The browning auto-5 is a work of art.

[Andrew Wyatt]

During the process of shifting guns around so everything can get put in safes, i had the job of getting the auto-5 in 16 gauge stored. in comparison to my mossberg, it's noticeably lighter (mostly because the mossberg has a light and 5 round loaded buttcuff), and it even seems lighter than my dad's 18 inch barrelled, long mag tube wingmaster.


Is this because it's a 16 gauge, and the "carries like a 20, shoots like a 12" adage holds true, or is it because browning is a genius?

 

[BigG]

The old Brownings were scaled to the cartridge, so the 16 was 1/3 smaller than the 12 and the 20 was 1/3 smaller than the 16. Yep, I think old John Browning was a genius, come to think of it.

 

[Dave McCracken]

JMB was to firearms as Michaelangelo was to chapel ceilings.

The A-5 "Sweet Sixteen" was and is highly prized as an upland shotgun. Besides the reliability and durability of JMB designs, it strikes close to the mean for power and portability.

Tote that thing through some squirrel woods, rabbit thickets or follow a pointer up a few fencerows. After adding something to the larder with it, you'll be convinced it's the perfect hunting gun. And you may be right...

 

[PJR]

So call me a heretic but the Auto 5 is the one gun that I've never found to my liking. It's a complex design and I've never found one that felt good in my hands and I've tried several of them including a Sweet Sixteen.

Those that love them love them a lot but it's not a gun that works for me.

Paul

 

[Dave McCracken]

Paul, it doesn't work for me either, or at least the extensive shooting I did with a Remington 11( Same gun, different maker) so indicated. I've shot other folks' A-5s, same results.

But, like you said, those that love them love them completely.

 

[HSMITH]

I will put in a third "no" for the auto 5. I nearly got socked in the mouth in South Carolina one time for saying I did not like the Auto 5, I escaped that and have been pretty quiet about it since. The guys that like them love them for sure. I will point out that when reasonably cared for I have not seen one with cycling problems, they run like a swiss watch.

 

[Badger Arms]

The Auto-5 was the FIRST and BEST for years. I believe the Remington 1100 was the shotgun that one-upped the Master's design but not from an ellegance point of view. The Auto-5 is a classic. I just read three heretics say that the Mona Lisa was ugly. My God, what is the internet coming to. Not liking the design from our generation's point of view is a bit unfair. It was the Buck Rogers laser gun of a generation that didn't have Television. Their generation hadn't even flown in Powered flight. People got around on foot, by horse, or by train. AUTOLOADING PISTOLS were unheard of. All of this and yet Browning had created THE GUN. I'm hanging my head in shame to you all.

 

[Mannlicher]

I know that I prefer my Browning A-5s over all other shotguns. I have them in 12, 16, and 20 ga.

 

[Al Thompson]

Badger, I had one and it never worked for me either. Actually I had two - one Savage, one Browning. The 1100/870 series works much better for me.

And yep, you could put "Browning" on a 2x4 and sell it for big bucks here in SC. These folks love'em. When I was first out of the Army and looking for a job, I took a part time job selling guns n'stuff. One of my first sales was a new Auto 5 in 3 inch. Old feller came in and bought one - said he wanted to get a little more flexibility for ducks and deer. He decides to get a gun case for the A5. We had a great price on cases, so he gets two. He brings his old A5 in to check the fit of the case to his old gun. That A5 had zero bluing left and the wood was oil finished with no surviving checkering. Obviously an old Browning. Still worked fine - he said he'd use it for quail and dove. I asked him how old it was. He got it with his mustering out money in 1946 - so it was a pre-war A5 and still going strong in St. Matthews SC in 1993.

I still can't hit with the darn things though...

 

[JohnBT]

I've never been really crazy about the A-5 either, but when my uncle finally gets ready to let his favorite guns go I am going to buy his Belgian A-5 Magnum and .30-06 BAR. Fine guns. I'll find some use for them.

I know a man who has used an A-5 to hunt saltwater ducks for a good 30 years. I wish he'd clean the action instead of just wiping down the outside from time to time.

JT