Considering a Browning A5

[Woodcarver]

Absolutely no ill-will towards your disagreement. The waterfowl heritage here in NJ is storied (yes, hard to believe). It's a religion here for waterfowlers and waterman and shotgun preferences are deep-rooted. One thing I will say, problems usually occur when guns are not cleaned/maintained, misused, or the user doesn't understand the operation of the firearm.

My uncle and cousin whom I am close with (they introduced me to hunting) are Browning to the core. Citori's, Gold/Silvers, and we actually just all bought matching X-Bolts. My uncle shoots an older Gold auto and I've always loved the gun. However, early last season on a field goose hunt. His gun wouldn't feed. His motto (along with my cousin's) was always "Clean it? I just shoot it clean." Well, that is probably the issue behind a lot of internet posts claiming they have a problem.

My A300 gets a bore snake after every hunt. Every 2-3 hunts it gets the bolt/carrier pulled from the gun along with the barrel and cleaned. Half way through the season everything gets disassembled. End of the season, full disassembly and the gas piston gets de-carbed and she's put away until September. The only issue I've ever had was the safety getting stuck off because some dried marsh mud from my hands got wedged in the safety plunger detent ball. Couple sprays of cleaner, followed with a dab of SLP oil, not a problem since.

With all that maintenance and cleaning...she always goes boom. Goes without saying, treat your equipment right and it will treat you right.

Your uncle's Gold is probably suffering a known, common ailment for that model. Go to Midway (probably have them at Brownells and other places also) and get a new action spring, o-ring, and return spring. About $10-$15 bucks if I remember correctly, problem solved. In some cases, you might have to replace the universal piston assembly ($99), but not usually. Mine didn't need it. The difference between the old action spring and the new one was quite noticeable; the old one was about 2 inches shorter! Just the breakdown over thousands of rounds. Now it feeds everything again.
Spent 3 days in Alberta whackin' geese with a Gold 3.5 that I had to manually tap the bolt into battery after each shot. Still had several doubles. But it is frustrating having mechanical issues in the field. Now there's a spare set of these parts that probably won't be needed for another 10 years or so, but I got'em ready if needed!

Edit-be sure to get the right parts. The Gold 3" and the Gold 3.5" use a different action spring

 

[Pheroze]

Being the magpie that I am, I fell for an A5 Ultimate. I was chatting with my gunsmith about my desire for for good looking shotgun. My gunsmith located it for me as he knew of one in Montreal. So I made a deal to have an aftermarket pad put on and I will send it back to him after the season to complete some other cosmetic improvements, such as checkering, oil rub thenwood, and a pistol grip cap. I shot trap with it and I honestly love the way it feels. It is so light in hand and points beautifully. Here is a picture. Thanks for the advice folks, I appreciate it very much.

(My kid returned from school with his stuff, so that explains the random mattress next to the pool table)

 

[machinistbutler]

Being the magpie that I am, I fell for an A5 Ultimate. I was chatting with my gunsmith about my desire for for good looking shotgun. My gunsmith located it for me as he knew of one in Montreal. So I made a deal to have an aftermarket pad put on and I will send it back to him after the season to complete some other cosmetic improvements, such as checkering, oil rub thenwood, and a pistol grip cap. I shot trap with it and I honestly love the way it feels. It is so light in hand and points beautifully. Here is a picture. Thanks for the advice folks, I appreciate it very much.

View attachment 414555

(My kid returned from school with his stuff, so that explains the random mattress next to the pool table)

Looks awesome, we need more pics!!

 

[Pheroze]

Looks awesome, we need more pics!!

Here ya go brother:

 

[machinistbutler]

Man that looks great. You take very good pictures too @Pheroze !

 

[leslie hetrick]

i like my older browning A-5 light weight 12ga, .

 

[Pheroze]

i like my older browning A-5 light weight 12ga, .
View attachment 415139

The mechanism on these original ones is really cool. I will have to get one someday. Nice!

 

[Tbitty]

The original A5's are/were great. Only problem with them (compared to modern arms) is the weight of full steel barrels and actions.

 

[leslie hetrick]

real wood and steel does drive the weight up some, but when you give it to your grandson you can call him a weinny and tell him how you walked 3 miles to school every day, up hill both ways.

 

[ducmarc]

The light 12s were not really light and not give the proper attention will kick like a mule.the light 20 is pretty light and fairly comfortable to shoot .I still love my twenty weight double auto browning and my b2000

 

[fsrmg1]

You can't go wrong with an A-5.

I have my Grandfather's Belgium made Light Twelve 2 3/4" with the 28" modified choke barrel. It is ugly as sin, but just fits, feels and functions so reliably that it is now my go to shotgun.

Over the years I have also picked up extra barrels:
24" Hastings rifled slug barrel
30" Browning (Japan made) vented choke tube barrel for steel shot
24" Browning (Japan made) Buck Special smooth bore for slugs or buck.

I love the versatility that it offers from bird/deer hunting to serious defense against dangerous 2 and 4 legged critters.

 

[Pheroze]

You can't go wrong with an A-5.

I have my Grandfather's Belgium made Light Twelve 2 3/4" with the 28" modified choke barrel. It is ugly as sin, but just fits, feels and functions so reliably that it is now my go to shotgun.

Over the years I have also picked up extra barrels:
24" Hastings rifled slug barrel
30" Browning (Japan made) vented choke tube barrel for steel shot
24" Browning (Japan made) Buck Special smooth bore for slugs or buck.

I love the versatility that it offers from bird/deer hunting to serious defense against dangerous 2 and 4 legged critters.

The history in the one you have is fantastic!

The one I bought is the new style inertia system. It was made to look like the old A5 but functions differently. While not a classic (yet) hopefully a grandchild uses it with the same reverence you have to yours!

So far I have used it for trap shooting and dove hunting. It is a great gun for sure.