Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A-5's

I've owned a lot of shotguns. All types, including many Benelli's and Browning Golds. Still have many. They all have their niches. Benelli's are fast and Golds are light kickers. Other than cracks in their stocks, I have never witnessed an A-5 failure. I like them all, but think that few match the cool factor of the ole humpback.

What I've always liked about them is that when you pick one up, it just feels like a quality gun. They also feel pretty cool to shoot.

I do the majority of my scattergun hunting these days with combo guns, but I'll always be a fan of the A5.

Brian.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I've shot quite a few winged and furry things with an A-5, but quite a bit more with a 30" Remington 11.

Yes, very great guns, bit pretty darn heavy too!

I have several Remington 11's, the poor mans auto-5. I have two in 20 gauge, one 16 gauge and two in 12 gauge. I like the solid rib guns the best, but can't seem to let the plain barrel ones go either. Around here I can pick up a Remington 11 in the pawn shops for $150-$175. Clean em up and they are ready to roll.

The A-5 I shot had the ol' Poly Choke on it too!

I have my grandad's 16 gauge, short chamber bump safety A5 with a solid rib. I have my dad's light 12 with 28" rib and just last week I picked up an A5 Magnum with VR and 32 inch barrel.
I'm thinking that will be my late season pheasant gun unless someone talks me out of it before I become attached. One of those deals that I really didn't need it but the price was right. So if anyone just HAS to have a Mag with 32 inch barrel, I might listen

I happen to like the polychokes. My first Ithaca 37 had one on it and I learned they work pretty good. They make the shotgun a bit more versatile. No more hitting a dove at 20 yards with a full choke. My uncle can't stand any of them, calls them donkey dicks. He doesn't mind the polychokes as much as the old Cutts Compensator.

I had a bad experience with my Dad's 20 gauge A-5 when I was a kid. I didn't know how to operate the gun correctly and managed to get my thumb slammed in the action when I pressed the bolt release to load the magazine. The extractor punctured my thumb.

That ended my dove shooting for the day and I haven't touched an A-5 since. I also had an 1100 and wore it out in three seasons of hard use. I lost interest in semi-auto shotguns long ago. I much prefer 870's and good over/under double shotguns.

They've got these things now called "INTERCHANGEABLE CHOKES." They're threaded and fit flush in the barrel. They're really cool. You should check them out sometime.

First shotgun I got to shoot was A-5. Was 12 years old, shotgun belonged to a friend's father. Always thought the (A-5) was cool, still do, just have never owned one. Have always owned sxs or o/u"s.

Yes, they (the Poly Chokes) were quite functional.

Full choke on a rabbit had about the same effect, so it was nice on the Browning. The 11 you just had to be good with the lead...

My best friend's grandfather was an old duck hunter. He left us cases of paper hulls filled with 4's and 6's; they literally lasted us from 5th grade through high school.

Good times, and yes, I don't recall a failure from those two guns either.

Thank you Bricktop for enlightening me, I had no idea. I thought I was stuck in the 50's and that was my only choice.

It was obvious. There are color televisions now, too.

Hawk1, my dad and I were hunting one of those hunting clubs with the pen raised birds one year as a primer for going up to South Dakota. They put out some Chukars and I had one blow at my feet. I came up on him just as he leveled out and forgot I was shooting the fixed full choke 12 gauge and hit him at about 7 yards. It was more a reaction then conscious thought. There was a poof of feathers and all I found of him was legs attached to wing bones and a head. Everything in the center of him was gone....Not pretty and waste of meat.

my little benelli 20 has personality. when i get lined up on the third shot it missfires. saves me a lot of ammo, but i have to spend the savings on b/p meds. wish i had the money back. i could have 2 lightweight auto 5 20 ga in imp. cyl. one for quail and 1 for dove. i train bird dogs and ur not gonna believe me when i say i kill blue quail with it with low base rem. #6. two #6 will get a blue to 45 yards. you should see my buddies running, cussing, and kicking trying to get a broke wing blue they shot with a high base 12ga 71/2. i usually beat them. i used to be a 12man till i moved here 35 yrs ago and a guy took me for blues. his wife was rolling jacks at 40-50 yards with high base 20ga 6's. you like a 12? chase blues all day in desert sand.

Belgian A-5 full choke 12 here. Rode hard and put away wet by my brother from whom I inherited at his death. Cleaned up and reblued, it's only a mildly pitted workin' gun- fits right in with all the rest of my beaters.

Used it not at all in the 10-15 years I've had it- in fact, the last time I test-shot it was after reassembling it after running it thru the hot tanks.... Keep thinking I ought to get a multi-choke bbl for it so I can use steel ifn' I ever get back into waterfowling.

my problem is it seems the auto benellis need high brass shells. also, it is not nearly as fast (clocked) as my finger, browning golds or the new auto winchesters.

ducks, geese get the mod 12.

When my Dad passed away he left me his A-5 and several boxes of shells. It is a 16ga with a 2 9/16" chamber and plain barrel. He bought it used in the mid-1960's when he was stationed in Germany.

I have never shot it, it was always HIS shotgun.

I guess it's time...

Ed