imatater3

Discussion in 'Browning Auto A-5' started by Rocky Bosarge, Jun 2, 2014.

  1. Rocky Bosarge

    Rocky Bosarge Copper BB

    My dad has a 1957 A5 my mother bought him for Christmas in 1957 and the salesman talked her into putting a poly choke (butt plug) on the barrel. What we need to know, after all these years, what kind of barrel was on the gun originally. It is a 12 ga. serial # starting with "M".
  2. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Welcome to the Browning Owners Forum Rocky !!
  3. Rocky Bosarge

    Rocky Bosarge Copper BB

    Thank you. I'm just trying to find out about my dad's A5 1957. My mother had a poly choke put on it when she bought for my dad. We are trying to find out what was the barrel new.
  4. Billythekid

    Billythekid Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    Are there any other markings on the barrel? in 1957 the A5's were made by FN so it would have come out of belguim. the M stands for standard weight model. I believe all of the barrels came in 28in length those years but not positive on that. I would believe the original barrel on the 1957 A5 would have been a belguim made 28in standard weight barrel. hope that helps.

    BTK
  5. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    Browning / FN marked the barrels with stars to indicate choke.

    *** = Cylinder, **- = Improved Cylinder, ** =Modified, * = Full, **$ =Skeet.

    In addition, there should be 2 diameters marked on the bottom. In mm, one 8.6" from the breech and one at the muzzle. I believe 1mm difference is a full choke.

    But the constriction on your dad's barrel was cut off when the Poly was fitted, so the markings are meaningless.
  6. Rocky Bosarge

    Rocky Bosarge Copper BB

    Thank you for the info. I found out yesterday that it was indeed a 28" modified barrel but with the butt plug on the end that point is meaningless, but, I do appreciate the help.
  7. Rocky Bosarge

    Rocky Bosarge Copper BB

    You are correct. it is meaningless now with the butt plug that was put on the barrel. The salesman in 1957 probably made 5-6 dollars for the sale and ruined the barrel. A friend of mine's mother also bought one at the same time and they did the same thing to his barrel. I think that is chicken Schmidt what they did for a few bucks. In 1957 5-6 dollars was a days work. We have to live with it or buy another barrel. Looks like the butt plug will stay on. I hate it so. Thank you for the info. I knew I could find out something here. Again, thank you my friend.
  8. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    Rocky--You're welcome! But don't disparage the Poly Choke--it was a popular option before screw-in chokes were available. So it lessens the collector value. So what? Unless your father's gun was NIB it didn't have much anyway. And I'm guessing you don't want to sell your heirloom.

    When I bought my first Auto-5 I wanted one with a Poly. That's how I remember seeing them when I was a kid in the '60s. And the choke works. I now have 8 Auto-5s, and the gun with the adjustable choke is my first choice for skeet or sporting clays. Try shooting skeet with a full or modified and you'll see what I mean.

    [​IMG]
  9. Rocky Bosarge

    Rocky Bosarge Copper BB

    Thank you. It makes me feel somewhat better and an A5 is still an A5 and I plan to pass it on to my grandson. He had the choice between my weapons and I thought he would have taken the Weatherby 300 mag. with the Swarovski 2 1/2X10X56 lighted reticle but he chose the A5 saying it belong your daddy and now it will belong to me. That does make me feel good also. He's a great well mannered boy( my daughter will yank a knot in his butt if he isn't) and it will give me pleasure to hand it to him come this dove season. Thanks again.
  10. txrick55

    txrick55 .22LR

    Poly chokes became quite popular for a few reasons. Instead of having to choose which fixed choke barrel to take with you, let alone purchasing, storing, handling, and taking care of 3 to four barrels, one could simply have a poly choke installed much more economically & have just the one barrel and be able to adjust to the correct choke for just about any conditions encountered while hunting. The existing constriction or choke was removed during installation and the poly choke was installed by an authorized dealer. If you unscrew the choke you will see a number stamped at the base, this was the dealer code that installed the choke. If no number is present then any gunsmith may have installed it at some point. Check these barrels for straightness & point of impact by patterning. Most were installed professionally but some weren't.
    I own a poly choke barrel just for sporting clays. It take some extensive patterning to get one dialed in with the loads you plan on using, as each will be a tad different than marked. Once you have the patterns down, it is much easier to just click over to the setting you need as your counterparts are fumbling for their choke tubes, wrenches etc. It is considered polite to ask if you can go ahead while they switch their chokes.
    The down side is they require extensive cleaning after a round of clays, especially the ventilated ones, and anyone standing beside you will need hearing & eye protection, as a portion of the muzzle blast is redirected by the ventilation holes, this noise is a bit more prominent than a regular barrel. Not such an issue when hunting as on a clays course. I have never had one cross thread, or require extensive muscle to remove or change.
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2014
  11. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Good info...thanks for sharing !!

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