BROWNING AUTO 5- date of manufacture?

quiglee

quiglee

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I am having trouble determining when my auto5 was made. I have been on Brownings website and have found the formulas for the serial numbers, but mine does'nt seem to match up anywhere. My gun is a Magnum made in Belgium and the serial number says 5V over top of 68555. If any of you Browning Gunnutz can figure it out I would appreciate your help. The gun has been around since the 1970's so I know it's older than that....Thanks
 
Here's some more kibbles to scratch on.....
I'm guessing a 1955 and the V denotes 12 gauge mag


http://proofhouse.com/browning/index.html



Browning Semi-Automatic Five Shotgun (A-5)

F.N. production began at serial number 1 in 1902.
Prior to 1924, few serial records remain.
Post 1958 manufacture dates.
Automatic Five (A-5)
Year Code Notes
1954 H Standard Weight
L Light Weight

1956 M Standard Weight
G Light Weight

1958 M Standard Weight
G Light Weight
V 12 Gauge Magnum
S Sweet Sixteen
Z Light 20 Gauge
X 20 Gauge
X 20 Gauge Magnum

1969 1501 Magnum 12 Gauge
2101 Light 12 Gauge
2201 Sweet 16
1601 Magnum 20 Gauge
2301 Light 20 Gauge

1975 151 Magnum 12 Gauge
211 Light 12 Gauge
221 Sweet 16
161 Magnum 20
231 Light 20

Automatic Five (A-5)
Year Start End
1924 3000 18000
1925 18001 33000
1926 33001 48000
1927 48001 63000
1928 63001 78000
1929 78001 93000
1930 93001 108000
1931 108001 123000
1932 123001 138000
1933 138001 153000
1934 153001 168000
1935 168001 183000
1936 183001 198000
1937 198001 213000
1938 213001 228000
1939 228001 229000
1940-1946 WWII no commercial F.N. production
1946-1951 Approximately 45,000 shotguns produced by Remington in the U.S.
1946 229000 237000
1947 237001 249000
1948 249001 270000
1949 270001 285000
1950 285001 315000
1951 315001 346000
1952 F.N. A-5 Production resumes
1952 346001 387000
1953 387001 438000
1954 H = Standard Wgt.
L = Lightweight

1954 & 55 H39000 H83000
L42000 L83000
1956 M = Standard Wgt.
G = Lightweight
1956 H83000 H99000
G1 G23000
1957 M22000 M85000
G23000 G85000
1958 G85001 G99000
8G1 8G28000
1958 - See Post 1958 Dating System.
1961 - 1974 2,000,000 to 2,002,500 Two Millionth
A-5 Commemoratives
 
Thanks Kamlooky, That's the first time I have seen "V" mean magnum,(on poofhouse) I think you're probably right. I appreciate your help.
 
I remember trying to figure out dad's old A-5.
His started with 9M.
So I think it is built in 1959.
He bought it after I was born.
According to my uncle, dad bought his new.
It has the round ball pistol grip.
Browning used different blocks of letters and numbers to manage inventory.
You just need to stare at it long enough to see where they fit.
It would be interesting to know if the FN 1 is still alive and who has it?
Would be worth a fair bit to a collector.
Cheers.
 
Here is another site I found puttering around with the Browning A-5 #'s.
I think I am one decade off.
Now I am convinced it is made in 1965, not the 1955 I stated previous.
I couldn't see the 5V meaning 1955 as the V stood for Magnum.
The 5 I knew meant the end of a year sequence but as Missing Something threw a
big question mark ? at my comment, I dug a bit deeper in the mysterious computer universe. This site below is a bit painful to view, at least from over here, but with due
dilligence, it will unfold the mysteries of the Brownings serial numbers on the A-5.
Sorry for any confusion I may have caused. But such is life, a learning series of events.
I did discover my dad's A-5 is built in 1959 as I stated earlier.
Cheers all.............

https://store.bluebookinc.com/info/P.../Serialize.pdf
 
kamlooky said:
Here is another site I found puttering around with the Browning A-5 #'s.
I think I am one decade off.
Now I am convinced it is made in 1965, not the 1955 I stated previous.
I couldn't see the 5V meaning 1955 as the V stood for Magnum.
The 5 I knew meant the end of a year sequence but as Missing Something threw a
big question mark ? at my comment, I dug a bit deeper in the mysterious computer universe. This site below is a bit painful to view, at least from over here, but with due
dilligence, it will unfold the mysteries of the Brownings serial numbers on the A-5.
Sorry for any confusion I may have caused. But such is life, a learning series of events.
I did discover my dad's A-5 is built in 1959 as I stated earlier.
Cheers all.............

https://store.bluebookinc.com/info/P.../Serialize.pdf
Click to expand...


Nice find... Browning stuff tends to be a pain to date sometimes.

I agree with kamlooky... its looks to be 1965.

Thanks for the lesson ;)

Learning new stuff every day :D
 
Thanks for all the replies. I've owned the gun since the mid 70's, but it was in the family for a while before that and I always wondered how old it was. If I decide to sell it, I can at least give a buyer an idea how old it is.....thanks again
 
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