1925 or 1926 Grade II 16 gauge

I bought this Grade II from Jta5er awhile back and had it refurbished. The wood is not original to the gun but it’s too pretty for a plain Auto 5. Serial number is 40813 which per the NRA guide says it’s a 1926. SV says it’s a 1925 and that only 10 were made during that time. Gun also has the factory test target which is stamped Feb 4th 1926 which is kind of neat because Feb 4th is my birthday. Barrel is numbers matching but has a 1929 date code. I will post pictures in the sun with the target and other goodies that came with later.

Wow, that’s incredible! Who did the restoration?

Thanks. Cole Haugh did the work

It looks like the original rust blue.

He did rust blue it

He told me he used Pilkingtons. It’s nice but I don’t think it’s a nice as my 38 unmarked Sweet

Here you go and I was wrong it’s my 39 Sweet

The Sweet is the way it left the factory. That’s why I like it so much. The vent rib is a nice addition too

Both are beautiful examples and the restoration is nicely done that’s for sure . I would be happy to own or shoot either

Very nice and your pictures are incredible as always. Steve!

Really liked reading all the paperwork and testimonials. Thanks for posting such good images. They zoom up great.

I don’t think I could choose between those two! Just amazing!

So can any of you tell me for sure what year it was made? Browning could not provide a letter for me

That’s a tough one.

I like to use the NRA data because it’s handy, looking stuff up in the book is a pain. As to which is more accurate, we know SV uses Date in Warehouse, I don’t know where the NRA got it’s data, but the two are close. I would give the edge to The Book except that in this case they say that the numbers for 1925 are random.

In your case, you’ve got to decide for yourself when the gun was “made”. If it’s the date all the pieces were ready for assembly, probably 1925. If it’s the day of final assembly, probably 1926. Which makes more sense to you?

Normally, I’d resolve the ambiguity by looking at the date code. Often it’s a year earlier, which makes sense when you consider batch production. But yours is 1929, which suggests the owner ordered an extra barrel later on.

Looks like gun was patterned 1926 and didn’t get sold until 1929 with that case and tags.

Is it safe to assume that this was one of the ten that SV references?