16ga.com Forum Index
Author Message
<  16ga. General Discussion  ~  New A5
JonP
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 7:58 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN

Never owned a semi auto except my Berretta for geese but I found the new A5 intriguing. Have seen several and I gotta say I don't see how Browning can be very proud of this one. The furniture on all of them was terrible. