Sorry to hear how you aquired 2 of those beauties. Curious what that light 12 cost 2 years before I was born? To funny about the Sig syndrome, I do hope you get better soon and resume back to your old A5 self.
Good to hear how many Auto 5s folks have. I am at 15 right now including two sixteens, one sweet, a twenty, four magnums and the rest twelves. It won't stop there because I just love the long recoil Mr. Browning invention. He was a genius indeed! This receiver is from 1953. It was beat up and needed some care. By the time I removed the rust I had to think of a pattern like you see here to hide all the imperfections. I won't ever sell my gun collection so I am not worried about resale value. The first thing I did with it was replace the barrel locking block, because it was sheared off, and installed the Val Browning speed load system which came out that year.
You’ve got quite a collection, Nic. You’ll fit right in around here. That finish looks like camouflage. But before you scrape the rust off any more guns, watch this video about rust conversion.
Sorry for the necro-posting, butI am new here and was going over older threads. ...........................Without opening up the safes, I reckon I am around 18-20. I am actually a little hesitant to do that, as I am afraid it might be measurably more than that. I might have a problem. They need to start an "A5 Anonymous." The problem with that idea is I wouldn't be able to drive to the meetings, as I would have spent all my gas money on another A5!!
Ok, as I stated above, I am reluctant to actually count, but whatever the current count is (technically was), it has increased another 3--- as I just picked up a 1928, a 1930, and a 1969 (all 12s) (although I will refer to the 1969 as a wannabe A5 due to the squared grip rather than the "proper" beautiful round grip. (I got that one for such a deal , I couldn't pass it up!! Oh well, at least it is still a Belgium.) A couple of months ago I bought a 1950 in what appeared to like new. Literally- it looked unfired. I took it completely apart for a detailed cleaning, and other than it looking as good inside as the outside looked, I found a kernel of corn inside the action spring. (??) Belgium corn? Speaking of deals, I bid on a barrel at a local internet auction. Based on the lousy pictures, which were barely descriptive enough to determine what type of long arm, much less shotgun, much less what brand of shotgun, much less what model of shotgun, I was able to figure out it was for an A5 (or at worst, a Remington Model 11) . There weren't many bids on it, and I ended up winning it. When I went to pick it up. the lady reached up into the shelf and handed me a box. I looked inside and lo and behold, it was after all, a Browning A5 barrel. The box, which I later was able to date based on shipping and label markings, was from around 1952-54, addressed to Abercrombie and Fitch from Browning (!!) and was marked on a packing slip referring to that particular barrel (gauge,length, choke, etc.). Upon close inspection, and I mean CLOSE, it looks to have never been installed on a receiver. Under a magnifying glass, a person and see minute markings if a barrel is slid back and forth in the receiver where the rails are on the barrel extension. You kind of have to know what to look for. If it is slid back and forth, there will be "slide" marks. Anyway, so I am 98% certain I bought a NOS barrel made around 1952-52 (!!!!!!) So, I was thrust into a conundrum. Do I stick the barrel on one of the A5s I have (I have a handful of A5s sporting a Poly-Choke) , or do I find a clunker 1954 (the year I was born), send that to Art's for a complete restoration, and then toss that barrel on the restored gun, essentially giving me a " (as)new, unfired" 1954 A5- which would be as old as I am?
A5-anonymous! I am in. I stop counting after 40. Sometimes during the night when my wife is sound asleep I go with my chessie to look at my collection. The problem with an auto-5 collection is there is no end. Right now, I am actively searching for a very early example with the Browning patent marking on the bottom of the receiver. For two years I have been trying to import a "Spécial pour le tir aux pigeons" from Europe. I was hoping that Rudolph would deliver it to me in Canada but am I afraid he will keep it for himself.
Today, a 1927, and a 1939. And those two were pretty well by accident. Tomorrow I am doing a 2 hour drive to a city with a handful of gun shops and pawn shops----with the intent on finding A5s. Whew.....if I bring home two I found by accident, can you imagine how many I could bring home on purpose !?!?
Another---a 1950, really good condition. Local pawn shop. Don't think it's ever been taken apart. Springs still pretty close to proper length, so more than likely any settling was due to age, not rounds. Another gun show this weekend.
I only have two A5's both are 16 ga one was made in 1925 and has initials engraved on it the other is a sweet 16 not sure of date as I did not record the letter prefix with the serial number. I also have a 12 ga Remington model 11D. All these are locked away in storage. I have not shot any of them yet. I have noticed that the A5 prices are all over the place some $400.00 some $1500.00 and up what am I missing. I always look for condition 95% or better I can understand new in the box being higher but gunbroker is all over the place and they are not all new in the box. Both of my 16 ga guns were less than $400.00 each from gun stores, so I bought them. Ken
You gotta understand that gun broker is the worst place to get values of guns. It may never sell at the price it is listed at. Then again they might get lucky and find a fool willing to pay 1500 for a 300 gun. It’s like eBay and A5 parts. Some are reasonable and others are in left field just waiting on a sucker. If you wanna use gun broker as a starting point, look at what they actually sold for and make that a starting point. Most people that sell them think they have something special, when in fact they don’t.
Thanks Ranger6, I've been collecting guns for over 50 years and I know what you are saying about gun broker or any other site for that matter. I see sweet 16s which the engraving seem to be pretty typical and prices are all over the map. I just wanted to make sure there was not something I was missing. Ken
Nope you got it then. 50 years is a long time. Honestly I find better deals from private sellers. You know what they say cash is king.
I'll be darned if two more didn't show up in my safe. A 1955 and a 1956. Both pretty standard, one had the original wood plug in the mag tube. One has a modified barrel, the other has the usual full choke. Both mic to specs. Recoil springs were just over 9", so I think I can squeeze a few more rounds out before replacing them. ( I need to buy about 20 12 gauge recoil springs. I wonder if an industrial supply house could match them? Hmmmm?) Anyway, I got into these pretty cheap, relatively speaking, so I couldn't say no. I am going to look at a 1920 in a few days.
Added one more A 5 in Dec 2019. I ran across Light 12 that serial number shows it was made in 1956. Since I came into the world in 1956 I decided this would make the perfect Christmas gift to myself. I now own an A 5 that I share a bond with. I will post pictures later.
Sure enough, the 1920 came home. It's actually in better condition than first thought. Cleaned up really good. It'll go for a test drive in a few days.