Auto 5 Questions

[tuna]

Hi all, just bought a used Auto 5 16 ga (Sweet 16) and am wondering if anyone has any tips / tricks for disassembly. Anything that I should be aware of? Any advice for a dyed in the wool SxS man with his first semi?

Yes, I know how to do a Google search, but I just wanted to crow from the rooftops that I happened to stumble across a Sweet Sixteen in a gunstore for a price that was lower than the 12's he had. Any info on the Sweet 16 in particular or the Auto 5 in general would be greatly appreciated.

 

[enfield]

I know the owner's manual is available on-line. Let me know if you want it and can't find it and I'll email it to you.

 

[axeman_g]

auto 5 manual ....

http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm

 

[Jim K]

Just make sure you get the friction rings back in the same as they were and don't change them until you read the book and know what you are doing. Those rings are, IME, the major cause of problems with the Auto 5.

Just for your amusement, at one time I was good enough (at least with the 12 gauge) that I could tell how the rings were set just by placing the gun butt on the floor and pushing down on the barrel. I once did that when an old fellow brought in his Auto 5 saying that he had cleaned it and now it wouldn't work.

His jaw almost dropped to the floor. "I coulda swore that barrel moved," he blurted. "It did", I replied, and described how the gun worked.

He had owned that gun for 20 years, and killed probably tons of game with it, and didn't know the barrel moved!

Jim

 

[milcaztra]

We learn something every day. My first shotgun about 20 years ago was a 16 ga Auto-5. I've only shot it a couple of times, and it's now tucked away in the safe. I had no idea that the barrel moved. That's really pretty neat!

 

[Jim K]

I am glad to have been informative. Just in case anyone else wonders, the Browning Auto 5 and its clones use a long recoil action. When the gun fires, the barrel and bolt recoil together the full length of the receiver. Then the barrel is unlocked and comes forward under the impulse of its own spring, which is around the magazine tube. Since the fired shell is held by the extractor, the barrel is pulled off from around it and the ejector in the barrel extension kicks it out the ejection port.

Once the barrel is in battery, and if there is a shell in the magazine, the bolt carrier is released and comes forward under the impulse of its spring, which is in the buttstock. Meantime, the barrel moved the shell stop, letting a shell come out of the magazine onto the shell carrier. As the bolt carrier moves forward, it flips up the shell carrier and raises the shell into position to be picked up by the bolt and chambered.

The aforementioned friction rings make it possible to use shells of different power. This is done by having the barrel and the rear ring made so they squeeze the bronze ring(s) against the magazine tube. The amount of the squeeze, and hence the amount of the slowing effect, depends on how the rings are set up.

(When the gun is operated manually, the handle operates directly on the bolt carrier, so the barrel does not move, giving folks the idea that the barrel is fixed in the receiver.)

Jim

 

[ZenMasterJG]

Congrats on your purchase! I have a Japanese A-5 12ga. Magnum. Shoots like a dream
+1 on the not messing with the friction rings till you figure out how they work!
If you'll be using the gun for clays, they can be finnicky with light loads. (Especially my magnum... getting it to cycle target loads was a PITA!) Remember that the ammount of lube you put on the mag tube & rings will affect it a lot. If you're shooting heavy loads, you'll barely need any lube on the rings at all. Lighter loads, use the light ring config. and plenty of lube, and it'll cycle anything.

16 ga. guns are great too, and don't get nearly enough respect. If you can find the ammo for it, good for you, its a royal pain to find 16ga around here!

Enjoy the A-5. It'll give you a few lifetimes worth of excellent shooting!

 

[tuna]

Thanks for all the help, keep the advice coming! I can always use more wisdom.

Yeah, 16ga shells are hard to come by here too, but it may be an excuse to start reloading.

 

[Bobshouse]

The best takedown guide Ive found is here:

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69850

Be forewarned, the owners manual highly suggests taking your gun to a gunsmith for a deep cleaning!

Bob

 

[Wags]

Tuna: Your Auto-5 only needs partial takedown to clean it. It's a great shotgun and I waterfowl hunt with my 12ga 3" Magnum in all the worst enviroments. I am going to give you a website to check out concerning complete dis-assembly, but I don't recommend you doing this unless your a seasoned basement gun plumber.

www.msduckmen.com

Scroll down to gun maintenance and click on Browning Auto-5. I did this a couple years ago and spent a lot of time running back and forth from the work bench to the computer putting this beast back together. If anything it's very informative. Good luck and enjoy that work of art shotgun that always goes boom.

Wags

 

[tuna]

Thanks wags. I don't know if I'm brave enough to try the whole takedown. Maybe after the season, so I'll have 8 months or so to figure out how to get it back together.

 

[m14nut]

The Remington model 11 is essentially the same gun.

Here's a detailed takedown....
takedown an auto