Browning auto 5 not cycling

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ken fowler

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I have a Browning auto five that is set for light 2.3/4 loads .It fires but does not cycle enough to eject and pick up a new shell. Hand cycles just fine .Gun is clean and shells are factory #4 any Ideas ( Thanks for all the help Lube was the cause )
 
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I have read and heard that the only thing that can go wrong with a browning A5 is there is a friction ring. If the ring wears out or is wrong it doesn't cycle properly. Also the rings can be changed for different loads so its possible someone changed the rings to fire 3" loads. I'm by no means an expert of any kind, just passing on info that was passed on to me. Start with those rings
 
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radmacks said:
I have read and heard that the only thing that can go wrong with a browning A5 is there is an o ring that seals. If the o ring wears out then gas leaks and doesn't cycle properly. Also the rings can be changed for different loads so its possible someone changed the rings to fire 3" loads. I'm by no means an expert of any kind, just passing on info that was passed on to me. Start with those rings
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None of that is correct. Auto 5s are long-recoil operated. There is not gas system nor are there any O-rings. However, you are correct about properly setting the friction rings that ride the magazine tube. On my 2-3/4 A5 (not a 3" Magnum version) I have to very lightly oil the magazine tube to get the gun to cycle light target loads. Using Light 2-3/4" out of the 3" can be problematic, you best bet is to set up the rings like a regular 2-3/4" gun, and use a 2-3/4" (non-Magnum) spring with a spacer behind it.
 
If the rings are correctly set failure to eject is usually because the magazine tube needs lubrication for the friction rings to slide more freely... I always had a light grease and G96 on the tubes...
 
The friction rings are split. Check and make sure that the ring splits are not together. If the splits are together, then there probably won't be enough friction to cycle the action properly; the splits should be on opposite sides of each other.
 
highlander said:
The friction rings are split. Check and make sure that the ring splits are not together. If the splits are together, then there probably won't be enough friction to cycle the action properly; the splits should be on opposite sides of each other.
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Nothing is further from the truth.
There is a decent photo on page nine on the link I posted above.
 
In reading the manual whose link was posted, I am puzzled why the coned steel ring is put against the frame for light loads. On my gun (a fairly old model), I just turned it around so that the bronze split ring is not compressed by the coned side of the steel ring. I am told that I need to use target loads listed at 1200 fps velocity to cycle the action and load the next shell. I found that using target loads listed at 1150 fps does not bring the barrel and breach back quite far enough to load the next shell. Also in spite of the warning in the manual, I am tempted to make a bronze bushing about about 1/2 the length of the split ring/ steel ring combination for use with target loads, in hopes that the action will cycle completely. I think the warning about removing the bronze and steel rings makes it obvious that doing so increases the ease of cycling the action (excessively) and that would imply that a spacer of somewhere between the combined length of the rings and their absence might allow light loads to cycle without damaging the action

cheers mooncoon
 
highlander said:
The friction rings are split. Check and make sure that the ring splits are not together. If the splits are together, then there probably won't be enough friction to cycle the action properly; the splits should be on opposite sides of each other.
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Where do you come up with this?
 
ken fowler said:
I have a Browning auto five that is set for light 2.3/4 loads .It fires but does not cycle enough to eject and pick up a new shell. Hand cycles just fine .Gun is clean and shells are factory #4 any Ideas
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Is it a Magnum model? If so, you will have to remove one of the recoil springs (magnums have 2).
 
triggerman42 said:
Too much oil on the magazine tube can cause problems. A VERY light coat is all thats required.
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If there was so much oil it was running off and damaging the wood it would be a problem... but you can have all the lubrication you want if it stays on the tube and spring... light grease stays in place better and lots of it harms nothing...
 
