I have a A-5 from the 50's. I have a extra barrel i wanted cut to 18.5 inchs and a choke tube installed. Would the same raised front sight need to be used on the cut barrel?
Browning A-5 Barrel Chop
- Thread starter BullSkater
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rbernie
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Assuming that you were happy with the old POA/POI, the front bead pad would need to be taller than the old one to keep everything the same.
Also - keep in mind that the Auto5 is sensitive to barrel weight, due to its mechanical recoil design. Most Auto5 barrels below, say, 20" or so tend to batter the receiver badly even with the recoil rings adjusted to their magnum setting and when using light loads, due to the significant loss of barrel weight caused by the chop. If you are going to cut down the barrel on an Auto5, do not start with a Lightweight barrel and always assume that you cannot use full-power loads but very sparingly if you want the gun to last under use.
I have a 21" chop that works OK with the rings on the Magnum setting so long as I use reduced-recoil buck and slugs, but that barrel is also an older standard-weight barrel with a solid rib.
Also - keep in mind that the Auto5 is sensitive to barrel weight, due to its mechanical recoil design. Most Auto5 barrels below, say, 20" or so tend to batter the receiver badly even with the recoil rings adjusted to their magnum setting and when using light loads, due to the significant loss of barrel weight caused by the chop. If you are going to cut down the barrel on an Auto5, do not start with a Lightweight barrel and always assume that you cannot use full-power loads but very sparingly if you want the gun to last under use.
I have a 21" chop that works OK with the rings on the Magnum setting so long as I use reduced-recoil buck and slugs, but that barrel is also an older standard-weight barrel with a solid rib.
The old Belgium A-5 barrels are very thin - too thin to install a standard thread choke tube near the muzzle anyway, like when shortening a 28" or 30" to 26".
After being cut back to 18.5" you might have enough wall thickness, but I'd check it out first with a choke tube installer before I broke out the hacksaw.
MINIMUM OUTSIDE BARREL DIAMETER MEASUREMENTS FOR CHOKE INSTALLATIONS:
Standard tubes = 12 ga. lead shot and steel shot system = .825".
Thin wall tubes = 12 ga. lead shot system only, no magnum loads or steel = .805".
rc
After being cut back to 18.5" you might have enough wall thickness, but I'd check it out first with a choke tube installer before I broke out the hacksaw.
MINIMUM OUTSIDE BARREL DIAMETER MEASUREMENTS FOR CHOKE INSTALLATIONS:
Standard tubes = 12 ga. lead shot and steel shot system = .825".
Thin wall tubes = 12 ga. lead shot system only, no magnum loads or steel = .805".
rc
Sounds like cutting is a bad idea. I think I will just buy a 870. I can buy one for what one A-5 barrel is worth. Thanks for the info. Hank
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