Any Belgium A-5 Fans??

[Loggy]

Got my Dad's A-5 Belgium Browning 12 Ga (M receiver) reblued & stock refinished. Dad bought new early 60's. Never forget him coming home with this new fangled shotgun when they were so rarely owned by those in our local hunting circle. As a Kid, it was almost like magic to me seeing Dad pop 3 off just by pullin the trigger. I do remember him taking a while to get used to the A-5 & cussing on a couple of pheasant hunting trips. Of course, it was the guns fault! :lol:

The Receiver was almost worn totally silver from him carryin afield plus stock left much to desire. :lol: I had bluing & stock refinished professionally done to preserve engravings etc. I'm well pleased with the work. Dad also had a Belgium "Buck Special" barrel which he used huntin deer in VA where only buckshot was legal. It is also Belgium made. He has more trophy bucks hangin that ate buckshot for their last supper than ole Loggy has in total. :lol:

As i look at this treasure left to me from Dad I think about so many times this ole A-5 brought pheasants/quail/rabbits back to our family when it was standard table fare(no cther choice :lol: ). I have a Browning Gold Stalker, BPS Pump & all kinda other shiny things but they just dont seam to match up to Dad's ole A-5 if u know what I mean. :wink:

Any other Belgium A-5 Fans out there??? And this one wasnt Made in Belgium & assembled on Portugal or Made in Japan as the last A-5 run. :lol:

 

[edmehlig]

Loggy, that is one fine shotgun you have there. I remember the first time I ever saw one and said to myself that is one ugly shotgun. It was amazing how fast I changed my mind once I shouldered it. I hope you
take it out hunting, as I'm sure it will bring back a lot of fond memories.


Ed

 

[n8dawg6]

my dad has two, and they were the shotguns i was raised on. didnt like 'em when i was a kid, cause for SOME reason :wink: they kicked a lot harder than a remington 1100.

the first one is a sweet sixteen, literally produced in, i believe, the 1920's (no later than the 30's. i looked up the serial number awhile back, and now ive forgetten when it was made, but im almost positive it was 1920's). it originally belonged to my grandad. cylinder bore. my dad had it factory refinished by browning in the late 70's (1970's not 1870's ). its my favorite . . . it weighs a little more, so its pleasant to shoot with field loads. balances and swings really, really nicely.

the other one is a light 20 which was made in the early 70's (late 60's perhaps). it carries like a wand. very very handy, but it doesnt swing quite as well as the sweet sixteen cause it doesnt weigh as much. you dont want to shoot anything more than field loads in it either, if ya know what i mean :wink:

the sweet 16 has the old-school rounded knob pistol grip, whereas the light 20 is the more modern flat-bottom pistol grip

 

[Hunt 4 Bucks]

Any other Belgium A-5 Fans out there???

You bet, and may I say your is fine one. I am sure it is priceless to you.

I collected Belgium A-5's and Pre-64 Model 12's for years. Had quite a few of them at one time.

The Model 12 is my all time favorite pump and the A-5 is my all time favorite auto. I hunted everything with my first Belgium A-5 Light 12 made in 1971. I bought it new for $265, seemed like alot of money back then. Especially when you considered I bought my first used car (1965 Ford Mustang) for $500 the next year.

I also have a 4-generation gun passed down from my great grand dad. It is a Winchester Model 1890 in .22 short. The gun was made in 1918 when he bought it new.

Man, if only these guns could talk. I bet they could tell us some good stories. :wink:

 

[jims]

My uncles both shot A-5's and they could shoot them well.

 

[Anonymous]

Loggy,,,that's a beautiful shotgun. Your Dad would be proud of what you've done with it. Thanks for sharing the history of that fine firearm... :wink:

 

[nugbuk]

Loggy,
Beautiful shotgun. How long is barrel?

 

[Loggy]

Thanks guys for the kind comments. My Dad also had an old Rem 870 30" FC bbl 3" 12 that I had reblued & stock refinished also. It was actually more beat up than his A-5. Sometimes I wonder why the heck I bot a Browning Gold & a BPS for! Must be those lil things that screw in the end of the barrel that hooked me. :lol:

Nug, it has a 28'' modified choke barrel.

 

[Dave James]

I love mine,its a St. Louis model that has the original left handed safety in it, belong to a great uncle who gave it to me when I turned 12,, went on in later years to buy a few others, a Sweet 16, a 20 ga, and a 3" model for goose hunting, have owned both safety versions and the close kin the Model 11's,

 

[Redclub]

When I was a kid I had a steven's 20 ga with a plastic stock and my dad's friend had a Browning and he would let me use it and he would take the Stevens Man I could throw lead out of that slam gun (thats what they called them) I didn't think it kicked at all and I was only 9 or 10 at the time. I could shoot it quite well.
Ken

 

[Loggy]

Glad to see over 100 viewed this Thread in such a short time span...but on the other hand sorry very few have had the opportunity to have the A-5 xperience. If u ever have a chance to pick-up an A-5...I assure you it will be well worth ur investment in this Legend. :wink:

 

[Hunt 4 Bucks]

If u ever have a chance to pick-up an A-5...I assure you it will be well worth ur investment in this Legend. :wink:

Very true Loggy

 

[Loggy]

If u ever have a chance to pick-up an A-5...I assure you it will be well worth ur investment in this Legend. :wink:

Very true Loggy

It would be great if Browning brought the A-5 back. I have a Gold & love it but there's something to be said for the inertia action autos vs gas semis. i just couldnt get myself to buy one of those Italianos. :lol:

 

[IndianaHunter]

Hey Loggy, One of my favorite guns is my A-5 "Sweet 16"... Its dropped it fair share of birds over the years...

 

[Hunt 4 Bucks]

If u ever have a chance to pick-up an A-5...I assure you it will be well worth ur investment in this Legend. :wink:

Very true Loggy

It would be great if Browning brought the A-5 back. I have a Gold & love it but there's something to be said for the inertia action autos vs gas semis. i just couldnt get myself to buy one of those Italianos. :lol:

Only problem with most reproductions is that they live off the name and past hype. Winchester Model 12's went that route a few years ago and I was disappointed with that reproduction effort.

Probably not a fair comparison since I owned only pre-64 and pre-war model 12?s. (Virtually Handmade Guns)

I can't imagine what it would cost to bring the A-5 back on line to the same standards of the Belgium A-5's

 

[Hunt 4 Bucks]

Hey Loggy, One of my favorite guns is my A-5 "Sweet 16"... Its dropped it fair share of birds over the years...

Yea, IMO the Sweet 16 was one of most underrated shotguns. I think the invent of the 20ga. 3 inch magnums sealed their fate.

 

[Anonymous]

Glad to see over 100 viewed this Thread in such a short time span...but on the other hand sorry very few have had the opportunity to have the A-5 xperience.

There's more out there than you might think-- Browning made close to 3,000,000 of them in Belgium alone. That's not counting the Remington Model 11 and "American Browning," nor any of the Miroku production.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/browning_A-5.htm

 

[Loggy]

Randy,

Good review on the ole Humpback!

 

[Redclub]

Those A-5's hit hard. They killed birds way out there
Ken