The shells your using are too light of a load, noticed at a trap shoot at my friends house with mine. He had his home loaded shells that would stove pipe in my auto-5, he has a pump. Loaded lights factory ammo and cycled fine. So just try different ammo
 
mooncoon said:
In reading the manual whose link was posted, I am puzzled why the coned steel ring is put against the frame for light loads. On my gun (a fairly old model), I just turned it around so that the bronze split ring is not compressed by the coned side of the steel ring. I am told that I need to use target loads listed at 1200 fps velocity to cycle the action and load the next shell. I found that using target loads listed at 1150 fps does not bring the barrel and breach back quite far enough to load the next shell. Also in spite of the warning in the manual, I am tempted to make a bronze bushing about about 1/2 the length of the split ring/ steel ring combination for use with target loads, in hopes that the action will cycle completely. I think the warning about removing the bronze and steel rings makes it obvious that doing so increases the ease of cycling the action (excessively) and that would imply that a spacer of somewhere between the combined length of the rings and their absence might allow light loads to cycle without damaging the action

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...

Would this not tend to peen the split rings bottom edge?
The idea of a thinner split ring combo sounds interesting, but may eventually split the fore wood from
slamming too hard?
 
guntech said:
Where do you come up with this?
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Actually, I got this info from a good friend who has been a full time gunsmith since 1979.

HE got the info from his instructors when he did the gunsmithing course at the Colorado School of Trades.

I've been working (part time) with him as a gunsmith since 1980. The Browning Auto 5 is one of my specialties, (for some reason there's LOTS of them in Nfld) and especially since I have 2 of them myself.

I only just put that suggestion out there as something for our friend to check as I've seen it cause misfeeds before with old, worn rings.

Just trying to help a fellow Gun Nut out; no need to get your panties in a knot.

I'll bet all your teachers used to put "Doesn't play well with others" on all your report cards.
 
highlander said:
Actually, I got this info from a good friend who has been a full time gunsmith since 1979.

HE got the info from his instructors when he did the gunsmithing course at the Colorado School of Trades.

I've been working (part time) with him as a gunsmith since 1980. The Browning Auto 5 is one of my specialties, (for some reason there's LOTS of them in Nfld) and especially since I have 2 of them myself.

I only just put that suggestion out there as something for our friend to check as I've seen it cause misfeeds before with old, worn rings.

Just trying to help a fellow Gun Nut out; no need to get your panties in a knot.

I'll bet all your teachers used to put "Doesn't play well with others" on all your report cards.
Click to expand...

My comment (some what frustration) was due to many incorrect postings by various people on subjects they actually know little of... not just this thread but many others... probably all made in good faith but lacking knowledge...

I asked, 'Where do you come up with this?'.. and you have answered... don't get your panties in a knot either...

That information is not what was taught at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado in 1966-67 and it has not been my experience in gunsmithing since then. If the 'splits' line up or not doesn't affect the friction very much...

The bronze friction piece and the friction spring that fits over it hold it on the tube but the friction developed is when one end of the bronze piece is 'squeezed' by the bevel in the barrel, and the other end of the bronze piece is 'squeezed' by the bevel in the friction ring (if it is set for heavy loads)

A well lubed tube is usually a cause of no problems. I don't know how you would wear out a friction ring.
 
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Lol I said check the rings with a disclaimer and still got jumped on. Should have said circle instead of o. Did not mention gas anywhere in my post. (Off to the corner I go) bad poster.
 
radmacks said:
I have read and heard that the only thing that can go wrong with a browning A5 is there is an o ring that seals. If the o ring wears out then gas leaks and doesn't cycle properly. Also the rings can be changed for different loads so its possible someone changed the rings to fire 3" loads. I'm by no means an expert of any kind, just passing on info that was passed on to me. Start with those rings
Click to expand...

radmacks said:
Lol I said check the rings with a disclaimer and still got jumped on. Should have said circle instead of o. Did not mention gas anywhere in my post. (Off to the corner I go) bad poster.
Click to expand...

For the record, you did mention O-rings leaking gas. An O-ring, a Friction ring, and a "circle" ring are three very different things. Regardless of what you were trying to say, what your actually wrote was wrong. However, you got the "check the rings" part right, so that's a start.
 
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