Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Browning Auto 5 20 GA

Been looking for a Browning humpback Auto 5 for a while and not having much luck finding one at a decent price. I am going to hunt with whatever I get so it doesn't need to be perfect. I would be interested in Belgium or Jap made guns and light or magnum guns. If anyone has any good leads or one to sell or trade, shoot me a message. Thanks.

shotgunworld.com

Where you live has a lot to do with how often one will see these guns. Saying that, the 20s were not as common as the 12s and the smaller bore has a mystique that causes many to hold onto them rather than sell. If you live in an area that had a tradition of using these guns, you will have to be active and patient to find them.

Here in MN I see them fairly regularly though not in numbers. I am a regular in the gun and pawn shops that handle firearms in a rather large area and tend to run across a handful every month. Searching these places as well as the bulletin boards of several gun clubs is how I put together my collection back when I went through my A-5 period. it took me a couple of years to find the sample I wanted at the price I wanted to pay when I had the money available but I found them eventually. I may have saved myself a few bucks in gas if Gunbroker had been around back then but I would have missed out on the many other guns I found.

If you merely looking for a shooter that looks like an A-5, you might want to keep your eyes open for a Remington Model 11 or a Savage 720 series. They are very similar to the A-5 but have less collector interest so are less expensive and more likely to show up on the used rack. I'm not very interested in them but one in good, original condition with military markings at a reasonable price might find its way into my safe.

What is your definition of decent price?
20 gauge Belgian A5's have never been inexpensive.
Franchi 48 AL's are about the same gun and can be found for a lot less.

Contact Bob_Loblaw on this forum, he has one.

Art's Gun Shop in Hillsboro, Missouri ...

I see them once in a while, not often. I tried to buy one at a pawn shop in Rapid City in February. They had it marked 1699 and were running a 20% off sale, so what would that be, $1360?. Rapid City is not shotgun country and not 20ga country and I told them I'd give 1200 for it. They asked the boss and she looked it up and said, "They're going for more than that on the internet." I smiled and said "You should sell it there then," and walked out. A guy with hundreds in hand was let walk...go figure.

I am reminded of the time in 1999 when they were discontinued. The local Walmart had three Light Twenty's, NIB, stacked on the counter and had them on clearance for $544 each. What a regret not buying all of them but I didn't have it in my pocket and wasn't going to swipe a card for something like that. I've gotten smarter since.

I have a 1997 Light Twelve 28”, NIB. Has not been removed from its original packaging.

I have about decided I would like to find a Jap made 20 with the invector chokes so I could quail hunt and turkey hunt with it. If anyone has one they want to sell, please PM me. Thanks!