Browning auto-5 16ga

S

spartus

Inactive
Anyone have one or know anything about it. Just picked it up from my dad, i believe it was my grandfathers before that, the only problem with it is it has trouble ejecting the shell after firing. The friction ring is set for a light load should it be set for a heavy load? The manual i have with it is for a 12 and 20ga so the chart in the book is not specific for the 16ga.

Thanks
 
Good shotgun. Like all older shotguns, a smith should go over it before firing it. Try different ammo before switching the friction ring.

The A-5 in 16 gauge has been called the Sweet Sixteen. Lots of folks regard these as the perfect upland shotgun. It comes close,IMO. Enjoy...
 
STOP! Proceed with caution...

Double check the left side of the barrel. See if it says "65" in small print. Prior to sometime in the 1930s, the 16ga A5s were made with 2 9/16" chambers. If yours is one of those guns, and you are shooting modern 2 3/4" shells, then I would expect that it wouldn't eject properly.

I would also expect that it is dangerous to continue doing so.

I just ran down to the safe and am holding my 1930 16ga A5. To check if yours might have the short chambers:

1) Open the bolt and verify that the gun is unloaded.
2) Peform Step 1 until you are SURE.
3) Press down on the barrel and forearm (pulling them towards the receiver), while you unscrew the magazine cap.
4) On the left side of the barrel, look for a small proof mark. It will probably be an oval with two numbers in it. One of those will be a 16 (for the gauge), the other will be the chamber length, in millimeters.

If the second number is 70, then you've got a 2 3/4" chamber, and modern ammo should be OK. If it says 65, then it was made with a 2 9/16" chamber. In that case, 2 3/4" ammo is not safe. Fortunately, you can order 2 1/2" shells from a number of places on the net. They're not cheap, but they work well and are (most importantly) safe!

In any event, you may want to have a knowledgable smith check things out anyway. Some of the short chambered guns were modified (chambers reamed, ejection ports lengthened, etc...) and it's not terribly uncommon to find one that has had somewhat less than ideal work done on it.

Please let us know what you find out.

- Mike
 
Mike, thanks for the info. I took the barrel off and found the stamp. It appears to have the 16 and the next number is a 70 but that 70 appears to be stamped over what was originally there. The best I can make out is a six under part of the 7, so i'm stumped. I tried to take a picture to put with this but wasn't able to take a clear one. I guess i'm gunsmith bound, probably the best bet anyway.

Rick
 
Who knows? There are all sorts of possibilities. A good smith should be able to tell you the actual chamber length. If it has been modified, have him check to see if anything else has been done to accomodate the longer shells.

From a thread over at The High Road (posted by mnrivrat), there was this quote about the conversion to 2 3/4" chambers:

=====
"The conversion to 2&3/4 inch at one time was a common practice but not much performed of late. It involves changes to the ejector, shell stop, cartridge lifter, bolt link, as well as opening up the ejection port and reshaping the barrel extension. There were a couple different methods of doing this converstion but all were more involved than just reaming the chamber."
======

So, I guess I'm saying that you should make sure whichever smith you pick is knowledgable about A5's.

If you want to check out the whole THR thread, it is here.
 
I have a "Sweet 16" and to my way of thinking it is the ideal upland gun.

As for the setting of the compression ring, my copy of The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly, Part V: Shotguns by J.B. Wood states that the compression ring and friction piece should be installed (in that order) in front of the recoil spring when shooting medium-to-heavy loads, with the concave inner surface of the ring toward the front. For light loads, reverse the ring and place it at the rear of the spring, next to the receiver.

Good luck, and good shooting!
 
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