Dad's A-5

[Zebra62]

Finally picked up my Dad's old A-5 today. She fits well in the rack I made this past summer and compliments our collection nicely. A little beat up and some surface pitting on the receiver and barrel, but still a very formidable weapon.

A-5 on the far left with a few other additions to the rack.

She's a tall drink o' water

Left side receiver

right side receiver

Made in Belgium

Browning Arms Company St. Louis Mo
Special Steel 12 Ga Shells 2 3/4 1xg299jtf


From what I can recon from Browning.com, She was manufactured in 1956. Serial # is H936XX. She has lost of scratches and dings and the forend is cracked and I have LOTS of cleaning to do. Dad hasn't fired it in probably twenty years so there is lots of built up crud all over it.

I haven't decided if I want to do a complete restore or leave her original.

[Synchronizor]

Ah, an old "humpback". Nice piece; I'd love to see pictures once you have it all cleaned up.

[Zebra62]

Did some cleaning on the Old A-5 today and got some better pics.

A good shot of the etching on the left side. Lots of pitting on the receiver and some damaged hardware.


Right side of receiver. More pitting. More damaged hardware.


A long assed crack on the forend and some white paint. Crack runs 3/4 the length of the forend.


Etchings on the bottom of the trigger group. More pitting and you guessed it...more dmaged hardware.


Left side of the stock. Scratches all over and big chunk of finish missing.


Ding on the end of the muzzle.


Before cleaning today, the action was very sluggish. I was able to get the barrel, forened and stock off, but nothing else with the damaged hardware. Couldn't get a screwdriver in the screws well enough to pull it apart. After a good soaking with two cans of break cleaner and clean oil back into all the nooks and crannies I could get to, the action is much smoother.

Still have lots to do before I put her in operation.

[Synchronizor]

Sounds like quite a project. Hope you can get the thing cleaned up and running.

I've never had the opportunity to shoot an Auto-5, but I have handled one (I think it was a Remington Model 11 actually, same thing though). Definitely had an old-school look and feel, and it wasn't exactly the sleekest piece out there, but it gets points in my book for being a John Browning invention, and a grandparent of the Remington 870.

[DaveC]

Shooting a Browning A5/Remington 11 is a hoot! The recoiling barrel vs. the clay pigeons makes me feel like an AA gunner!

A great old piece. Good luck with the restoration project! As I'm sure you know already, the Remington 11 was very widely used as a tactical shotgun by police and gangsters alike during the Prohibition-era 1920s and the motor-bandit plagued 1930s Depression-era...

The one military use of the Browning Auto5 I'm familiar with was by the British during the so-called Malaya Emergency in the early 1950s. Basically a counterinsurgency by Commonwealth troops against the communist MRLA. The Brits acquired Browning Auto5 shotguns with full-length barrels in 12-gauge and Remington 870s with 20-in. barrels. Combat ranges were very, very close and typically characterized by dense triple-canopy jungle/rain-forest and/or rubber tree plantations. The British found that a nine-pellet 00 buckshot load was ideal for guys on point responding to an ambush, and that they got hits more frequently than with other weapons. They turned up the shotgun's salient defects too, including the slow reloading and low ammunition capacity. Swearingen's The World's Fighting Shotguns discusses the history in some detail.

[Zebra62]

Thanks for the info Dave. Its always interesting to know the historical background.

I was talking with my Mom a couple days ago telling her that I have Dad's shotgun ( they are divorced ) and she tells me it isn't his shotgun, that it was stolen, to which I replied "It's WHAT?"

The story goes something like this: Dad buys the shotgun when he is a teenager, before he and Mom get married. A couple years later one of my Uncles barrows the shopgun to go hunting. During the course of the hunting trip, the shotgun comes up missing but he "finds" another one and brings that one back home to give back to Dad. Dad never knows it isn't his shotgun and keeps it for another fifty plus years until giving it to me last Saturday.

I am currently making inquiries to try to verify whether the weapon has ever been reported as lost or stolen. I contacted our local Police, told the story and gave the serial number, but they were unable to pull up anything. They suggested since the loss did not occur here I should contact the Sheriff where I think it occured. We were living in Galveston then, but the Sheriff's office down in Galveston couldn't find anything on it either, but I am not certain it occured in the Galveston area. It could have happened in Louisianna for all I know.

I am thinking about expanding my inquiries to the Federal level. Should the shotgun be truly stolen, I don't want it. If it was reported as lost, I would kinda like to get it back to whoever lost it or their family.

The Uncle in question died a few years back and is unfortunately unavaiable for comment.

[DaveC]

Wow, crazy story... Sounds a bit like the classic Italian film, The Bicycle Thief. "Rob Peter to pay Paul!"

Frankly, with a missing firearm of that age, it may be impossible to trace it and get the original owner. It is admirable that you want to try to return it.

I failed to mention your "boarding axe" or tomahawk there in the photo! Very cool! I'm a fan of maritime/naval history and there is much to be said about having multi-purpose items at close quarters: the fire axe can get you out of a burning bedroom, and also makes a dandy "repell all boarders" fighting tool too!

Thanks for the pics, and good luck with the saga/detective work!

[Zebra62]

Wow, crazy story... Sounds a bit like the classic Italian film, The Bicycle Thief. "Rob Peter to pay Paul!"

I have never seen that one, but I have heard of it. May be something Gypsy and I can watch one evening when we have the kids sedated.

The Tomahwks you see are from SOG Knives. The company I work for has a deal through PACCAR and we get points to purchase things from the company store. I saw these and snapped 'em up. Not too expensive either. Stainless steel head and fiberglass handle and balanced pretty well. Could be used for throwing if needed. I have another little ax I use for throwing.