Browning sweet 16

[Rafterman191]

I stumbled upon one today and tried to get some numbers off it to check it out. Only numbers I saw glancing quickly was 95701. I don't think it was the serial. It had "Sweet Sixteen" in fancy engraving on side of receiver. Does anyone know anything about it based on this information and does $600 sound good? It is in fair condition. Starting to need some TLC.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I've been looking for one for a while now. $600 is on the low end of what I see, especially for a real Sweet Sixteen but it's hard to say. Fair condition would make that probably a fair price, not a steal.

Browning made the Auto 5 in 16ga, but not all of them were actually marked "Sweet Sixteen". That makes it a bit more desirable.

Did it have a gold plated trigger also?
That usually means it was the Lightweight, made after 1947 but not necessarily.

As a baseline I saw a 95% example sell for a bit over $1600.

95701 is likely the serial number, most of them had a 5 digit serial. Some say the 9 would indicate '69 but I've never been able to show for sure. On Sweet Sixteens the second digit is an S for guns made between 58 and 68.
The documentation is kinda fuzzy.

I would grab it in a heartbeat, that one has been on my "find one" list a long time.

If you decide not to get it please PM me with info on where it is

 

[Rafterman191]

Gold trigger

Yes, the trigger was gold plated. I will stumble upon it again today and look at it a little deeper.

 

[Rafterman191]

"Sweet 16"

This gun is still available, I was just wanting to see if anyone else had input that would steer me towards or away from buying it for $600. The lady who has it claims that Gander Mt. looked at it and rated it at about 96%. The only way this could be possible would be if a different rating is used on older firearms. There is noticible surface oxidation and some in the breach also. Gold trigger has seen heavy use, only half the gold is still on it. Not sure what to think.