Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 1st gun I ever shot was the Old Browing A5

Don't know a lot about these but always wanted one, 1st 12gage I ever shot was my dads A5 I was 8 sitting on the ground with it resting on my knees, it got traded off, anyhoo I picked up one at the gun show, I fig 30s 40s no frills 16 gage, round knob, ser# 10119X anyone know a bit more about it? Thanks John

Lets see!

Well IMHO you bought yourself a nice old shotgun. I have had both a regular 16 and currently have a sweet 16 the big difference is a few oz in weight. The auto 5 is a tuff old gun and you will find it very reliable. A couple of pieces of advice are:

Check your chamber length as some of the older guns had a short chamber and may need to be lengthened to 2 3/4"

Become familiar how to arrange the spring and rings to shoot low and high and low powered shells. I usually try the high setting with a piticular loading and see how it works switching only if I don't get reliable ejection and cycling

Not able to post pics, was told it has a 2 3/4 chamber, seems very light, has a fig head of "John Browning" on the left side of the reciver has a crack in the forarm and butstock, but Iv gotten pretty good at fixing them on sav. 99s. also made in belgim with the proof marks.

I forgot to mention that it probably isn't steel rated. The only complaints that I have if you could call them that is that they are choked pretty tight as in a mod barrel seems to match most every other makers full in my experience. My sweet 16 is a mod and throws pretty tight patterns. I wish it was a IC for all around use. Regardless when I miss it is rarely the choke. I think the old Brownings are one of the prettiest guns ever built. Nice blue on steel, nice wood and tasteful engraving not many short of pretty high grade doubles can offer that.

The gauge/chamber length will be stamped on the barrel just ahead of the barrel extension. It will be an oval with either 16-65 or 16-69? inside it.

Location of the safety will also tell chamber length if short chambered. The pre-war guns had 2 9/16" with the safety ahead of the trigger.

bangeye mentioned choke: The older guns were choked for use with fiber wads and shot in contact with the barrel wall. They have more constriction than modern barrels.

The safety is ahead of the trigger! I hope this is chambered for the 2 3/4 as I was told.

I had a gun that was assemembledright after the end of the war with a suicide safety and 2 3/4 inch chamber