The "lever" is a magazine cut off so you can stop any shells from loading from the magazine and introduce another type of shell into the chamber rather quickly. Value is in the 450.00 to 550.00 range depending on condition and date of manufacture. I see a crack in the forearm on the port side which will reduce the value somewhat but they are easily located and replaced.
That'll be 45.00 please.... BW....

 

Man I love those old long guns with the scroll work engraved on the receivers. They come from a time where craftsmanship was the name of the game instead of meeting production quotas and cost containment.

 

Those are fine shotguns. A wonderful example of JMB's genius.

What length shells does it take?

John

 

Takes 2.75" shells.......28" barrel. Whats the capacity...I dont have any 12ga shells on hand? Are they known to be reliable?

 

Hey Wahoo, the capacity should be 2 shells in the tube if it has the plug. If no plug it should be 4. Also there is a website that will tell you the year it was made, It is the Browning website. They are nice guns. I have a Sweet Sixteen and my father has a 12 guage Magnum, both are Belgium made. PM me if you need any more info or help

 

Takes 2.75" shells.......28" barrel. Whats the capacity...I dont have any 12ga shells on hand? Are they known to be reliable?

Very reliable. It would be a great gun for dove hunting or skeet shooting as is. If you need some shells let me know and I'll bring you a box.

 

I agree with Bailey Boat regarding the value. I don't own one, but I wouldn't mind doing so. I have shot several. Shooting an A5 does demonstrate their most glaring short coming when compared to a modern auto-loader. They "kick like a mule".

 

Grew up shooting these things and my dad still uses one for hunting most things that fly.

As mentioned, the recoil is rather, ummm, strongly nostalgic when compared with the modern Benellis, Berettas, etc. A full day in a dove field or a couple hours in a duck blind will leave most people used to today's guns with a sore shoulder.
They are also a bit more time-consuming to take down and clean than some of today's stuff.
Good old guns though. Very reliable and solid. A nice one can be worth up to $800 or so, average used ones are around $450-$550. The vent-rib ones may be worth a modest premium.

 

The "lever" is a magazine cut off so you can stop any shells from loading from the magazine and introduce another type of shell into the chamber rather quickly. Value is in the 450.00 to 550.00 range depending on condition and date of manufacture. I see a crack in the forearm on the port side which will reduce the value somewhat but they are easily located and replaced.
That'll be 45.00 please.... BW....

^^This, and the answer of 2 or 4 in the tube (with or without the plug) is right as well.

The Belgium made auto 5 was light years ahead of its time and a very sought after gun for collectors. I have seen old safe queens fetch as high as $1100.00 in like new condition. This one being a rough field gun is still a $400 to $500 gun.

I don't know how much information the guy was looking for, but the reason for the squared off receiver was to give quicker target acquisition for bird hunting. Hell of a gun.

 

I was raised shooting one of those. I shoot my A5 better than any other shotgun I've tried. They do kick a little harder than a gas operated gun but to me it's no big deal.

 

It looks familiar. I had a 20 ga that the whole barrel moved when you shot it causing hella more recoil than my other 12 ga shotties. It is a dangerous piece. They can be "cocked" by placing the butt on the ground and pushing down on the barrel like a pogo stick. Be careful with that one.

They also can discharge with a live shell in the chamber when doing that stunt.

 

Browning

Takes 2.75" shells.......28" barrel. Whats the capacity...I dont have any 12ga shells on hand? Are they known to be reliable?

The auto 5 holds 5 shells with out plug that why it is called a auto 5. It holds three with plug 1 in chamber two in tube. I had one made in 1957 it was in great shape hard times caused me to sell it for 650.00

 

So if its value is $450-$550 did you get a good deal, or did the old man?

 

You should be aware of the friction ring adjustment for firing high brass or low brass. The instructions may be glued to the inside of the forearm. If not, they're available on the Browning website. Also, as "seasoned" as your A-5 appears to be, you may wish to consider replacing the action spring and the recoil spring, both available at Brownell's.

 

You should be aware of the friction ring adjustment for firing high brass or low brass. The instructions may be glued to the inside of the forearm. If not, they're available on the Browning website. Also, as "seasoned" as your A-5 appears to be, you may wish to consider replacing the action spring and the recoil spring, both available at Brownell's.

This is the #1 thing when it comes to any long-recoil operated shotgun. I have a Franchi AL48 which is an italian copy of the A5 after the patent expired. Make sure the friction rings are right, which means in the "heavy" setting until you determine if your load will cycle or not. If it wont after a few rounds, then flip the ring around to the front. Do not shoot high-brass or slugs in the light position, because it will kick like hail and possibly damage the reciever. :90:

 

It is not a dangerous gun. It is a recoil operated action in which the barrel recoils to the rear to cock the hammer and load a fresh round into the chamber. I am not sure why anyone would want to try to cock one by placing the butt on the ground and pushing down on the barrel. You can cock a SBE by placing the butt on the ground and working the action with your foot. That does not make the SBE dangerous. No gun should be used in such a strange and dangerous manner. The person who uses a gun that way is dangerous, not the gun.

Doing that ridiculous stunt is no more likely to cause a round in the chamber to fire than loading it in a more conventional manner.

