How are Old Ugly Browning A-5's

T

T.A.Sharps

New member
I keep seeing random old Browning A-5's around for sale. I saw one this past weekend for $550.

Most of the bluing was worn off, and the wood was old and dinged up, but I didn't think it was ugly. If you know A-5's then you've seen a bunch just like this one.

I've always wanted a Browning A-5 Belgium but always wondered how they functioned when they get this used. I still don't want to use a jam-o-matic. But I can't afford a $2000 shotgun either.

What are all of your thoughts?
 
I have had several A 5's. They are generally very reliable with most problems attributed to being dirty. Forearms are prone to crack. They are easy to work on and parts are available. Biggest problem is having correct screw drivers because the slots are so small. An old gun could have been carried extensively, but not shot a lot. Hard to tell.
 
They are very reliable unless it has been seriously abused (probably by someone who thinkd they're a gunsmith) I think $550.00 is kind of high for one beat up. It is in my area (Miss.)
 
That's one gun that I don't have, that I've always wanted. That price does sound high for one that's beat up, but it seems like the prices are high on all of them from what I've seen, and I have no idea why because they are not a rare commodity.
 
The Browning Auto-5 was the first mass produced auto loading shotgun. Since they've been around for a 100-years, it's understandable that some of them may show some signs of wear. When you mentioned "Old Ugly" in your thread title, I assumed you meant the Humpback design was ugly not the condition of some of the guns you've seen.

The design of the Auto-5 is fairly simple and the parts generally robust. It will take quite a few rounds before one would be close to being shot out. As ZeroJunk mentioned, you may wish to dedicate a set of specially ground screwdrivers to your A-5's maintenance.

My neighbor just got a well used old Savage clone. It has an aluminum receiver that's been re-contoured to eliminate the humpback, but the innards are A-5. For its first trip to the range, it was fed a diet of target shells ranging from heavy (handicap) trap to extra light 1-oz skeet reloads. There were nothing even close to a feeding or cycling problem.

Do you have shooting experience with a long recoil auto loader? As a target shooter, my prime problem with the basic design is the rib must be stopped short to accommodate the barrel's reciprocation. In a stick gun, I prefer the extend rib as on the Winchester Model-12; but, for a ribless field gun, my objection is moot.

Are you after a collectible Browning Auto-5? For a shooter there are various A-5 clones that can be had for less than a Browning. Don't forget the Remington Model 11, the first American Made auto loading shotgun.
 
Remember that the Browning A-5 is the standard that other makers compare to, the design is still advanced being over 100 years old.

The A-5 does require proper maintence though, a good gunsmith should take the gun down to the last screw/pin and clean/relube the whole thing. After that it should be good to go for another 15 years or so.:D
 
Really old/well-used A5's recoil spring (the one wound around the mag tube) have a tendancy to lose their tension and sag, allowing the barrel to slide partially open if the gun's aimed/tilted skyward - but a new spring will fix that.

A crack at the rear of the forend's a relatively EZ fix, and can be avoided with proper adjustment of the friction ring's bevel orientation for heavy/light loads - and not shooting modern 2 3/4" ammo in an older 2 9/16" chambered gun.

They have been the Gold Standard of shotgun reliability for over 100 years.

I have a 20ga Franchi AL-48 Deluxe, which is basically a lightweight A5 clone, and love it to death.

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I'm a big Browning fan in general - but I'm not a fan of the Auto 5.

Like others advised / most of the issues I see with them are caused by a lack of maintenace ....but to me, they cycle very slowly.

I think your money will be better spent on a used Beretta 390 / 391 series ...where you will probably find some very good deals. The current Browning semi-autos / I'm seeing a lot of the Browning silver hunter with 28" barrel new in the big box stores for around $ 750 or $ 800 ...and I think that is a better gun for the money than $550 on an old Auto 5.
 
New recoil springs are about $15 and can be had almost anywhere. Midwest Gun Works has the factory service manual for down load, gives info on how to disassemble a A-5 down to the last screw.

If you start looking at John Brownings gun designs you will find they are made to work and work for a long time, prime example is the 1911 45 govt. auto still in use today.
 
To me ....comparing a 1911 handgun to an Auto 5 ...is a big time Apples to Oranges comparison.

A 1911 handgun is my #1 all time favorite handgun - in any caliber - and I have them in 9mm, .40S&W and of course in .45acp - and among a dozen or so 1911's I own today, they were made by 5 different gun makers - and they range from very good, to Great guns ! S&W revolvers will probably be my #2 handgun - and Sig Sauer semi-autos would probably be my #3 handgun .....and I have more than a few S&W revolvers and Sig semi-autos....in my collection today.

Browning O/U's - especially the Citori lineup of guns ( XS Skeet, XT's, BT-100's, etc ) - are my #1 favorite shotgun ( and I have at least a dozen Citori's today )....but the Auto 5 won't even make my top 10 list of favorite shotgun models ( let alone among semi-autos) - and I've been around the Auto 5 since I was a kid in the 50's ...

but just my opinion ...
 
Jim what I tried to point out was that John Browning was America's outstanding gun designer if the best of all time.

There have been some that have come up with very good designs that are first rate, but no one really comes close to Browning with over 30 gun designs in his lifetime.
 
Ok Jaguar, I understand your point better ... and I agree with your comments about what a great designer and innovator John Browning was....

