Classic Auto Five

1963beretta said:
That looks like the manual from later models made in Japan. Belgian made A5’s did not have choke tubes in the sixties
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It's listed under historic. But I have found a sh!tload of evidence that steel is a no-no. It's a grouse/partridge gun for me so it's really no biggie. I'll probably look for a Jap barrel. They are supposed to interchange, or is that another myth?
 
The A-5 was discontinued in 1990 and steel shot never became federally mandated for all states in the US until the 1991 waterfowl season and 1998 season in Canada.
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Big negatory my friend. I personally have a 1991 Auto 5. They were produced untill 1998, but by 1998 they were considerd "old" news as many new auto's with self regulating gas system were already out.

Kinduv like Browning SA-22, still made but.... meh. I bought the new Ruger 10/22 takedown Lite. Same thing...$800 for both. Im sure when they stop making sa-22 ONLY then i will want one.
 
I have a fixed modified choke barrel for my auto 5. Guy who I got it from said he used it alot...I'm not sure if its a belgian or japanese barrel....if it was a belgian barrel with a shorter forcing cone , is it still safe to use with steel shot?
 
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That Auto 5 is one the the most reliable shotguns I've ever owned. Depending on where you live it's not hard to find a Smith to install chokes if youd like to shoot steel. I have a 1969 mag 12, installed a Hastings barrel with chokes-shoots like a dream and ALWAYS goes boom. Yes there are a lot of parts, but it's kinda fun to learn about the history of shotguns through an original JMB design.
OP mentioned steel shot so I guess waterfowl is on the menu, but another poster mentioned the time required to adjust the rings to shoot heavy vs light loads...if you get a mag 12 the "light" setting is for "ALL" steel shot. So unless this is will also be your deer/turkey gun as well, you really don't need to change them, and even if you do, it likely won't be out in the field. One item with the mag 12 is that even on the light setting it will not eject target loads, so if you're shooting trap that's not a bad thing as your shells don't go flying all over the place, but not good if your shooting multiple target loads like sporting clays.
Overall it's a great gun, will last longer than you, and can be had a the price of a entry level new shotgun.
 
Belgian made Auto 5 shotguns are not recommended for steel shot, ever. The barrels have a habit of bulging at the choke constriction. Your gun, your choice.
They are however, perfectly satisfactory for shooting lead or other soft non-toxic shot.

My thoughts on the Auto 5 - They were a great autoloader for their day. They worked utterly reliably for those who took the time to understand the friction ring system. If you need a modern autoloader, why not a Browning Gold or Silver ? If you are not a Browning lover, there are lots of other self-compensating semi-auto systems out there.

Auto 5 shotguns are pretty darn homely to look at. I could break clays reliably with the late 50s Belgian Auto 5 that belonged to my Father-in-law, so it obviously fit pretty well. When I inherited the gun, after a period of nostalgia, someone else got to own it.
 
I always thought it was just an issue with the full choke..I didn't know the forcing cone was an issue for steel.
I personally live the "KACHUNG" sound the auto 5 makes.
 
GOUMFACH said:
I always thought it was just an issue with the full choke..I didn't know the forcing cone was an issue for steel.
I personally live the "KACHUNG" sound the auto 5 makes.
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The steel Belgian Auto 5 barrels was made with was very good, strong steel. To read a lot of forum info you would think they were made of soft cast easter bunny chocolate. The real concern for these barrels used with steel shot is the bore constriction (tight) and the even tighter choke constriction (especially full). Browning's advice a while back was that barrels may expand with a slight ring at the start of the choke but to quote Browning " will be cosmetic in nature not having any effect on the safety of the barrel". Now it appears Browning's legal beagles have pulled that bit of info from their site. Likely just a "cover our butts" situation more than any change in barrel strength. Belgian Auto 5 barrels stand up to steel use very well. It helps to have the choke opened to MOD or less to prevent the "slight ring" at the choke. Last fall I ran two boxes of Expert 3" #2 and #3 steel through a 32" FULL choked Auto 5 with no issues visibly or otherwise. Here is where I get cautious. Using the various "hyper" loads with shot larger than #2 in a Full choked Belgian Auto 5 barrel (or any fixed FULL) is likely not a great idea. The combination of 1600 fps plus and large shot i.e. BBB would likely have an affect over time. As for the forcing cone, modern steel loads (1970's era) in the good wads at reasonable velocity have no effect but to increase recoil slightly. This info came from shotgun guru Bob Brister and he made that statement in the early 1970's long before the quality and technology of modern (for us) steel loads was available. To sum up I would shoot @1550 fps or less numbered steel shot in my Belgian Auto 5 choked FULL any day but would prefer to open the choke just to have a more usable pattern. These are my observations based on research and actual field use. YMMV.

