Browning Auto 5 Barrel..... Not marked where it was made?

G

gunbooth

Inactive
Hey guys, not new to auto 5's at all but I have never seen one marked like this. One side is marked
BROWNING AUTO-5
* SPECIAL STEEL 20GA. SHELLS-2 3/4"-28" CHROME
BROWNING PATENTS​
And the other side has no markings at all. So two questions, Does anyone know why it says chrome? And where was the barrel made?
I have had over 100 auto 5's and have never seen one like this. Any help would be appreciated!
 
Greetings gunbooth, and welcome aboard.

Might it be newer replacement barrel, Japanese or late FN production? Hopefully one of the hard core Browning boys will have a definite answer. Is the barrel chrome lined? The "chrome" marking could be to alert anyone pondering doing some choke or chamber mods. How old is the receiver?
 
I believe the single "*" mark stands for full choke.

Also, I think a lot of the older barrels even for the old Winchester Model 12s were made of chrome even if blued.

Does the barrel serial number match the receiver serial number?

Double check me because I could be wrong. :)
 
I think the newer Brownings have the hard chrome lined barrels, unlike the older Belgium guns.
Does yours have screw in chokes? Must be a Japan barrel.
 
Bought it alone from an online auction so I cant match it up with a receiver. It is a fixed full choke. I will take some pictures of it later today. Does look absolutely identical to a Japan barrel I have accept completely missing the made in markings. Well, that and the CHROME line that I have never seen.
 
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Either the chamber is chrome lined or the entire barrel is. 70 is for 2-3/4" 15.8 is the bore diameter in mm at the muzzle, IIRC.

The normal Belgian proof mark is PV, not PT, so I am not sure where this made. It should have said something on the barrel somewhere
 
Curiously, your Browning barrel has French proof-marks. Its marks are clearly those of the St. Etienne proof house. The F below the proof marks may stand for France, not full.

FYI: Varney-Carron the old French company that made barrels for Hastings, and has acquired the Hastings name, does replacement barrels for the Browning Auto-5
 
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