Hello, Found the website while doing some research for a Browning Auto 5 Super Lightweight. I started "accumulating" some Browning Auto 5's and L C Smith a few years ago after I retired. I grew up hunting with a friends old Auto 5 and for some reason that memory and interest was rekindled one day when I saw a used and well worn "humpback" sitting in the rack at a local gun store. I purchased it and from that moment the "hunt" has been on! I have met some interesting and knowledgable characters at gun shows and events who opened up a whole new interest in the different Auto 5's and some of the unique nuances of the various models. Somewhere along the line I began "collecting" instead of "accumulating" what I considered special, unique, different, unusual...(you get the picture)Auto 5's. I think I also convinced my wife that this was a good "hobby" and one that would not really cost any money as I could always sell at a profit the guns that came home with me. Of course, every gun that came home with me only cost a "two hundred dollars" when asked "what did that one set us back". As the collection grew my wife wanted to know when we were going to realize that profit from selling the guns ... as she noted from her keen observation skills that I had never sold one during the past 10 years. My greatest fear is that when I kick the bucket she will sell them all for three hundred dollars each.....I guess I will leave a note to her in my will with some selling instructions. I am interested in any of the Auto 5's, cases , or paperwork that have just a hint of being just little something different. I put myself in the "average joe" collector who has a cap of about $200-$2000 for any item that appears on the radar. I do confess that I once bid on a Grade IV 16 gauge to about $5000. My wife did not speak to me for a week after that. Anyway, I look forward to learning more about the Auto 5's and any other interesting pieces of the Browning story. Have a great New Year
Very interesting sir, I think some of us are in the same boat, with more then one of those things. I do believe if you buy one, it won’t be long until you buy another.
Guilty as charged!! Welcome to the Forum from Southwest Idaho! A really great bunch of guys here, and no drama to get in the way. I too was bitten by the older A5 bug decades ago.I am currently up to about 35 of them, (however there is a gun show this weekend. I'm just sayin".....) After I admitted I have a problem, I decided to try to get one from every year of accepted production. I am sneaking up on that goal. Buy another safe now. You'll use it.
Thank you for the welcome! It looks like I am good company with my "Browning Disease". Maybe we should consider a "home" for displaced Browning Collectors. I have been able to look around the website and I have already picked up some history and details as well as knowledge about the Auto 5 that has already made my collection and collecting a little more interesting. As I said earlier...I really do enjoy the hunt to find that hidden gem.
