Humpback sighting: The classic Browning Auto 5 shotgun (VIDEO)

John Moses Browning’s A-5 shotgun dates back to the administration of President Roosevelt (Teddy, not Franklin) and Hickok45 got his hands on one.

Designed in the tail-end of the 19th Century, the Auto-5 went into production around 1902 and was the first successful semi-auto shotgun put on the market. It was also one of the longest surviving guns, only ending production in 1998 — 100 years after Browning’s first patent on the action– though they were made across three continents.

Hick’s particular model is a 1972 Belgian-made example, specifically a “Buck Special” with a short 21-inch barrel and adjustable sights. Production of that variant shifted to Miroku in Japan in 1976 and ended in the early 1980s.

A new version of the A5, using a Kinematic Drive action, has been marketed by Browning in recent years, but it just isn’t the “old” A5.

Read More On:

Latest Reviews

revolver barrel loading graphic

Loading