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Browning Auto-5 in 20 gauge magnum (Made in Japan)

The Browning Auto-5 was a recoil-operated autoloading shotgun designed by John Browning. It was the first successful autoloading shotgun ever produced.

The Browning Automatic 5 was the first mass produced semiautomatic shotgun. Designed by John Browning in 1898 and patented 1900^[1], it was produced continually for almost 100 years, with production ending in 1998. It features a distinctive high rear end, earning it the nickname "Humpback". The top of the action goes straight back on a level with the barrel before cutting down sharply towards the buttstock. This distinctive feature makes it easy to identify A-5s from a distance. A-5s were produced in a variety of gauges, with 12 and 20 predominating; 16 gauge (not produced between 1976 and 1987) models were also available.

John Browning presented his design (which he called his best achievement^[2]) to Winchester, where he had sold most of his previous designs. When Winchester refused his terms, Browning went to Remington. Tragically, the president of Remington died of a heart attack as Browning waited to offer them the gun. This forced Browning to look overseas to produce the shotgun. It was produced by FN (a company that had already produced Browning-designed pistols) starting in 1902. Remington would later license-produce it as the Model 11. (It was also license-produced by Savage and Franchi.^[3]) Production in Belgium continued until the start of World War II, when Browning-marked examples were produced by Remington Arms in the United States. Unlike the Remington Model 11, the Remington produced Browning shotguns had magazine cutoffs. In 1952, production returned to FN, where it continued to be produced until the end. However, the majority of production moved to Japan in 1975. Finally, in 1998, manufacture of A-5s ceased except for a few commemorative models created at FN in 1999. By that time, it was well-established as the number two-selling autoloading shotgun in U.S. history, after the Remington 1100.^[4]

The Browning Auto-5 is a long-recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun. Shells are stored in a tubular magazine under the barrel. When one shell is fired, the barrel and bolt recoiling together recock the hammer, eject the spent shell, and feed another shell from the magazine into the action. This type of action was the first of its kind.

To load the weapon, shells are fed into the bottom of the action, where they are then pushed into the magazine. Most A-5s have removable plugs in the magazine which prevent more than 3 shells from being loaded in at one time (two in the magazine, plus one in the chamber) to comply with Federal migratory bird hunting regulations. With the plug removed, the total capacity is 5 rounds. If the chamber is open (the operating handle is drawn back) the first shell loaded into the magazine tube will go directly into the chamber. The bolt then closes, and all further shells fed into the gun will go into the magazine.

The A-5 has a system of friction rings that control the rate of recoil. Setting these rings correctly is vital to good shotgun performance and to ensure a long life to the weapon, by controlling excessive recoil. The friction rings are set based on the type of load to be fired through the gun. Different settings can be found in the owner's manual, available at http://www.browning.com.

1. ^ Harold Murtz. Gun Digest Treasury (DBI Books, 1994), p.194
2. ^ Murtz, ibid.
3. ^ Murtz, ibid.
4. ^ Murtz, ibid., pp.193-4