why did they quit making it?

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I'd rather be lucky than good.

Cost.

so they sold it for almost 100 years and they all of sudden quit making money?

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I'd rather be lucky than good.

Cost was certainly part of the problem as they were not cheap to build. However, a team of monkeys could assemble a Benelli and they sell for $1000-$1500. The bigger problem with the A5 was that the market no longer wanted it. As much as I love the A5, the design was outdated. Gas autoloaders became nearly as reliable as the A5 with less felt recoil. New gas and “inertia” autos could cycle a variety of loads without adjustment. Furthermore, the market decided that a 3” shell was no longer capable of killing a duck; modern ducks require a 3.5” shell. They’re heavy. Finally, if you’re not used to a moving barrel on a shotgun, shooting an A5 feels awkward. Combine all this with the fact that Browning had been trying (unsuccessfully) to kill it off for years (for many reasons) and it was finally put out to pasture.

Having said all that I absolutely love them, will always own several, and they will flat out fold up whatever you shoot with them. Everyone should experience the bank-vault-like closing of an A5 bolt once in their life. If you own one your kid will pass it down to their grandkid.

When God, Jesus, Ronald Reagan, and John Wayne all go duck hunting in heaven IHIOGA they all grab Sweet Sixteens with a handful of Winchester #5 lead shells.

The basic design of the A5 is now incorporated into the Remington 1100. Browning originally wanted Remington to build the gun but they refused or turned it down. The details of the guns history can all be found on wikipedia. (Sorry I've had a few beers and don't feel like looking it up).

I think the fundamental flaw was the ease of breakdown. The 1100 can be more easily take apart by pulling out the thumb handle on the bolt which ultimately allows the bolt to slip out. The A5 requires a lot more knowledge to completely remove the bolt to give a complete cleaning. I think that this ultimately led to the 1100's overtaking the A5 as the most popular selling autoloading shotgun in the US.

Look up the wikipedia article for details.

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The basic design of the A5 is now incorporated into the Remington 1100.

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Kenneth, I think you've had more then a few beers and have your model numbers confused. About the only thing that the A5 and the 1100 have in common is that they're both auto-loading shotguns. The A5 is long recoil operated while the 1100 is gas operated. They couldn’t be more opposite. However, for a brief time during the 30s and 40s Remington did produce the Remington Model 11 which is an exact copy of the A5.
Remington Model 11 on Gunbroker

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I think the fundamental flaw was the ease of breakdown.

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While this is certainly a pain the beauty of the design is that it rarely (if ever) had to be completely stripped (unless of course you drop it in a pile of sand Grrrrrhhhh). My Grandfather’s 1955 Light 12 has never been taken apart and it still runs like new today. I think the 1100 overtook the A5 in popularity because 1) it’s a softer shooter and 2) it was less expensive. It was also helped by the fact that it didn’t have a hump.

Indeed, you're right I was thinking about the Model 11. The head is much clearer this morning.

Which automatic remington DOESNT have the problems with o-rings or whatever? I remember one being problematic and one being better...or maybe not.

I love my A-5. it's by far my favorite shotgun.

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Which automatic remington DOESNT have the problems with o-rings or whatever? I remember one being problematic and one being better...or maybe not.

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The 1100 had a problem with o-rings in that when they get worn the gun starts having cycling problems. However, if you replace them regularly the gun cycles pretty well. I don't know if the new 1100s still have this problem but the older ones certainly did.

The 11-87, at least when it first came out, had cycling problems because it was set up to shoot heavy shells and had trouble with lighter shells. I'm not sure if the newer ones have this problem or not.

As with the the A5 Remington has been trying to kill the 1100 for a while but hasn't been successful. They killed it when they brought out the 11-87 but then like Lazarus it rose from the dead. I'm sure they thought they would finally kill it off for good with the much hyped 105 CTi but that thing seems to have crashed before it got off the ground. Like the A5 the 1100/1187 design is getting out-dated by the new self regulating gas systems.

[This message has been edited by WildcatAg (edited 12/31/2008 10:04a).]

can i get an old A5 with screw in chokes?

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can i get an old A5 with screw in chokes?

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Yes, but it depends on your definition of "old"

Browning started offering A5s with choke tubes in the mid 80s. First with Invector tubes and then for a few years in the late 90s with Invector+ tubes. These barrels are steel/hevi-shot safe.

Fixed choke Japanese A5s are steel shot approved, provided their choke is no tighter then Modified. If you have a fixed choke Japanese barrel you can have Briley install either Invector, Invector+, or Briley thin walled choke tubes in the barrel. I had this done on a Japanese Buck Special slug barrel so that I could use it for turkey hunting. With this system you can still shoot stee/hevi-shot.

