Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters A5 with no engraving in 16

A few years back, I picked up a 16 gauge A5 with no engraving at all. The receiver is just plain. It does have invector chokes so I am assuming a early 80's gun.
It also has sling swivel mounts that I was told was original.

any information would be great.
Was it made for a non US market maybe?

Pics?

I'll grab a few later this evening.

No idea although I agree the use of Invector chokes says something. I'd start by looking for barrel markings that might show foreign proof or US import markings. Browning will factory letter for circa $40.

My LGS last week had 2 old A5 12gages, one was engraved, the other was blank, I thought it odd, the engraved one was 50 bucks more. Both had ploy chocks on them, wish one would have been a 16 gage.

Okay, I can’t post the pics……..I’m a circa 1964 and can’t figure it out.

The only markings aside the standard stuff on the barrel is NP

Proofmarks will tell the story.

BTW they were roll stamped not engraved.

Does it have what looks like coarse bead blasted receiver top?. Mb

Yea, but engraved always sounds better! LOL

It does not.

I don't remember the dates off hand but the Grade 1 Auto 5 had a plain receiver. I believe it was an attempt to produce a less expensive gun during the Depression with the model being restarted after WWII. I've owned them in both preWWII and post WWII models. If the Invector choke is factory, then it is an aftermarket barrel as I believe the plain receivers were phased out by the 1960s at the very latest.

One can go to the Browning website and get the year of manufacture there through the serial number. If the receiver dates prior to 1985? then the barrel is definitely a replacement.

I believe the Buck Special came with sling swivels but I don't recall any others so fitted. Maybe the Magnum but that would have been in 12 or 20 ga. The Buck Special had a shorter barrel with rifle sights which would fit with the barrel being added later. If that is the case, it's a shame you don't have that barrel as the 16 ga Buck Special is/was a highly sought version.

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Does look newer vintaged like a Japanese one. The limited run of invectored sweet 16's was in 88 or 89 but they all had std engraving. Is that gun checkered?..mb

it is.
The more I consider it the more I thinks it’s an older receiver with a new barrel

The serial number is different as well.

FN
XXXXXX

My others are pretty standard stuff.

It appears to look a bit like an older Remington 11, I do not know if the barrels would fit. The polishing and shine do not match the Miroku offerings, but this looks like the same level as Remington. If the serial number is as you say, and I have no reason to doubt you, then my thinking is that this piece was extensively refinished. See how the screw heads don't match the receiver?

Once a guy has a Belgian Browning and a Miroku in his hands, he can tell the difference in the two. The Miroku is built more stoutly, less lively in the hand. Are there engravings on the tang or trigger guard? Anyplace at all? The barrel is clearly a late model Miroku Invector. But it doesn't appear original to the receiver at all.

Can't judge age from the barrel as it's most likely a replacement if it has tubes. Can be Japanese Browning or Hastings.

If the barrel is a Japanese Browning barrel shouldn't it say "Made in Japan" somewhere? My Auto Five is a Belgian 1967 20 gauge and the comment about the difference between the Belgian guns and the Japanese guns is real. At least in my mind.

Most definitely an Auto-5, it has the magazine cut off switch. Remington M-11s did not have them nor did Savage Model 720/775. The "American" Auto 5 produced by Remington throughmost of the 1940s for Browning did have the cut off but it was a conglomeration of the Auto 5 and Model 11 with a few unique parts. Barrels and stocks were not interchangeable between the Browning and the Remington except for the "American" models. There, the M-11 barrels and stocks interchanged.

The screws appear proper, they are not flush to the receiver. I can't pull the pictures up on my ancient iPad and my phone won't let me zoom in but the screws do not appear to be buggered up by someone trying to remove them for refinish or repair. though at one time there were a few good gunsmiths that could do more than push out AR pins and someone who does hot bluing would likely be capable.

The bluing on the Auto 5 was much more luxurious and deeper than the Remingtons of the same eras by far. The wood on the Auto 5 was far nicer as was the finish. There is no mistaking one for the other. There was a reason the Browning sold for a far higher cost and it wasn't just tariffs.

The bluing in the pictures is not new but the lighting makes it difficult to get a good feel for it. I'd guess it has been reblued but not recently. It does not appear to be very close to the barrel which is deeper. My early 60's Auto 5 is a much closer match to the 1980s Invector barrel I also have than what appears in the pictures. In different lighting my opinion could change. The wood seems to have the Browning sheen at some angles but in other pictures it and the checkering and wood makes me think it is of much more recent issue.

Magazine cap appears to be non-original as it should be flat across the top, even if factory swivels. If it is steel, then probably an Uncle Mike's, if some other material it is anyone's guess.

I would agree with others and not be surprised in the least that this gun has been extensively refinished at or along some points in time. In my view the changes would negatively affect the collector value but increase its value and suitability as a gun to be used. I've done similar with firearms over the years.

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The OPs pictures