What I was trying to say, in comparison to today's sem-auto shotguns, in my opinion, I think the OP's money is better spent on any number of other shotguns - even the current Browning Silver Hunter semi-auto shotguns than an Auto 5.

A 1911 on the other hand / especially from some of the better mfg's today, like Wilson Combat, has few, if any equals at any price...in my opinion. I'm not a Browning design purist on 1911's either .... compared to today's gun makers were big beavertail grip safeties, ambi thumb safeties, mag wells etc are common, and desireable in my opinion, on well tuned 1911's.

But back to the OP's original issue - are some of the used Auto 5's at around $550 a good buy these days ....in general, I would say no / he can do better for his money with a different shotgun.
 
If you just want an autoloader, a Beretta 390/391, Remmy 11-87, or Benelli is easier to maintain and more shooter friendly.
BUT, the A-5 is the classic sporting auto. Here in SC, the light twelve and sweet sixteen were the king on the dove fields and duck blinds up till non toxic shot was forced upon us. When we still had quail, a light twelve with a magnum magazine tube was the weapon of choice. You had 6 shots on a covey rise instead of 5. My first deer was with an A-5 in front of a pack of Walker hounds almost in the city limits of Myrtle Beach. Ive shot countless doves and ducks with a Belgian Light Twelve. She's a safe queen now. I shoot other guns better, but none had as much character.
 
TA, that gun is a really bad buy, considering the poor condition that it is in. You can find much better Auto-5's for sale than that gun, Here is a Browning Auto-5 on gunbroker.com for only $550:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=170139565

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There are lots of Auto-5's for sale on gunbroker.com, a number of them in really nice condition. Here is another one:

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And another:

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So definitely don't buy one of those beat up shotguns, when you can find nice ones for that kind of money, or just a little more.

As long as the original owner has maintained the gun and not abused it, the gun will shoot just fine. The gun's recoil ring can be adjusted for both heavy and light loads. So the gun will work fine with everything from lite 1 oz target loads to heavy 1 1/2 oz magnum loads.

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Whoa, Big Jim P!

Browning A-5 cycles slowly? Surely you jest!

Modern guns have many attributes that can be compared favorably to an old A-5 - for example, you can buy guns now that have multi-choke barrels, and that are made of lighter weight materials -very expensive alloys if you can afford it, plastic if you can't - with barrels that can fire steel shot. You can even buy camaflouged guns for what little thats worth. You can actually get some meaningful improvements too, like guns that are gas-operated with better ergonomics than an A-5 that don't batter the shooter like an A-5 does.

And yes, you can find faster cycling guns too, but not by much. See this hyperlink: http://www.benelliusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8090

These stats are about 9 years old now and may be obsolete, but I still think that any cycling improvement you can find over the A-5 will be measured in hundredths of a second.

I think an old A-5 in good to excellent condition may be the second best value you can find in a automatic shotgun today. It's still a hell of a hunting gun and it's not likely to ever be worth much less than its worth today. It'll surely hold its value better than the greenbacks you buy them with will. (Conversely, an expensive new gun depreciates just like a new car. You walk out the door of a gun shop with a new $4,000 shotgun and lose $1,000 of value when you cross the threshold.) The best thing of all about an old A-5 is that the oldest examples are already entering an age where manufactured items start being viewed as antiques. When that happens they start going up in value again. Top end is anybodys guess. And what's a better buy than a $400-$500 browning A-5?
Well, I think a Remington Model 11 is a better buy and here's why. It's also an excellent hunting gun and is practically identical to an A-5, but can be found today in very good condition for $200. Therefore Model 11's have even less downside risk than A-5's. Also, many are approaching 100 years old. As "antiques" they will fall into a popular niche in the market called Americana. (Old A-5's won't. They were made in Belgium.)
 
I bought a Japanese made Browning Auto 5 when they could be had, new, for $490.00.

I never abused it, always lubricated and kept it clean.

It never malfunctioned. Shot great during dove hunts, squirrel hunting, rabbit hunts.

Bought a buck barrel, but only used it sighting in.

The Auto 5 went away because it was too expensive to manufacture. It lasted for as long as it did because it is a robust and reliable mechanism.

If you are one of those who never clean or lubricate things, you will be better served by a H&R topper single shot shotgun. Cheap and hard to get out of order.
 
I don't know DG45 .....I'm not sure I believe all the ink on how well the Auto 5's cycle. I can still hear that Ka-Chunk ( bang ) "pause" Ka-chunk action ..from my youth ....in those old Auto 5's ....

I have about 25 shotguns today / mostly Browning O/U's - but one bolt action / and a couple of BPS pump guns.

The only semi-auto shotguns I own these days - are a pair of Benelli Super Sports - and yes, they're all carbon fibre and flashy ( or ugly ) depending on your perspective ...and they are expensive sadly ( retailing today for about $ 1,875 new ) but I paid about $ 1,250 for my 12ga about 5 yrs ago - and used its still a $1,000 gun / and I paid $ 1,450 for the 20ga version about 2 yrs ago ...and its still a $ 1,200 gun probably .....so I can live with the depreciation ( although none of my shotguns are for sale ).....

I do have a couple of Auto 5's that have come down in the family / but my step dad has custody of them right now ....and he's welcome to them ...

I just don't see the Auto 5's as a great gun .....but everybody should own and shoot what they like best my man. I enjoyed the link / and the discussion .....
 
The speed that it cycles is meaningless in a hunting gun. It will cycle as fast as you can get back on target unless you are one of those exhibition shooters or something.
 
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