There were so many of them made and yours is in such rugged shape that neither collectors nor shooters would pay premium prices for it. You can easily turn it into a wonderful shooter with some easily available new wood and new springs. I have used several for about 45 years and still use them as my primary hunting shotguns even though I have several softer recoiling more modern shotguns.

 

It is not a dangerous gun. It is a recoil operated action in which the barrel recoils to the rear to cock the hammer and load a fresh round into the chamber. I am not sure why anyone would want to try to cock one by placing the butt on the ground and pushing down on the barrel. You can cock a SBE by placing the butt on the ground and working the action with your foot. That does not make the SBE dangerous. No gun should be used in such a strange and dangerous manner. The person who uses a gun that way is dangerous, not the gun.

Doing that ridiculous stunt is no more likely to cause a round in the chamber to fire than loading it in a more conventional manner.

There were so many of them made and yours is in such rugged shape that neither collectors nor shooters would pay premium prices for it. You can easily turn it into a wonderful shooter with some easily available new wood and new springs. I have used several for about 45 years and still use them as my primary hunting shotguns even though I have several softer recoiling more modern shotguns.

Winchester's version of the Browning A-5 had the barrel knurled just for the purpose of loading the gun and because of numerous incidents stopped the production of their auto shotgun. The Browning is a much safer gun but it is still an auto-loader and should be afforded the concerns that safety conscious folks display when handling such a weapon.

 

LOL....this forum never ceases to amaze me......

FWIW....to properly "pogo" a weapon means to stand on the cocking handle...I, and many others, have done it to M60`s and FALs to clear sticky chambers, LOLOL...it works, but be damn careful


never had to do it to my A-5 and Remington M11s I`ve hunted with since 1975

 

It is not a dangerous gun. It is a recoil operated action in which the barrel recoils to the rear to cock the hammer and load a fresh round into the chamber. I am not sure why anyone would want to try to cock one by placing the butt on the ground and pushing down on the barrel. You can cock a SBE by placing the butt on the ground and working the action with your foot. That does not make the SBE dangerous. No gun should be used in such a strange and dangerous manner. The person who uses a gun that way is dangerous, not the gun.

Doing that ridiculous stunt is no more likely to cause a round in the chamber to fire than loading it in a more conventional manner.

Nobody said to do it or condoned it. It was mentioned that it is possible because of its type of action. Touchy people. psst.:001_tongue:
If you drop the gun on the butt like when handing it over a fence it can cycle. This I can tell you for certain. But whatever.

Dropping lots of types of firearms can cause them to cycle. Those with a trigger locks are much more prone to doing so than are those that lock the firing pin or hammer. The A-5 safety locks the trigger. Many other firearms do the same thing. I am not being touchy but rather am trying to give out good information. The A-5 is no more dangerous than most other firearms. I would not want the OP to feel that it is and not use a wonderful firearm because of unnecessary fear.

All firearms should be handled as if they could go off at any minute. To do otherwise is folly.

 

Okay...so some may think I'm crazy, but for my next project I'm thinking I may want to turn "This Old Shotgun" into THIS:

Something more like a legal length "Whippit Gun"......Thoughts????

 

It is not a dangerous gun. It is a recoil operated action in which the barrel recoils to the rear to cock the hammer and load a fresh round into the chamber. I am not sure why anyone would want to try to cock one by placing the butt on the ground and pushing down on the barrel. You can cock a SBE by placing the butt on the ground and working the action with your foot. That does not make the SBE dangerous. No gun should be used in such a strange and dangerous manner. The person who uses a gun that way is dangerous, not the gun.

Doing that ridiculous stunt is no more likely to cause a round in the chamber to fire than loading it in a more conventional manner.

Nobody said to do it or condoned it. It was mentioned that it is possible because of its type of action. Touchy people. psst.:001_tongue:
If you drop the gun on the butt like when handing it over a fence it can cycle. This I can tell you for certain. But whatever.

The A-5 and it's kin are function tested by working the action with dummy rounds and to do so requires placing the butt on an immoveable object, grasping the barrel at the end and jacking it toward the buttstock. This works very well with dummy rounds. To do so with hot rounds there is the chance of discharge even though the shotgun's safety is on and the trigger is untouched. Nobody uses this method until they have a failure to operate and through the use of various types of communication some are told to try the barrel jacking method without receiving the knowledge that you don't attempt this without first unloading the shotgun and then using dummy rounds; that is what makes the A-5 dangerous otherwise it is as safe a shotgun autoloader made today.

 

Okay...so some may think I'm crazy, but for my next project I'm thinking I may want to turn "This Old Shotgun" into THIS:

Something more like a legal length "Whippit Gun"......Thoughts????

go for it! They`re fun! Here`s my 18.5" old school room clearin` piece....

 

Exactly what I was thinking! Who did the work? Did you have it refinished too?

 

Ledford`s in Hickory chopped the bbl and reinstalled the front bead. I do parkerizing and refinished it myself.

 

My father-in-law just gave my 11 yr old son his old Browning Auto for his birthday. He got it new when he was twelve years old back in the 1940's. This shotgun is in very very good condition. My son can't wait to go out and shoot it. May get some light target loads and take him out later this week. It has a full choke barrel and the furniture and receiver/barrel finish is in excellent shape. I, myself have a "Sweet Sixteen" that I haven't shot for years.