Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters A5 20g value

Serial is 9Z 18xxx
Plain barrel , possible full choke. Can't really make out the asterisks
Wood is not beat up, 2 small dings. Metal is pretty worn. The " Twenty" on the
receiver is well worn. The "ty" is half worn out. Also looks like a name and SS # is
etched on bottom of receiver next to trigger guard AND on the barrel. It is barely readable,
but it it's there. Has plastic butt plate, but it looks like it was eaten by termites😳
I think it may be 1959 model

Keith, you should be in Marketing, with a sterling product description such as that! :-)

A5s have lost some of their value of late, but 20's seem to have held up better than 12's. Beaters like you've described go cheap though.

Check on Gunbroker for prices actually bid on similar specimens for a ballpark figure.

well, i paid $300, and i'm happy to have it. if it's worth $250 or so,
makes no real difference to me. dove will surely sucumb to it this fall !

The best wingshooting I ever did was with a Light Twelve. Finally got a replacement last year and sent it to Briley for tubes. Did pretty well on doves last season with it.

Hope you enjoy yours. They're great shotguns.

I'd bet that butt plate is horn if it has worm holes...

Didn't know about horn butt plates. Sounds reasonable

Yep. Have seen it before.

My best was with a standard 12 with a 30" full choke. I lent my Beretta 391 to a friend and put him in a great spot. I went to a spot where the only shots were directly overhead, from 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock. Tall trees on one side and a creek with trees blocking my view. It was 20 yards wide. I went 13 for 13. Found out what a good fitting shiotgun will do for you !

My Light Twelve came with a 30" full. I had Briley leave it at 30 to preserve the original profile and because it balanced and pointed well. Those barrels are thin and light, so weight's not a problem.

BTW, Briley does awesome work. I went with the steel compatible tubes, just in case, and ended up using some steel on doves. No difference I could see, and they were cheap. I dropped down one choke size, assuming(!!) the steel would pattern a bit tighter.

Bought a new A-5 Light Twelve in 1963, 28" modified. Then plastic chokes came out and it patterned tight, so I went with spreader loads. When I could no longer find spreader loads, I had a Lyman adjustable choke installed. I told the smith to cut to 20" and attach the dingus. It came back 20" overall. Rats! I lived with it for a few years. When the Japan made guns came out choked, I ordered a 26" with chokes. It fit my Belgium made gun like it was made for it. Happy again. I am getting on in years and usually use a .410 Model 42 on opening day for dove. Second or third day, when I break out the A-5, SIL tells the other hunters that Jack is getting serious.

If I could turn back the clock, I would get a Sweet Sixteen instead. They are a good bit lighter.

Best

Jack

my brother and i both grew up on Sweet Sixteens. we both sold them to move to Berettas.

When i hear an A5 close makes me think of my dad.He loved the A5 and so do I.My son who passed away 11 years ago killed his first duck with one as i did and just thinking about the A5 brought back a great memory.

Like an idiot, I had a Poly Choke installed on my original 1969 26" IC Light Twelve. Couldn't hit sh*t on the wing with it afterwards, and it turned a deadly point and shoot slug gun into just another punkin chucker. Finally sold it (at a considerable profit) to my cousin, who still has it, but doesn't use it.

Funny thing is that now that the prices have fallen, I got a much nicer 1967 version for much less than I sold the old one for years ago. Where else can you get a hand-engraved, hand-checkered, bird gun with French walnut stock for less than $800? A5s are the 1911s of the shotgun world, except they work better.

my brother and i both grew up on Sweet Sixteens. we both sold them to move to Berettas.
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I too have moved on to other guns, but I still use the A-5 sometimes. I have a Model 12 & 42, an 870, a '63 Browning Superposed
Pigeon Grade 20 (my favorite), a Benelli 20, and a Beretta 687 Grade IV, which replaced a series of Superposed 12s. I find the Superposed 12s a little too heavy.

Jack