Browning Auto-5
Remington Model 11/Browning Auto-5 | |
---|---|
20 gauge | |
Action | Semi-automatic |
Feed system | Two or four round tubular magazine, plus 1 in the chamber |
The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a
History
The Browning Auto-5 was the first mass-produced semi-automatic shotgun. Designed by John Browning in 1898 and
Production
John Browning presented his design (which he called his best achievement)[4] to Winchester, where he had sold most of his previous designs. When Winchester refused his terms, Browning went to Remington. However, the president of Remington died of a heart attack as Browning waited to offer them the gun. This forced Browning to look overseas to produce the shotgun. It was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) of Belgium, a company that had already produced Browning-designed pistols, starting in 1902. Browning would later license the design to Remington, which produced it as their Model 11 (1905–1947). The Remington Model 11 was the first auto-loading shotgun made in the United States. Savage Arms also licensed[dubious ] the design from Browning and produced it as their model 720 from 1930 to 1949, and their model 745 with an alloy receiver and two-shot magazine from 1941 to 1949. Browning's long-recoil operated design itself served as the operating system for subsequent Remington (11-48), Savage (755, 775) and Franchi (AL-48) models.[4]
Production of the Auto-5 in Belgium continued until the start of
In 2014,
Design details
The Browning Auto-5 is a long-recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun. Shells are stored in a tubular magazine under the barrel. When a chambered shell is fired, the barrel and bolt recoil together (for a distance greater than the shell length) and re-cock the hammer. As the barrel returns forward to its initial position the bolt remains behind and thus the spent shell is ejected through a port on the right-hand side of the receiver. Then the bolt returns forward and feeds another shell from the magazine into the action. This type of long recoil action was the first of its kind and patented in 1900 by John Browning.
To load the gun, shells are fed into the bottom of the action, where they are pushed into the tubular magazine. Most A-5s have removable plugs in the magazine which prevent more than three shells from being loaded (two in the magazine, plus one in the chamber) to comply with U.S. federal migratory
The Auto-5 has a system of bevel rings and a friction piece or pieces, which retard the barrel's rearward travel. Setting these rings correctly is vital to good shotgun performance and to ensure a long life to the weapon, by controlling excessive recoil. The friction rings are set based on the type of load to be fired through the gun. Different settings are found in the owner's manual.[8][9]
There is a sixteen gauge variant with the name, "Sweet Sixteen". This model is no longer in production.
Users
- British Empire[1]
- Cuba[10]
- Kingdom of Italy
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Philippines[11]
- Rhodesia[12]
- Russian Empire - at least several shotguns were imported from Belgium and sold before the outbreak of the First World War[13]
- United States
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1780960142.
- ISBN 1-919874-32-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4075-1607-3.
- ^ ISBN 0873491564
- ISBN 0873644247.
- ^ Firearm Model History – Remington Model 11 Archived November 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Where are Browning firearms manufactured?". browning.com. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Browning -- Owners Manuals". Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
- ^ "Owners Manuals".
- ^ Jowett, Phillip, Latin American Wars 1900-1941: Osprey Publishing (2018)
- ISBN 978-1433061981.
- ISBN 978-1472809629.
- ^ Римантас Норейка. Самозарядное охотничье ружьё Browning Auto-5 - прощальное ревю // журнал "Калашников. Оружие, боеприпасы, снаряжение", № 6, 2003. стр.19-22