Browning F/N A 5

[Smoke Rizen]

Anyone tell me anything about an A 5 with the serial number stamped on the bottom of the receiver forward of the loading port? 541xx above that is 8A

 

[rbernie]

You sure that's an A and not an M?

 

[Smoke Rizen]

I looked again and it’s 8 V.

 

[Smoke Rizen]

I’m old so excuse me. The S N is 57XX

 

[rbernie]

V == 12ga magnum (3" chamber), and if I'm reading the Browning data correctly it was made in 1958. Can you verify that the barrel is marked for 3" shells?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

BTW, thats an Auto-5. The A 5 is the current production model which is a totally different shotgun.

 

[Smoke Rizen]

Yes it is marked 3”. I thought F N stopped production in about 38?

 

[Rudolph31]

Yes it is marked 3”. I thought F N stopped production in about 38?

FN produced the Auto-5 until 1978, then again briefly in the 80’s. Production started in Japan in 1976, so there were a few years when it could be from either place.

The Magnum Twelve began in 1958. The year and model code in use from 1958-76 was a single digit for the year through 1967, then two digits. V for Magnum Twelve, M for standard 12, and G for Light Twelve. S and R for Sweet and standard 16’s, and Z for the Light Twenty.

 

[rbernie]

I thought F N stopped production in about 38?

Correct - during the war years, the guns were made in the US by Remington. Production want back to FN in '52, and by '55-'56 the split lifter ("speed load') and cross safety were introduced and the guns were back in full rate production. When Browning switched production of the O/U's to Japan in '76, the Auto-5 went with them and the last 25 years of production came from Japan (complete with thick-wall barrels and Invector removable chokes).

Only the Japanese guns are considered safe for use with steel shot, as an FYI, by virtue of their thicker barrel walls.

 

[Rudolph31]

Somebody’s been reading the misinformation on the Browning website.

Production in Belgium was interrupted by the Germans twice, 1914-18 and 1940-45. I had a 1946 Belgian Light Twelve, and have a 12 from 1947 and a 16 from 1948.

The cross bolt safety debuted in 1951, and Speed Load in late 1953.

Most of my information comes from this book:

https://www.wetdogstore.com/Browning-Auto-5-Shotguns-The-Belgian-FN-Production-0-9707997-6-4.htm

It makes sense of a very convoluted history.

 

[Smoke Rizen]

I had read somewhere that the F N
were marked ahead of the loading port, and the Remington on the right side of the receiver. Is that correct or have I remembered it wrong?

 

[Rudolph31]

I think the American Browning was marked on the left side. But yes, if it’s on the side, your Browning was made by Remington. The letter prefix was A for 16, B for 12, and C for 20 gauge.

 

[Smoke Rizen]

It’s marked on the bottom in front of the loading port, nothing on the side.