I got my dad's Belgium A-5 20 ga. from his house the other day. He has had this gun before I was born, but I've never seen him shoot it. Total, it's probably had two boxes of shells through it ever. Sitting so long I was going to take it apart and clean it before I took it out to shoot. Problem #1 was finding a dang screwdriver to fit it. Got that taken care of and then problem # 2 was that all of the screws were stuck. I got all of the lock screws and all but 1 tang screw out. However, the last screw will not budge. It is the rear screw just before the stock. Is there anything I can put on it to help it unseize, but not affect the gun. I have the stock off and I've tried spraying it in gun oil and sit to no avail.

Unless you are a gunsmith or have gunsmith like skills you need to stop what you are doing and take it to a gunsmith. Judging by you not having correct screwdrivers you should likely stop while you are ahead.

you might try soaking it with Kroil oil, it should not harm any bluing. I buy my Kroil direct online, not sure where to find it in a local sense.

Also, be sure to use a hollow ground screwdriver so you don't bugger up the screw.

Agree with CS78, this is where a smithie who knows A5's is well worth the money.

Don't get me wrong; I'd love to take down an A5, but I question how much I'd want to put it back together. I'm further concerned about the parts I would assuredly have left over!

I'll check out the Kroil. I figured I would end up taking it in, but wanted to check and try one or two things first. And no I'm not a gunsmith, but I did do my research before hand and bought the correct screwdrivers before touching the gun. I should have clarified that I didn't just start trying till I found one that fit. The problem was finding somebody with some in stock. A few local shops didn't have them but, "I may have one that should work". So at least I know I at least have not messed up the screws. And Rob, I thought about that before hand, but I found a detailed 25 page pdf on disassembly and after reading it a few times I thought what the hell, lets give it a try. Guess lesson learned.

Man...this is one area where I really love having modern shotguns...especially the new version of that one. :P

Id take it to a smith if I were you.

Otherwise, squirt some oil where you can and use it like it is.

If all the screws are stuck, then it's going to be nothing but trouble. You should let me buy it off you.

I love old A5's and I am honestly looking for a light 20 (but if I were you I wouldn't let it out of your family). Yes, you'd definitely want to take it to a gunsmith before you bugger it up. You could also get him to show you how to properly disassemble/reassemble it (and make sure you are comfortable with the magazine spring/spacers positioning).

If it only had a couple of boxes of shells through it, why are you taking it apart? You're creating unnecessary wear and tear on the gun. Besides giving it a wipe down, checking the action to see if it cycles, and possibly oiling wear points in the action, the most you should have done was take the barrel and fore-end off.

I took several well used 1920's era A5 completely down, and that was only because of worn/broken parts and 90 years of dirt and grime in them. If it hasn't been used and isn't broken, don't take it apart. Guns of that era were designed to be robust and not need disassembly. I ordered a special A5 screwdriver "thin" bit set from Brownells BTW.


[This message has been edited by Log (edited 3/12/2014 11:31a).]

If it's been sitting for 50+ years, it could also be full of rust - who knows all the conditions it's been kept under in that time inside/outside/ac on or off ...

I'd take it apart if it were me. One time to give it a good once over isn't going to wear anything out unless he buggers something up.

Use LW penetrator oil and let it soak over night.

I agree with others about taking it to a good gunsmith. I've disassembled several A5"s and sometimes have had this same problem. The screws with the very narrow slots are sometimes brittle. Those small screws that hold the carrier latch can be a pain in the neck also. Depending on how old it is the carrier latch may have a pin holding it in and you can run a long (maybe 1")3-56 screw down into it and remove that way. Let us know what you do.

So NETAG, What did you do and what were the results?