Looking at the current Browning A5, most firearm enthusiasts would think, “Auto-5, 1903, John Moses Browning”. Actually, the only thing the current A5 has in common with the Auto-5 is the general shape of the hump back receiver. The A5 design began with a 2006 collaboration between Browning’s R&D group in Herstal, Belgium and Browning’s U.S. design team in Morgan, Utah.
The Belgium team provided the core firearm design. The U.S. team provided American market design nuance. Together, they found a way to incorporate modern design, and improved materials and manufacturing technology, while retaining the classic look and feel of the Auto-5.
The last Auto-5 was produced in 1999, as the Auto-5 Final Tribute Limited Edition. The dehyphenated A5 was announced in September 2011, the 3.5″ Magnum version of the A5 at the 2013 Shot Show. There are currently 7 models from walnut stocked Hunter and synthetic stocked Stalker, right on up to the A5 Ultimate with its Grade III walnut stock and engraved receiver. Pictured left, the Hunter model.
For folks familiar with the early Auto-5, the A5 receiver is quite different. Gone are the carrier assembly and locking screws from both sides of the receiver. Two pins still locate the trigger group and the carrier latch button and safety cross bolt are in approximately the same location. The magazine cutoff is gone, replaced by simpler mechanical function. The A5’s aircraft aluminum receiver is thicker at the bottom and sides than the original steel piece. However, while stronger, the A5’s weight is substantially less than the early Auto-5; 6 lbs 13 oz compared to 9 lbs. The A5 has a very clean, elegant form. A few of the A5’s features…
Embrace your inner… humpback
Browning calls it a Humpback Acquisition Advantage… or H Double A as I prefer, is some pretty fancy creative marketing, but the representation happens to be true. The A5’s straight receiver top line adds 8″ to the length of the shotgun’s overall sight plane, making target acquisition and tracking faster.
Speed Load Plus
Speed Load – Safety on, the bolt latch located forward of the trigger guard is pulled rearward, which causes the bolt to remain open when pulled back with the operating handle. The first round loaded into the gun’s magazine is automatically fed into the shotgun’s chamber and the bolt closes. Additional shells are loaded normally.
Speed Unload – Safety on, the operating handle is pulled back, the chambered shell is ejected and one is not fed from the magazine when the bolt closes. Reaching into the magazine well and depressing the shell stop empties the gun’s magazine, one shell at a time, without cycling the bolt.
Turnkey Magazine Plus
Federal migratory bird laws set a firearm limit of a three shots; 2 in the magazine and 1 in the gun’s chamber. All other hunting applications, in states that don’t violate the U.S. Constitution, firearms may have greater capacity. As it is common for a shotgun to be used for many purposes, it is common to have a magazine plug that limits capacity only when necessary.
The A5 has this accommodation and a very easy approach to changing back and forth to meet requirements. The magazine cap is unscrewed and a key or common screw driver is inserted into the slot and turned a quarter turn to lock in place, or free and remove the plug.
Kinematic Drive™ System
The current Browning A5 utilizes a Kinematic Drive™ short recoil operating system. Compared to the earlier Auto-5’s long recoil operating system, there are fewer assemblies in motion, there are no friction rings to tinker with to accommodate various types of ammunition and no sprung assembly hiding inside the A5’s forearm. Unlike guns that are gas operated, there is no accumulation of powder residue under the forearm or gas ports to keep clean. A lot of interesting and well proven principals at work with the current A5 system as underscored by the shotgun’s 100,000 round five year warrantee.
The Kinematic Drive™ system… On discharge, the gun drives rearward under recoil with the 4 lug bolt locked up in the gun’s barrel extension. The mass of the A5’s slide remains at rest, causing a recoil spring within the slide assembly to compress; the recoil spring is trapped between the rearward moving gun and the slide body that is standing still. As recoil energy and velocity subside, and the shot column clears the muzzle and bore pressure drops, the spring’s stored energy drives the slide body back, unlocking the bolt from the gun’s barrel extension and cycling the action. The design is said to reduce unlocking stroke by 40%,which interprets into 8% t0 10% faster cycling.
Invector DS chokes and back bored barrel
Browning puts a lot into the A5’s barrel and choke system. The barrel is backbored to a balanced degree; large enough to reduce shot deformation at the forcing cone and to reduce shot cup friction for increased shot velocity, but not so large as to allow gases to slip past the shot cup and disrupt shot patterns and reduce velocity.
The A5 utilizes the Invector DS (double seal) choke system. Threaded at the front and brass sealed at the base to prevent gases and residue to get between the choke and barrel, they stay put, but are easy to remove even after extensive shooting.
Browning represents the Invector DS system as having more uniform and distinctive increments of pattern change from one choke to the next. The A5 Hunter comes with three chokes – Full lead, Improved Cylinder steel and Improved Modified steel, a choke tool and a carry case. There are 13 DS and Extended DS choke tubes available.
I touched on a few of the A5’s leading features, but there are actually many more, all covered in great detail in text, interactive graphic and in video form on the Browning web site. Lots of interesting material in forms that won’t put you to sleep… as I may have already done.
How does it shoot?
I walked out back to the range with the A5 in my hand and maybe a dozen assorted types of 2 3/4″ and 3″ ammo. Fifteen minutes later I went back to the shop and picked up three boxes of Remington Gun Club Target Loads. Between the tight radius of the pistol grip, the straight line of the receiver and the 1/4″ ventilated rib, it is an easy gun to shoot. Buck shot, bird shot, hunting or target loads, the A5 cycles reliably.
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The A5 looks larger than it feels. It is fast pointing and fast tracking. The narrow forearm makes it easy to get a good natural grasp and it is comfortable. Recoil feels like shooting… a 12 gauge. I know recoil actuated guns are suppose to kick harder than gas guns, but this one doesn’t. Perhaps my shoulder isn’t shotgun savvy enough to notice the difference. Could be the A5’s Inflex Technology II recoil pad does a good job absorbing recoil and directing the comb down and away from the shooter’s face.
I can appreciate Browning’s promotional and informational presentations of the A5; very modern for the contemporary hunter. For me, a quite different demographic, the A5 has the look of a firearm that has been with me since childhood. I like the ties the shotgun and Browning have to history. A different time in this country when innovation and individuality was applauded and respected, when John Browning represented the epitome of the inventive mind. The A5 does an excellent job of evoking senses of nostalgia and sentimentality with a thoroughly modern firearm.
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