Does the Browning A5 kick more than normal?

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Trey Veston

Trey Veston

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Or is it just me?

I inherited my grandfather's Remington clone of the Browning A5 autoloader shotgun and took it to the range. I don't have much experience with shotguns but have owned an 870 12ga and currently own a Beretta Silver Snipe 20ga, a sawed off snake charmer single shot 12ga, and a Weatherby 12ga pump tactical turkey gun.

The only other 12ga auto I have fired was my brother's Saiga. It is soft shooting compared to my weatherby, which hurts with just field loads after a few rounds.

I loaded up the A5 with Federal 2 1/2" #6 shot and was surprised at the recoil. It was punishing.

Is there something about the design that increases recoil?

Grandpa's gun...

100_1170.JPG
 
Not really. Main thing is don’t shoot steel in them. Those old guns have a super tight choke. I had a friend that always won the turkey shoots at the vfw with his. They swore he was cheating. Maybe get a slip on butt pad. But don’t store it with the pad on it. The siaga will hit softer because of the action design.
 
The a-5 is enertia operated. So I guess it is the design vs gas operated. I never heard of them hitting harder than a pump. Maybe I’m just a Bawb so I didn’t notice it. I cut my teeth on singles of various bore.
 
Trey Veston said:
I believe it is the spring-operated design. The thing is brutal. Grandpa did a lot of waterfowling with it, so I'm sure it's set up for hotter loads.
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Ive seen friction rings missing or cracked, also the springs may have been cut or replaced.
When properly tuned for specific loads, the A5 is a pussycat. Have a qualified gunsmith check out the recoil system- they are fantastic guns.

P.S. Love the F-14 avatar! Growing up, I wanted to fly Tomcats and X- Wings, not sure which more....:)
 
Set up correctly, the Auto-5’s braking system absorbs recoil. Set up incorrectly, it can actually increase it. Browning friction pieces will work on a Model 11, as will the recoil and action springs. The action Spring is the bolt return spring in the stock and is often overlooked.

I buy my parts from Midwest Gun Works:

https://www.midwestgunworks.com/browning-auto-5/parts.html

And I posted about the friction pieces here:

http://www.browningowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/auto-5-friction-pieces.8718/
 
That’s a nice Remington on a Browning. It’s recoil operated so it may have a noticeable amount of felt recoil. It’s magnified if it doesn’t fit well to you. I would have a gunsmith who knows A5’s go over it to make sure everything is in order. Kent Bismuth won’t hurt the barrel and it’s a deadly duck load. Go out and whack some green heads with it!
 
For one thing the recoil pad is probably hard as a rock. I have three, a Browning 16, Remington 11 in both 12 and 20 ga, They all have plastic butt plates, My friction rings are correctly set. I do come home with a discolored shoulder after an outing. I'd say my forefathers were just tougher men. I wish I could help you with the ring setting, I'm sure if you google it you will find It quickly, I did. As for remedying the recoil my personal preference is the Pachmayr waffle pattern pad, I just think they look classy on an old gun.

One more thing to look for, in the very back of the receiver there is a fiber disk buffer (Browning doesn't use it) Easily seen when you disassemble the receiver, if its missing or cracked you will want to replace it, probably a gunsmith job, its a bit tedious. BTW the disk has nothing to do with felt recoil, it just preserves the receiver from eventually cracking.
 
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I have a Remington model 11 in 16 ga, and it is definitely the hardest recoiling semi-shotgun I’ve ever shot. I got it from a great uncle after he passed, he shot dove with it. I’ve never really done much with it because I have better nicer shotguns, and honestly I’m not real fond of the thin, light feel of it. Could something be done to tame the recoil down? Maybe, but I only shoot it every couple years at some skeet, that I inevitably miss, so I don’t worry about it. It’s just not that bad.
 
Does the Browning A5 kick more than normal
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Not in general, but it may for you.

Stock fit and weight of the gun has a lot to do with how you perceive recoil. If the gun does not fit you or lacks recoil absorbing features, it will hit you harder then if it did. A heavier gun will absorb more recoil and recoil more slowly than a lightweight gun.

All things being equal, a fixed breech shotgun will recoil the most. This is why poorly fitting side-by-side shotguns got the reputation that they have. :) Mechanically operated semi automatics like the Benelli and the Auto5 will shoot more softly then a fixed breech gun, and gas operated shotguns in general shoot the softest of all. This is a general continuum that can be readily perturbed by weight and fitment.

