Browning A5 Light 12 range report ...

[axeman_g]

All,
I got this like new Light 12 A5 a week or so ago and have been dying to shoot it, but due to work responsibilities dealing with Hurricane Dennis I had to delay till today.

Going to shoot some trap, I got some Remington Heavy Load 12g 3dr 2/34 1 and 1/8oz #8 shells, moved my friction rings into place for heavy/mag loads and started off. 1st station was 5/5, second station was 4/5 ... lust is starting to boil in my blood .. then tragedy ... something is loose in the forearm area ... the forearms has SPLIT about 1/3 down all the way around and totally through! I am about to throw up. This is the second time I have had a stock break on me during a round, the first time was with a sxs Simson 16g I really lament getting rid of, I could not afford to replace the stock.

Damn ... I put the gun down, grab a rental Beretta Optima and complete the round and shoot a 18. We then do a round of skeet, my first time, and shoot a 10. The beretta sucks, actually the beretta is nice, but its not mine, I broke my new gun and am pissed.

I play with the A5s forearm .. it is being held in place by the knob and receiver ... it can't get worse .. right?

Well, I take it out to the line and shoot a 23 in the next round. Lust intermingled with sorrow fills me ... like falling in love with a married woman, not a good feeling I suppose. Split is holding ... I shoot another rd for a 21.

I love this gun, but feel horrible about the forearm. I know I will be able to replace it, but I will never be able to match the figure/color in the stock wood. Maybe a set of synthetic furniture .. but plastic just seems sacriligeous on an A5.

Help... right now I am trying to Gorilla glue the split and see if that holds it. I will know the split is there, but the temp fix will buy me time until I can find a fine stock/forearm set. Anybody know a good stock dealer for A5s?

 

[kudu]

I'd look first in Numrich gun parts, and go from there. http://www.e-gunparts.com/

Watch how you use gorilla glue, if you haven't used it before. It foams up out of cracks and if not pressed and clamped together will spread the cracks further apart

 

[slopemeno]

Seems like thay all split at one time or another. If I were to repair one today, I would do my best to glue the crack as cleanly as possible with GOOD epoxy, not dimestore 5 minute. I would suggest West Systems.
Once youve repaired the cosmetic part of the repair, I would reinforce the inside of the forend with unidirectional carbon. I get it locally at Tap Plastics, buy you can google "unidirectional carbon" and see who carries it.
Clean the interior of the forend with lacquer thinner multiple times to remove any residual oil. Mask off the exterior of the forend so any "oops" wont matter. Cut some sections of UniD about 6"8" across the carbon grain. Mix up the epoxy per directions (Its not 50-50 either) and paint in the interior of the forend with a solder brush. Push in enough for 2 layers, and begin working it in with the solder brush. You can use leftover epoxy and paint it inside the carbon. Keep working the carbon and epoxy down until it begins to tack. Let it cure at least 24 hours.
Unidirectional carbon , once the epoxy cures fully, is tough as nails. There may be some evidence of a crack, but it will be stronger than new.

 

[Ed3]

I feel your pain!

This was previously repaired with Gorilla Glue, epoxy, etc. Didn't reinforce it though... Shot it once this weekend. I need a new one!

Ed

 

[axeman_g]

Forearms

Ed,
Yeah, I dont really think the glue is going to hold for long on mine.

Good news sort of ... Browning sells new forearms ($80) for the A5 still, and for an extra $100 they will secure you a piece that looks like your existing wood, finish it and hand fit the wood to your gun. I think I am going to go that route since the stock is still so pristine. It just may be a few weeks until I have the cash..

Axe

 

[Smoke]

but plastic just seems sacriligeous on an A5.

Aggressively concur.

Check Ebay, I've never looked for Humpback wood but have bought complete sets for other guns.

OR check your usual gun supply house or consider having a custom job done.

Smoke

 

[SShooterZ]

Take a look at Midwest Gunworks. They seem to be the foremost experts in Browning gunsmithing. (http://www.midwestgunworks.com/)

 

[Hawk]

I would suggest West Systems.

