A-5 12 gauge cycling issue please help

I am new to the forum and in of some help for my A5. it is an old model. not sure of the year, but it is a humpback light semi.

I have always loved this gun and it broke my heart when it started to have cycling issues. long story short, i brought the gun to a gunsmith to have cleaned and that is when the issues started.

to best describe what is happening, the bolt will not always catch like it is supposed to when it cycles the last round. mainly it wot catch when i open the action to put the first shell into the receiver and then proceed to push the bolt release button to load the shell into the chamber.

my hypothesis is that the bolt latch assembly is bent and causing the latch to not engage properly. if i put my hand on the inside of the receiver and apply pressure to the latch assembly, the latch will then engage and hold the bolt open.

My plan was to replace the latch assembly to see if that fixes the issue

the second issue occurs when there are 2 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. the first round will eject fine when fired, but the unfired shell #2 will also eject, then loading the third round into the chamber.

any ideas as to why these two issues are happening and how to fix? this is my favorite shotgun and i shoot better with it than any other shotgun. it will really kill me if i cant get it right. thanks, Stephen K.

Welcome to the Browning Owners Forum !!

Please introduce yourself to our community via the New Member Welcome Area...

Enjoy our community...

As far as your questions...I will defer to the experts here.

Both of your problems are the fault of the Carrier Latch.

When the Carrier is latched down, the Carrier Dog engages the Operating Handle, holding the Breech Block open. Pushing the button releases the Carrier and the Dog loses it's hold on the Handle.

As for your feeding issues, I believe if you mark your shells you'll find that it's the 3rd shell that's falling out. With three shells in the gun, #2 is already partially out and is resting on the Locking Block Latch which is pinned to the bottom of the bolt. As the gun fires and the bolt and barrel recoil, #2 continues aft until stopped by the Shell Stop. When the barrel returns to battery, it trips the Shell Stop and #2 reaches the Carrier where its rim trips the Carrier Latch. The Carrier flips the shell up into the path of the returning bolt. Meanwhile, back in the magazine, #3 is moving aft also but something must prevent it from leaving the tube until the bolt returns. That something is the front of the Carrier Latch, which moves in a see-saw fashion. If it's bent or worn, #3 spits out.

Download the Field Service Manual here:

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/ctgy/browning-auto-5-field-service-manual

Thanks Expert here....

^^^^ This! Great advise, Rudolph... you beat me to it. ^^^^

Thanks, Rob. You get the next one!

Hey guys, Thanks for the field manual. I am also a new owner of a very old Auto 5. I'm pretty excited to go out and try it tho. But as for the rest of this thread, Thanks and it's a good read.

Welcome Budzo...

Thanks Very much Shooter13