I have a lightweight (plastic butt plate) Browning Citori that fits me well, but there is no doubt that it hits my shoulder the hardest, due to its fixed breech, light weight, and lack of recoil pad. I had a 12 gauge Franchi 48 – AL that was very snappy, and not nearly as much fun to shoot as the Auto5 from which it borrowed its design - it fit me well, but the light weight that made it a joy to carry in the field also meant that it slapped me harder when I dropped the hammer.

Specific to the Auto5 and its derivations, barrel mass and friction ring setting have a profound effect on how it recoils. The longer/heavier the barrel, the slower it will recoil and the less it will hurt. Making sure that the friction rings are properly set and that the magazine tube is not oiled is also important. If you believe the gun is hitting too hard, you can always try setting the friction rings in the magnum setting. If the gun cycles reliably in the magnum setting, there is no reason not to leave it there, and the recoil will be noticeably diminished.
 
rbernie said:
Specific to the Auto5 and its derivations, barrel mass and friction ring setting have a profound effect on how it recoils. The longer/heavier the barrel, the slower it will recoil and the less it will hurt. Making sure that the friction rings are properly set and that the magazine tube is not oiled is also important. If you believe the gun is hitting too hard, you can always try setting the friction rings in the magnum setting. If the gun cycles reliably in the magnum setting, there is no reason not to leave it there, and the recoil will be noticeably diminished.
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Agree. My 12 Ga Auto5 never recoiled worse than any pump I owned.
 
Recoil is recoil. It is determined by:

Weight of projectile
Weight of powder charge
Weight of the firearm
Velocity of the projectile.

If all of the above are equal the recoil will be equal.

Fixed action guns hit you with all of the recoil at once. Gas operated guns spread the recoil over a longer period of time. Recoil operated guns are somewhere in between. It is only a tiny fraction of a second, but it creates the illusion of less recoil and most people do find it to be more comfortable. A recoil pad does the same thing.

Guns with more surface area on the butt plate spread the recoil out over more of your shoulder than guns with skinny butt plates which concentrate the recoil into a smaller area of your shoulder.

The shape of the stock determines recoil direction. If recoil comes straight back most people find it more comfortable. Some stock designs create more muzzle flip causing the comb to hit the shooters face.

There are many reasons why one gun may appear to recoil worse than another. But the laws of physics don't change. The only way to reduce recoil is to alter one of the 4 items above. Heavier guns kick less. Lighter powder charges and projectile weights at slower speeds kick less.
 
Blkhrt13 said:
The a-5 is enertia operated. So I guess it is the design vs gas operated. I never heard of them hitting harder than a pump. Maybe I’m just a Bawb so I didn’t notice it. I cut my teeth on singles of various bore.
Click to expand...

The OP’s shotgun is not inertia operated. It is recoil operated. The new A5’s that came out within the past few years are inertia operated and totally different than the original Browning and Remington’s.
 
I’ve shot A5 and A5 clones like the Remington. Some were pussycats and some kicked the snot out of me. I’ve always assumed the friction rings were not set right on the hard kickers. The only one I checked was missing the rings completely.
 
Trey, I have the same gun but without the recoil pad, I've not noticed any additional recoil shooting it, than when I have the rings set for the high base or low base type shells, I did notice that you have to hold the shotgun fairly tight into your shoulder in order to let the recoil spring absorb the recoil.
 
As has been mentioned, look up the friction system and how to check/adjust it for the Model 11. You actually have to adjust it between upland loads and heavy loads like turkey, buckshot, and slugs.

If you shoot heavy loads with the friction system set for upland loads, you can actually crack the receiver; I have one on the wall because of this (I didn't shoot the gun, it was a friend). And if the system isn't set right for your load, it will feel like someone is punching you in the shoulder with a hammer as the bolt bottoms on the frame..
 
When properly sprung these guns are soft shooters-gentle, not punishing.

The one thing no one has mentioned here is that the two major springs (recoil and action) and the friction piece wear out over time. They are meant to be replaced.

I have one of these that was brutal to shoot when I got it. I flinched badly after a box of shells through it.

Come to find out, the recoil spring was 2.5” too short. Action spring in similar shape. And the bronze friction piece was so out of spec that there was day light between it and the mag tube all the way around.

I suspect the gun has the pieces in the right sequence already. Change the springs and friction piece. The gun will reward you.
 
I feel more recoil in that type of shotgun as well.
I bought a Remington built on the same patent in 16 gauge and it will stomp a mudhole in you, and then stomp it dry.
And I'm not particularly recoil sensitive.
 
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