1930s Browning A5 Value

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Shooter2675

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I purchased a Browning A5 recently, and I was wondering what the approximate value of it might be so I know if I paid a good price. I would prefer not to say what I spent.

Anyway, here are some details. The gun was made in the 1930s. The receiver and the barrel have almost all of their blue-ing. However, there were tiny spots on the receiver and barrel that had a slight rust colored distortion (very thin rust), but using a standard pencil eraser, almost all of the discoloration was removed. The gun is all matching. There is a small crack that had been repaired (not visible from the outside) along the handguard. It does not affect the guns function. It has an adjustable choke on it, which seems in good working order. I also noticed that it has ribbing above the barrel, which I read makes them more valuable as not every A5 in the 1930s had them. The thing that stood out to me the most was the blue-ing. It is almost completely intact.

I have no intentions of selling this gun, and I am wondering the value because of curiosity.

Thank you,

John
 
The polychoke was not original, cracks - even if repaired well - deduct from the price. Intact bluing after 86 years? I'd be wondering if a rebluing was done - and if so - the price drops even more.

If there is rust showing on the surface, what is it like underneath?

If it is a basic model, then the value can range from a few hundred to a little over a grand.
 
So I examined my gun a little more...

- I would say that the gun has not been reblued, but the finish is very nice with only some light spots around the sharp edges.
- As for the "rust", it is more like microscopic small dots on the top of the receiver, but they are not colored like rust and you cannot really see any kind of texture. They are not on the barrel, as I take a second look, and are really only on the top of the barrel.
- The stock looks in very nice shape, except for a small crack on the underside of the handguard and a very tiny chunk of wood missing at the base of the handguard (maybe 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch and only 1/8 of an inch deep).
- Any thoughts on what the ribs on the top of the barrel would do to the value?
 
Browning Auto 5's are not really valuable unless very old and in excellent/mint condition. They were made from 1902-1998, and many were made i just recently bought a 1953 made belgian auto 5 with 25-26" improved cylinder barrel. Standard 2 3/4 only. I really like it. Ixpaid $350 a few months ago and feel i did good. It is in probably 85% overall condition
 
As you describe it ....polychoke ( not original) and it means the barrel has been cut to fit that choke / crack and a chip in grip area or forend / some rust......

....in my area it would be difficult to sell for $100.../ to most guys it would be a parts gun - and they usually want the stock and forend with no cracks...because they want the stock and forend to match ( age, patina, color, grain etc for another dinged up gun...)....

Even in very good condition they sell for under $400 in my area .... and not trying to be rude, but yours is well below average in my view ....and every used gun shop in my area has at least a dozen of them for sale, in various types of conditions --- and a buddy that owns a good gunshop in area won't take any more of them unless they'really in very good to excellent condition with no modifications, no cracks, no rust......because they don't sell ... ( and he probably sells 300 shotguns a month - new & used )...
 
Used to be just about any Browning A5 was worth $800-$1000, but the generation that thought they were the greatest gun ever invented is pretty much dead (that would be the folks born before and during the Great Depression). Nowadays, everybody wants a camoed Benelli or Beretta, nobody wants blued steel and walnut. You see really clean A5s all the time at gun shows for $350-$450. I see guys in their 40s or 50s walk into our store with nice A5s trying to trade Dad's old shotgun for something newer. That generation grew up wanting 1100s or 870s.

Polychokes are a no-no for collectors (although the best shooting A5 I ever owned sported a Polychoke), and a new barrel will set you back $500 if you can find one.

Cracked or damaged wood is the kiss of death. I bought an A5 last year for $80 with a cracked buttstock and forearm (that is about $350 worth of wood, about the value of the whole gun if it were in good condition).

Ribs on 1930s A5s were usually solid ribs, very few vent ribs on Brownings until after WW2, so look at yours and see if it is original or maybe a Simmons rib or a later barrel.
 
I will try and post a picture later in the day to show the ribs, the crack in the wood, and the metal quality. I think the ribs are original, and I have read they make the gun worth more. I will post a picture later.
 
Okay, so after some more research, I believe based on the engraving it has it is a Grade II gun. Does that affect anything?

ETA: I am, however, not entirely sure on grading so pictures will help when I post them.
 
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Just a word of advice if you're gonna keep and use it. Replace the recoil spring and action spring (the one inside the stock that returns the bolt). These springs tend to take a set after years of use, I've seen recoil springs that were over 1" shorter than new, replacing both keeps everything in balance and functioning properly. If you do the job yourself get screwdrivers that FIT!! Boogered screws destroy whatever value the gun has. GW
 
Here are some pictures:












It seems the ribs are original, the rust is really not present at all when I re examine it, and the left side of the receiver has some tiny scratches whereas the right side is almost pristine.
 
I would say there is at the least the one crack on the underside of the forearm. I did not notice the mark on the left of the forearm - so I took a magnifying glass to it. It looks similar to a crack, but it also might be a grain pullout of the stock's wood. It does not seem deep or filled in/glued. However, I would assume a grain pullout (part of the grain got pulled out like a splinter) would be just as damaging to the value.

Like I mentioned, I am almost certain that the ribs are original, as from what I have been reading, a very limited number of pre-war guns had the vented ribs.

As for the grade of the gun, I am somewhat confused. Clearly there is some engraving on my gun, but I am not exactly sure what that would classify as because I have seen similar engravings to mine classified as II, but I am also unsure of what the grade of I would be. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

John
 
There are way more cracks than you described initially....they would make it very difficult to sell in my area ---- at any price.... / and no, it would not matter if it was a grade 2, in that condition.

Sorry.....
 
Virginian, thank you for the reply. I am a complete novice to old shotguns so I would value your opinion much higher than my own. Now, I can count three blemishes on the stock. The underside of the forearm, the buttstock near the receiver, and the small chip on the forearm, what else am I missing?
 
Last pic - a long crack on the underside of the forearm

Fourth pic - longitudinal crack on the left side

Fourth pic - chips/gouges on forearm at the receiver

Fourth pic - looks like some real rough edges on the rib

Fourth pic - screws are buggered, someone has been inside and not the right/kind way

Third pic - looks like gouges in the metal forward of the bolt release button
 
FITASC,

I certainly see the crack in the final photograph.

I do not see any longitudal crack on the left of the fourth photo.

There are definitely chips and gouges at the receiver.

There might be rough edges in the picture, but the rib is pretty nice and the first section is actually made like a metal file which could account for the raspy looking edge.

The screws might be a little messed up.

The gouges are actually markings (like numbers, letters, symbols) on the gun.

What do you think a fair value for the gun would be?

I believe before I talked to man at Cabelas they wanted $450, I got a price a good bit lower than that after talking to him if I remember correctly.
 
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