Darryl
 
Ilove12gshotguns said:
Big negatory my friend. I personally have a 1991 Auto 5. They were produced untill 1998, but by 1998 they were considerd "old" news as many new auto's with self regulating gas system were already out.

Kinduv like Browning SA-22, still made but.... meh. I bought the new Ruger 10/22 takedown Lite. Same thing...$800 for both. Im sure when they stop making sa-22 ONLY then i will want one.
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Then I stand corrected, I thought it was 1990.
 
salarguy said:
From my 1968 Magnum 20 archived manual from the Browning What am I supposed to believe? Note figure 10 in the friction ring set up.

http://www.browning.com/content/dam/browning/support/owners-manuals/auto5-mag-2up-s.pdf
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You are looking at a late model Japanese manufactured A-5 with invector choked barrel manual, not a manual from 1968. Just look at page 9 at the choke descriptions and pictures. Steel shot was not around in 1968 so why would it list steel shot?(page 4 ammunition section). Look at page 14 where it says do not use 3 1/2” ammunition in chamber less than 3 1/2”. 12 gauge 3 1/2” ammunition was not even brought out until the late 80’s and the first gun introduced to shoot 3.5” was the Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag.
 
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madtrapper143 said:
The steel Belgian Auto 5 barrels was made with was very good, strong steel. To read a lot of forum info you would think they were made of soft cast easter bunny chocolate. The real concern for these barrels used with steel shot is the bore constriction (tight) and the even tighter choke constriction (especially full). Browning's advice a while back was that barrels may expand with a slight ring at the start of the choke but to quote Browning " will be cosmetic in nature not having any effect on the safety of the barrel". Now it appears Browning's legal beagles have pulled that bit of info from their site. Likely just a "cover our butts" situation more than any change in barrel strength. Belgian Auto 5 barrels stand up to steel use very well. It helps to have the choke opened to MOD or less to prevent the "slight ring" at the choke. Last fall I ran two boxes of Expert 3" #2 and #3 steel through a 32" FULL choked Auto 5 with no issues visibly or otherwise. Here is where I get cautious. Using the various "hyper" loads with shot larger than #2 in a Full choked Belgian Auto 5 barrel (or any fixed FULL) is likely not a great idea. The combination of 1600 fps plus and large shot i.e. BBB would likely have an affect over time. As for the forcing cone, modern steel loads (1970's era) in the good wads at reasonable velocity have no effect but to increase recoil slightly. This info came from shotgun guru Bob Brister and he made that statement in the early 1970's long before the quality and technology of modern (for us) steel loads was available. To sum up I would shoot @1550 fps or less numbered steel shot in my Belgian Auto 5 choked FULL any day but would prefer to open the choke just to have a more usable pattern. These are my observations based on research and actual field use. YMMV.

Darryl
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I think if you do a little more digging it was a bit more than that. Some of those bells later cracked and split the barrels. My buds in pei belled first then split about 1" down on the end. Mind you it was a factory full choke barrel
Cheers
 
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saskbooknut said:
Belgian made Auto 5 shotguns are not recommended for steel shot, ever. The barrels have a habit of bulging at the choke constriction. Your gun, your choice.
They are however, perfectly satisfactory for shooting lead or other soft non-toxic shot.

My thoughts on the Auto 5 - They were a great autoloader for their day. They worked utterly reliably for those who took the time to understand the friction ring system. If you need a modern autoloader, why not a Browning Gold or Silver ? If you are not a Browning lover, there are lots of other self-compensating semi-auto systems out there.



Auto 5 shotguns are pretty darn homely to look at. I could break clays reliably with the late 50s Belgian Auto 5 that belonged to my Father-in-law, so it obviously fit pretty well. When I inherited the gun, after a period of nostalgia, someone else got to own it.
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Agree 100% But seriously to me one cannot even say browning gold in the same line as a vintage A5
The gold is a modern day superx1 which was the best semi ever produced and those that have owned both know where I am coming from
A vintage A5 will never be at that level. I have no idea what the new A5 are like
LOL love my golds all four of them which will die with me as well as my remaining superx1's :)
Just too bad winchester didnot make a superx1 3" back in the day. :(
Cheers
 
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