On the older (<~1976) Belgian made barrels, Browning recommends that steel shot not be used in any barrel for two reasons. The first is that Belgian barrels are thinner then the Japanese barrels are know to form a bulge at the end of the barrel after shooting steel shot, particularly through a tight choke. This bulge is purely a cosmetic problem (unless of course is screws up the rib). However, some people run steel shot through Belgian barrels for years without a problem. The second reason is that the Belgian barrels are softer then Japanese barrels so steel shot will scour the barrel over time.

Briley can install their thin wall choke tubes on Browning Belgian barrels but the barrel still won’t be steel/hevi shot approved. I would recommend against this because it will change the handling characteristics of the gun. The advantage the Belgian guns have over the newer Japanese guns is their handling. Their thinner barrels/forearms balance better. Adding chokes tubes to the end of the barrel will change the balance of the gun.

If you have a Belgian A5 and you want a different choke for either a different pattern or because you need to shoot nontox you have a couple options:

1) Buy a Japanese Invector/Invector+ barrel. Assuming your A5 is made after about 1935 you can put the Japanese barrel on a Belgian gun without any problems. You will probably have to do some sanding on the forearm to prevent rubbing. These barrels are expensive. Midwest gunworks sells “new” Browning A5 Invector + barrels for ~$450.

2) Have Briley install their thin walled choke tube system. As noted above this changes the balance of the gun and still doesn’t let you shoot steel shot.

3) Buy a fixed choke barrel of the construction you want. Depending upon the manufacture you may/may not be able to use nontox.

4) If you’re wanting to shoot nontox through a Belgian barrel pick up some Hevi-Shot classic doubles or Bismuth shells. They’re by no definition cheap but they’re probably less expensive then the other options above.

wildcat do you know anyone that refurbishes remington 11s. about 2 decades ago, my uncle gave me my grandfather's old 11. it was truly a working gun. finish is worn off and stock is cracked. i have never shot it, but i have kept it oiled and wraped since i got it.

**Need new Spring for Belg. 16 A5**

Smith says I could deal with a new spring...My dad just gave his A5 to my son for Christmas. It was my grampa's sweet 16...It will jam now under heavy and fast fire from time to time...The spring.

Anyone know of a good A5 parts seller or where I could find a spring??

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wildcat do you know anyone that refurbishes remington 11s. about 2 decades ago, my uncle gave me my grandfather's old 11. it was truly a working gun. finish is worn off and stock is cracked. i have never shot it, but i have kept it oiled and wraped since i got it.

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herbie, I know of a couple places/people that do work/restoration work on Brownings. I don't see why they wouldn't work on a Remington 11 since they're pretty similiar.

Midwest Gun Works is one of Brownings US service centers. They can do both metal/stock work.

Briley down in Houston is also a Browning Service Center. They can do both metal/stock work. I had them do some work for me and was very happy with the result.

Art's Gun Shop is a pretty well know Browning Gunsmith. They do both metal/stock work.

Finally, there's a guy that posts over at shotgunworld who's handle is Jeff Mull. His hobby is stock repair/refinish and he's done quit a bit of work for the folks on that board. He seems to really know his stuff and is a friendly guy. At some point in the future I want him to refinish one of my stocks. He only does stocks, no metal work.

One thing to keep in mind is how much your willing to spend. The Model 11s haven't got real valuable yet so, depending upon what you want to do, you could spend more money on the gun then its market value.

Depending upon how much you need done a local gunsmith might also be able to do the work. One thing I'm not sure of is if an A5 stock will fit on a Model 11. You might do some reading/posting over on the Browning section at shotgunworld. There's some real Browning experts over there that could probably give you much better answers then I could.

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Anyone know of a good A5 parts seller or where I could find a spring??

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Midwest Gun Works sells factory rebuild kits for Brownings that contain all the springs for an A5. The Sweet Sixteen rebuild kit is $65. You also might check [url]www.gunbroker.com.

[This message has been edited by WildcatAg (edited 12/31/2008 1:20p).]

wildcat...you da man....thanks, and the boy thanks you as well.

texag_89, glad I could be of help. I bet your son will treasure that gun (if he doesn't you should spank him). I'm not sure where your at but the B/CS Academy has real good prices on 16 gauge shells right now. Remington & Federals for ~$7/box.

thanks wildcat

Are you kidding me wildcat...He absolutely LOVES it...he has been slaughtering doves for 2 seasons with it on loan, so he was so proud and happy when he got it Christmas (and, Dad was a little jealous)

His great grandpa would have liked it as well...Just need to keep it maintained and shooting as it is a sweet shooting rig...hence the sweet sixteen designation in my mind.

That's awesome!

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Just need to keep it maintained and shooting as it is a sweet shooting rig

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Here's a good article by Randy Wakeman about keeping A5s running.