Are you a Browning fan? The Buckmark can be found on these fishing pliers

Impressions: The Buckmark, Browning’s logo can be found on everything from hunting and fishing tackle to sportswear and camping gear. What the brand is best known for is firearms and one of John Browning’s most famous creations was the over and under, or stacked barrel shotgun, many of which continued to be sold today under the Browning Citori Series. If that “Citori” name sounds familiar to you then you’re probably thinking of the reels that brandish the same name.

Browning makes fishing tackle but is best known for their firearms

Browning firearms have been used by civilians and military since the early 1900s but it might surprise many that the company has long outsourced the actual construction of many of these firearms, even some of the most iconic ones. Browning’s designs have been built by many well known company’s including Winchester, Colt, Remington, Fabrique Nationale d’Herstel of Belgium and Miroku in Japan. Today Browning is a fully owned subsidiary of FN Herstal.

Browning fans love the company's Buckmark logo which can be found on everything from shotguns to pliers

In addition to their primary firearms products the company also has a huge portfolio of licensee products. These are products that are authorized to be produced and marketed bearing the Browning name and Buckmark logo yet are not directly manufactured by the brand. Fishing products fall under this category and the official licensee in this arena is none other than Bass Pro Shops, which is exactly why you find Browning reels and fishing tools at your local BPS and not at other big box retailers like Cabelas.

The Browning pliers anodized finish reminded me of the company's Diana Grade chokes

The Browning pliers are 7 ¾” in length and are constructed out of machined aluminum and are anodized gold which is instantly recognizable and actually reminds me of the Diana Grade Chokes which are affixed to the front of so many Browning shotguns. The jaws on these pliers are made out of stainless steel and a tungsten carbide replaceable cutter is positioned at the lower section of the jaws. Each pair of pliers comes with a molded black nylon sheath which is designed to lock onto a belt for quick and easy access. To prevent loss of these pliers a coil lanyard secures the pliers to the top corner of the sheath.  

Each pair of pliers comes with a durable nylon sheath

Real World Tests: To test this tool I put the pliers through a series of tests in the lab to test the various features and cutting capabilities then head out fishing a range of applications including fishing on the shore of rivers like the mighty Sacramento and on my bass boat on the California Delta.

The sheath is compact but the belt attachment is wide because of the pivot function

Operation: In the lab I got a first taste of what the pliers felt like in hand and I found them to be rather heavy at 6.3oz., while the use of aluminum does help bring down the total weight of the pliers the large overall footprint of these pliers combined with the stainless steel components do add up. Unlike many pliers this tool has an integrated spring which keeps the jaws open when not in use.

The pliers are spring loaded for easy opening

This makes everything from removing hooks to cutting through line both quicker and easier. In the lab we cut braided line up to 60lbs. and found that the pliers could do this relatively well. I wouldn’t call these cutters the sharpest we have tested but certainly not the dullest either, they fall somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall cutting performance right out of the package.

Tungsten carbide cutters are braid capable

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