Browning sweet 16 that is made in St. Loius

M

madswk

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I have my dad's gun that he had as long as I can remember and I am 63. I have been trying to date it, but the only numbers on it do not give with any
that I can find. I am thinking it dates back to late 40's, or early 50's. I can anyone help me?

Steve
 
I don't think Browning ever made any guns in St Louis ....but if you have the serial number ....and the model name ...you can go to the Browning website and date any gun they've made...

http://www.browning.com/customerservice/dategun/index.asp?bg=x

If that doesn't work for you for some reason ...you can call Browning and talk to them.

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In their semi-auto from that time period ...the Auto 5 was made in a 16ga ...

1940-1946 From 1940 to 1946 production of the Auto-5 was turned over to Remington. Serial number is on the side of receiver. "ABC" for American made Version. (A=16 gauge, B-12 gauge, C=20 gauge) 1946+229,000-237,000
1947 237001-249000
1948 249001-270000
1949 270001-285000
1950 285001-315000
1951 315001-346000
1952 F.N. took over production of the Auto-5. 346001-387000
1953 387000-438000
1954-55 Serial Numbering System changed. H=Standard Weight. L=Light Weight. H1-H83000
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Do you have a semi-auto ...or is it some type of Over Under or a Side by Side... the term "sweet 16" is kind of a generic term..means different things to different people ..
 
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I have a '47 FN right here...

Says 'St Louis' on the left of the barrel, and left of receiver...

Just above the serial# on the underside of the receiver is the "FN" in the oval...
 
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I have a Browning badged A-5 style 20 ga. made in 1941 (Belgium was occupied by Germans). It was made for Browning by Remington and is actually closer to the Remington Model 11 (relative of the A-5).

If you think your gun could be a war era gun then perhaps it really was made in the U.S.

BrowningA-5007.jpg
 
Remington did build the A5's for Browning during the WWII years when Belgium was occupied by the Germans.

There was also a Standard 16 and a Sweet 16. The Sweet 16's Serial Numbers started with and S for 1953 - 1957. It then had a second or third digtit/figure as and "S" in the serial number between 1958 - 1975.

You see a lot of listings as Sweet 16's when they are in fact the Standard version.
 
If the gun is from the 40s, it is not a Sweet Sixteen. If it is from the early 50s it might be, Sweet Sixteens were introduced in the early 1950s. Sweet Sixteens are actually roll-marked "Sweet Sixteen", and are not the same as a standard 16 ga A5, although a lot of people like to think so because it sounds kinda catchy. Sweet Sixteens had vent rib, gold trigger. There are a lot of standard 16 ga that get advertised as Sweet Sixteens that are not, as said above. The reason they were called Sweet Sixteens was that they were a 16 ga built on a light 20 ga frame instead of a 12 ga frame, which was common practice years ago.

Browning Arms Co never made their own guns (Browning Brothers did, but that ended in 1883), they were made by other firms to Browning specs and sold by Browning. Browning Arms has been located in several cities over the years, most notably St Louis, MO and Ogden, Ut.
 
I have a '47 FN right here...

Says 'St Louis' on the left of the barrel, and left of receiver...

Just above the serial# on the underside of the receiver is the "FN" in the oval...
Click to expand...

Yep, a nice BELGIAN Browning, not made in St. Louis, although Browning was headquartered there for a while

FN means Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal
 
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