Cycling problem with the Browning A5

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I recently encountered an issue with my Browning A5. When the chamber is cold and I use a light field load for clays, etc., I notice that the action doesn't fully cycle to load the next shell. Once the chamber is warm, it cycles fine. I have stripped and cleaned/lubricated everything and double-checked the friction rings for the proper setting. Everything appears to be in order. This only started happening recently with the cold weather.

The Browning is new to me (given to me by my now-deceased father-in-law), so I don't have much experience with it. Any suggestions or recommendations on this inconsistent cycling would be appreciated. (I have been using Winchester Super Target #8's...maybe this is the problem?)
 
I had the same problem with my A5 a few years ago.

If I recall correctly, I made sure everything was well lubricated and switched to #7 shot shells.

Try that out.
 
+1
You may need to lightly oil the mag tube to reduce friction even on the "light" friction ring setting.

A dry tube should only be necessary with 2 3/4" Magnum loads and the heavy friction ring settings.

No idea what power the Super-Target load is.
But if it is a 1 1/8 oz target load it should function just fine with the tube lightly oiled.

rc
 
Thanks, guys...much appreciated! The load is 1 1/8 oz and I will give the tube another light lube and see how it goes. Cheers...Jeff
 
First off, what kind of lube are you using? I've heard some lubes like Rem oil tend to harden and freeze up in extreme cold weather creating more friction. Try shooting the gun without any lube on the magazine tube.
 
A-5 light vs. heavy set-up.

The A-5 is classic and the standard by which all others were judged for many years. They came with instructions on glue paper ( at least in1962 they did) which were to be glued onto the inside of the forearm. I take it yours are not there, so here goes:

There are 2 rings riding on the magazine tube. For light field loads the small ring should be placed under the recoil spring, flat side up/bevel side down. Some light oil on the magazine tube is good also.

For heavy loads the small ring goes on top of the recoil spring, between the spring and the large ring, flat side down against the spring/bevel side up against the large ring.

In either case the the large ring goes at the top, bevel side up.

For magnum loads I wipe the oil off the magazine tube to increase the friction.

Happy trails!
 
@Capstick -- I have been using Rem oil, so maybe that is part of the problem. I will switch to something else and see how it goes.
@Paladin -- There are no instructions on the inside of the forearm, but I have the instruction manual in PDF and have read it thoroughly. I have double-checked the position of the friction rings and they're correct for the loads being used.

Thanks again, guys...suggestions are always appreciated!
 
a5

Oil not good for A5's. Get a good high temp high pressure grease. clean all oil residue off of tube, then sparingly rub small amonut on, then wipe gently taking care not to remove all grease. If you can not find someone near you to show you how, trial and error will work. Too much grease and it will slap you, just enough and you will be surprised what a pleasure the A5 can be to shoot. Also too much grease and or friction rings in wrong will cause forearm to split. By this I mean heavy loads when set for light loads. Love them A5's, I shoot them in 20, 16, light 12 and magnum 12. Browning shuffle is addicting!!!!
 
Oil not good for A5's. Get a good high temp high pressure grease. clean all oil residue off of tube, then sparingly rub small amonut on, then wipe gently taking care not to remove all grease. If you can not find someone near you to show you how, trial and error will work. Too much grease and it will slap you, just enough and you will be surprised what a pleasure the A5 can be to shoot. Also too much grease and or friction rings in wrong will cause forearm to split. By this I mean heavy loads when set for light loads. Love them A5's, I shoot them in 20, 16, light 12 and magnum 12. Browning shuffle is addicting!!!!
Click to expand...

Interesting advice, thanks! It sounds like the margin of error is quite small in how much grease to apply. Better to err on the side of too little grease than too much.
 
Btw, I agree that the A5 is an excellent shotgun and is very fun to shoot. My model has the Invector Plus rotating choke which is very, very convenient. Great design, well made, beautiful to look at...FN/Browning did a great job on this shotgun!
 
Last edited:
Oil not good for A5's. Get a good high temp high pressure grease.
Click to expand...
Says you.

Browning says, right in the A-5 Owners Manual to lightly oil the mag tube with light gun oil, except when using Magnum loads. In which case, you should leave it dry.

It further says to use thin oil which will maintain it's fluidity in very cold weather conditions.
It also says Browning gun oil is particulary well suited for this use.

That doesn't sound like "oil not good" to me.

rc
 
RemOil isn't the problem. It does not get thick at all at lower temperatures, at least down to minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit anyway. Browning gun oil in the non-spray can seems a little bit heavier and may stay on the tube a bit better, I don't know.
 
Apology to rcmodel

Sir I do humbly apologise for making statement concerning lube on A5's. I reckon that about 10 years of shooting and all I have learned is absoutley nothing compared to your ability to read manuals. So this makes you the authority on the subject. I reckon all my A5's must hate me!!! I not only shoot the A5's, also shoot Remington Models 11, 1148, and 48's. All of them are recoil operated, and have given me trouble free service for many years. They are used for skeet, trap, sporting clays, birds, and of course deer hunting. Have them in 16, 20, and 12 gauge. But have no fear sir, I will NOT bother to post anymore on this forum so as not to offend "smart people" like you. No you are not the first, but you will be the last "smart person" to have to show me the error of my ways.
 
Oh, good grief - acting the drama queen is not appropriate behavior on The High Road. Giving advice and being willing to accept advice, on the other hand, is far more appropriate.

I own and shoot more a half dozen Auto5s, the oldest of which dates back to 1936 and is my weekly range beater. Oil on the tube (Mobil 1 or CLP) has served me very well in the winter and in the Texas summer heat, week after week of 150+ round weekends. I usually re-oil the tube about every six months, which is about the schedule that I used to take the gun down for a reasonable cleaning. (The barrels get cleaned about once a month, but I'm too lazy to do much more cleaning but ever so often..)

I have tried Berryhills grease on the tube and ceased using it, because it seemed to inhibit cold weather (30F-40F, as cold as we usually get) cycling. So long as the oil stays in place and does its job in the Texas heat, I can see no benefit to grease.
 
Thanks again for all of the advice, guys. Again, I am 100% positive that the friction rings are in the right place for this load, so this must be just getting the right amount of oil on the tube for the colder weather. I will take a good look at it on Monday.
 
I've used 3-in-1 oil for my A5 and its not inhibited the performance of the gun as far as I can tell. Couple drops on a rag and wipe down the mag tube seems to be working fine for me.
 
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