Help with info on this Browning

[viper3853]

Buddy of mine said this was his step dads and was thinking of getting it back into working conditions and cleaned up. No barrel, cut stock. 12 gauge shell didn't fit in magazine so maybe a 20 or 16? Anyone have any knowledge on what Model Variant this is?










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[Bullseye07]

Looks like an old sweet 16

[bullhead44]

Looks like an old sweet 16

that's what I was thinking. I have one that looks just like that, but mine has "sweet sixteen" engraved in it. I thought they all did. I may be wrong though

[poisonivie]

Looks like a Belgium gun

[viper3853]

anyone else got some info on this? those were all the markings I found on the gun.

[WyoBull]

"Made in Belgium" would have been stamped on the barrel as would the gauge.

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[Billy Bad Bass]

I believe Sweet Sixteens had a gold trigger. Still could be a 16 though.

[lovemylegacy]

I would say 16ga. Got one that looks exactly like that

[cajuntec]

It's more than likely a 16, based on where the forward screw on the shell-lock out mechanism is. Not a Sweet though, as pointed out previously, because of the lack of gold trigger and engravings. My searches turned up a year that I don't think is accurate, so I didn't want to post that up. It seems to be in horrible shape though. I wonder what the internals look like.
All the best,
Glenn

[Cajun Blake]

you have a post-war Browning A5 16 gauge

based on the serial number , this is an "X series" gun manufactured from 1947-1953 in Belgium

the pictured shotgun was made in 1951 , should have a 2 3/4" chamber

"sweet sixteen" was engraved on the receiver starting in 1948

[viper3853]

Thanks. Glenn, the gun isn't too bad. It looks like they cut the stock and put some kinda tape around the receiver. My best guess is electrical tape. I haven't taken it apart but internals don't look too bad. Just dirty and dusty. I'll def post pics and see what my buddy wants to do with it.

Thanks Blake, at least I have an idea of what to look for and go off of.


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[cajuntec]

you have a post-war Browning A5 16 gauge

based on the serial number , this is an "X series" gun manufactured from 1947-1953 in Belgium

the pictured shotgun was made in 1951 , should have a 2 3/4" chamber

"sweet sixteen" was engraved on the receiver starting in 1948

Blake,
Can you shoot me a link or info to your reference? I love collecting information on Browning Auto-5's, and you seem to have much better / more accurate info than I currently have. Thanks for posting.
All the best,
Glenn

[Cajun Blake]

Blake,
Can you shoot me a link or info to your reference? I love collecting information on Browning Auto-5's, and you seem to have much better / more accurate info than I currently have. Thanks for posting.
All the best,
Glenn

pm sent



op.... my suggestion

remove wood , stock and fore end .... good chance the FE is cracked as A5's were notorious for this

i'd place the entire recvr and metal parts in a ultrasonic cleaning tank with varsol

once oil and dirt is clean , dis-assemble entire action and repeat

you can find replacement wood fairly cheap, then have metal parts cerakoted matte black

they also offer black plastic replacement stock set ... stock and FE

[Ronnie41]

They also made a 16, not a sweet sixteen.

[viper3853]

Help with info on this Browning

Updating this thread, looks like it was my buddies father in laws gun.
He wanted to go ahead and get it back in working order and cleaned up. His father in law had an extensive gun collection and when he passed away the kids split them up. This one was left since it was incomplete and in ugly condition.
He opted to fix this one up to hunt with since they already have an immaculate Sweet Sixteen that he's reluctant to hunt with since its in perfect condition.

Tore down the gun and put in the ultrasonic cleaner. Cleaned them again and threw them back in. Looked like someone tried to take the screws out and didn't use the right bit for these guns and marred up the receiver. Internals cleaned up better than I thought.



Cleaned off the tape from the receiver and cleaned it up. Took some steel wool and Rem oil to clean it up and found some letters and some numbers on the upper part of the receiver that looked scratched in.

HAL 8/22/76


Turns out the FIL name was Hal and my buddy's wife was all on board to get this in working order.

Cleaned up the parts polished some internals oiled up and got it back together.






The gun looks better in person. It came out with a black chome look to it.

Gonna replace the stock with one from Boyd's, and keep my eye out for a good deal on a 16ga barrel.

Very interesting project with the story behind the gun and the name scratched in. I'll update as parts come in.



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