Sometimes it amazes me when hobbies converge - that's the stuff the high power hobby rocketry guys use, with some sort of fiber, to hold together mach 2 cardboard.

Might be just the ticket to save the forend.

 

[PJR]

Foreend stock splitting is among the usual problems with an Auto 5. If you get a spare you should probably get two.

Also the fitting of the rear stock is compared to other guns a complex undertaking. These are among the variety of design limitations of the Auto 5.

The Auto 5 had a good run but its complex design (a feature of more than one Browning shotgun) means there are significantly better options on the market for auto loading shotguns. In its day the Auto 5 was a technological marvel but it's day is long done.

 

[Chawbaccer]

The Auto 5 had a good run but its complex design (a feature of more than one Browning shotgun) means there are significantly better options on the market for auto loading shotguns. In its day the Auto 5 was a technological marvel but it's day is long done.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[axeman_g]

Reply to PJR

You know what they say ...

"Dont crap on a mans gun or his dog."

I have English Setters ... do you want to inform me how their time has come and gone.

Your comment was less the useful.

 

[Marcus]

Oh man,this is scary! I just got an Auto 5 Light 12 this week and shot my first few rounds of trap with it. How many rounds does it generally take for this to happen? Has anyone succesfully reinforced and "bullet proofed" one? The furniture on this gun is pretty nice. I`d hate to see that happen to it! Marcus

 

[PJR]

Reply to axeman_g

Your comment was less the useful.

My comments might be of some use to someone who was considering the purchase of an Auto 5. My comments might disturb those who refuse to believe a Browning design can be improved upon but no one has rushed in to dispute my conclusions about the potential stock problems in an Auto 5. In fact to the contrary:

Seems like thay all split at one time or another.

This was previously repaired with Gorilla Glue, epoxy, etc. Didn't reinforce it though... Shot it once this weekend. I need a new one!

Is it wrong to discuss the particular limitations of one design or another? Because in today's world, someone seeking a recoil-operated, semi-automatic shotgun would be better served with a Benelli.

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your gun. I'd second the guys at Midwest for a solution. I've dealt with them before and they are first rate.

Paul

 

[axeman_g]

ok ...

I see what you are trying to say now, but please consider, in the context of my original message how your comments might seems disparaging.

I am not married to Browning designs, my hipower lost to a cz po1, my ithaca 37 lost out to a Benelli nova and I never really liked Winchesters ... but this gun spoke to me.

Plus, for the $500 the A5 has problems, but lots mor epersonality over a 1k Benneli.

 

[EVIL5LITER]

Ah, but what many of the new shotguns don't have that the Belgium Browning A5's do, is SOUL.

 

[Hawk]

Yeah, if you love the gun, what's the big deal? Embrace the idiosyncrasies; become one with the A5. What's a few splits between friends?

Either bring it to a pro or patch it up as detailed above.

Then, as they often suggest in this forum:

BA/UU/R
Have fun!

 

[TrapperReady]

Lets not get it too deep in here. I've got a Belgium-made A5. It's a lot of fun and I've killed quite a few birds with it.

I've also got a couple Benellis. Guess what? If I had to pick between them for taking on a long pheasant hunting trip, the A5 would stay behind.** My A5 had a split fore-end when I bought it, but it was competently fixed with Acraglass. So far, it's holding beautifully. However, the Benelli is as easy to carry, shoots as well, and is far easier to maintain. Nothing, and I mean nothing, else I own is as easy to field-strip and clean as the Benelli M1. It's also got a variety of choke tubes and is a little lighter (my A5 is a 16ga on a 12ga frame... kinda beefy).

I like the classics. A lot. I've got an assortment of Model 12s, a 42, an A5 and an 870 20ga nearly half a decade old. But, there are some very nice guns being made these days. I'd be shocked and disappointed if people aren't talking about the Beretta 391s as true classics in 20 or 30 years. The same holds true for the Super X-2 and a few others.

** Truth be told, if I'm going on an upland hunt, there's a HUGE chance that I'm toting a Winchester Model 12.

 

[Gordon]

This week end I am gonna carbon fiber sheet reinforce the uncracked foreend on my A-5 lightweight tactical I made up and previously posted about.Thanx for the info. I will do this when I have it apart to apply the KG coat. Then I think I'll paint the stocks with that knobby epoxy black paint stuf. Heck I'd Rhino coat the whole thing but the coating is too thick.
I am into shotgun projects lately. Read my Benelli Nova post . Next on the chopp ing block my latest - Win 1897!

 

[BigG]

The A5 forend has a couple of idiosyncrasies -

1. Never hold forend back close to receiver. It's dang thin although many if not all have a longitudinal strip of wood reinforcement.

2. Make sure the magazine tube cap is tight. A click or two loose will allw that big lug to hammer your forend apart. That's what looks like happened to the one in the pic. Loose magazine cap.

Other than that, they are sweet reliable weapons. YMMV

 

[Ed3]

2. Make sure the magazine tube cap is tight. A click or two loose will allw that big lug to hammer your forend apart. That's what looks like happened to the one in the pic. Loose magazine cap.

The cap was screwed on tight! I received the gun (long term loan) with a crack already in place... previously "hammered."

Ed

 

[halfacop]

I don't know about this awful talk about A5's being long done.

My dad bought his when he was 16 and it was his only shotgun for years. Needless to say this was during the pheasant golden years in Michigan and he hunted with it non stop. Never had any problems w/ it then or now. The wood is as was when bought - aside from a few character marks.

I bought my A5 back in 91. Hunted w/ it as my only firearm for years, lots of Iowa & South Dakota trips not to mention rabbits and grouse. I have yet to see any problems.

Did I fail to mention my Grandad's 16 he hunted w/ his WHOLE life for birds religiously and has had no problems?

Looks like Browning designed it for the ages if you ask me! (Just like the 1911's that soldiers are going out of their way to buy w/ their own money to replace the stuff they are issued) Of course these guns were bought new by us and took care of the way they should have been. The only thing my gun ever suffered from was a constant rub down.

 

[Dave McCracken]

There's A-5s out there with a half century of service behind them, and perhaps more than that left in them.

A-5s are Forever guns, JMB's Hallmark. They do have some probs, but if you want to talk about forend splits, speak to an 11-48 fan.

And while they are not currently made, parts and service should be available long after we shan't need it.....

 

[slopemeno]

Hawk-
Not High Power Rocketry-"Slope" soaring RC sailplanes. However when I was a gunsmith my employer and I spent alot of Mondays out in a field launching the low-power stuff. That 9" lathe in the shop was just the ticket for turning large balsa nosecones.
The additive in the epoxy is called Cabosil, a fumed slica. Think of it, and handle it, like fine asbestos.

 

[cmb3366]

"Has anyone succesfully reinforced and "bullet proofed" one? The furniture on this gun is pretty nice. I`d hate to see that happen to it! Marcus"

I would say if you have an older gun and you plan on shooting it a ton, it wouldent hurt to reinforce the forearm with epoxy and crabon fiber as noted above. On the latter guns (I have a '95), along with thicker dimenstions, they were reinforced with some manner of epoxied in cloth (looks like fiberglass possibly) straight from the factory.

As for the conversations on Auto-5's in general, there is certainly nothing wrong with the guns that come from the factories today, but I'd still put my wood and steel Browning up against any of the newer designs in a contest of long-term reliability, longetivity and function in adverse conditions; The fact is Brownings just plain work, and they've been doing so for the past 103years .

 

[Hawk]

Warning: OT

Slopemeno: Yes, slope soaring, but not "no" to rocketry.

After all, I was one:

Palmer Hudson sent us these photos of his rocket, Glory. The rocket was built out of phenolic tubes covered with fiberglass cloth. All construction was done using the WEST SYSTEM® epoxy and fillers.

The rocket was 6" in diameter and 9' tall. The 3" diameter motor was about 22" long, with somewhere around 623 lb of thrust

Above from West Systems site, 'bout 1/4 of the way down on the "Projects" page.

Embrace inclusionism!

Back on topic: bet it works on the A5 forend.