’s target audience. That’s an insane amount of new model variants, not to mention those released in late 2024. If you can’t find an X-Bolt 2 that suits your aesthetic tastes, shooting style, and pursuit, then Browning is not for you.
Browning Ammunition
It’s not all guns at Browning – the company offers lists of branded products from camo to hunting gear, fire safes to apparel. One of the most overlooked is its growing lines of ammunition. For another year at SHOT Show, we got a look at what’s been added to the Browning family of gun food.
New for 2025 is a line of performance target shotshells for the serious clay shooter. Golden Clays Performance Target packs lead shot alloyed with antimony to reduce pellet deformation. That sits inside the company’s Competition Grade wad, a one-piece, four-petal design created for consistent shot release over uniform velocities. Golden Clays is being launched in the five major gauges: 12, 16, 20, and 28, and .410 bore. Five different “shot types” will be available: Extra Light, Light, Heavy, Sporting, and Handicap. Each offering ships in standard 25-round boxes.
Final Thoughts
Browning is making 2025 a year for the hunters and O/U shooters. Alongside those big-ticket launches, a few smaller additions are worth checking out. The more affordable AB3 hunting rifle line received a few new finishes, as did the Maxus II repeating shotgun family. The company’s many existing product lines all remain, including pistols, shotguns, levers, rimfires, and centerfire rifles.
