Browning - FN - A-5 Info requested

S

Sorrowful Jones

New member
Hey All
I picked up this Browning (?) FN 12 ga.

The buttplate says Browning Automatic with an FN in the middle, but nowhere else on the gun does it indicate Browning. I also noticed the handgrip is "squared" as opposed to rounded. Is it a Browning A-5 or not?

The pics show all the markings, and serial number.

Could anyone shed any light in regarding date of manufacture, value, collect-ability etc. ? Thanks in advance for any help.
SJ
 
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I know A-5's were made under different manufacturers for different periods of time. They were made by Remington for a time. It is possible that you have one of these with a replaced recoil pad. It is also possible that you have one with a barrel that is not original to the gun. However, if it is a Browning A-5, it should say Browning on the left side of the reciever. I'm sure there are others here that are more of an A-5 "guru" than me, but I have owned three and enjoyed them all.
 
Ok, I posted before without looking at the pictures. I think what you have is an A-5 made by FN for sale outside the United States. In other words, it is not a Browning gun, but should be to the same specs. Hope this helps some.
 
Sure looks like a John M. Browning-designed FN A-5 to me, made in Leige, Belgium, under Fabrique Nationale's license to produce Browning's patented autoloader in Europe. Don't know if all the wood furnishings are original or not.
 
Scratch my previous comment. I've never owned an A-5 but I do own a Remington Model 11. So whatever conclusions I come to re: this A-5 are best guesses.

Heres what I see;

It's clearly the John M. Browning autoloader humpback design.

It has the safety behind the trigger, meaning the receiver was made after 1929.

The gun looks cheap. No rollmarks or engravings. Maybe it has aftermarket stock and forearm;

A previous poster asked if the receiver was aluminum. Maybe that's whats bothering me about its looks. I can't really tell.
 
Thanks for the reply.. No, the receiver is not aluminum. It is steel. The gun feels very solid. Some autoloaders seem "tinny" when the bolt is released. Not this one. I took it apart and took some more pics. I am attaching a pic of the proof marks I found on the left side of the barrel near the receiver. There is a number on the barrel located below the proof marks (hidden when the fore stock is in place). It is different than the serial number. I bought the gun used, so I do not know the history. Thanks for looking
 
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You have an FN Model 1905 Browning Automatic Shotgun. It's the same gun as a pre-1972 Browning Auto-5 made by FN, just not as well finished. I have one similar, as well as one of the aluminum receiver shotguns mentioned. It is an FN shotgun, not a Browning. FN had the distribution rights for the world except for the North and South American continents, but a lot of them got imported anyway, both new and used, and a lot of them were brought home by GIs (they cost about 1/3 in Europe of what a Browning cost in the USA).
 
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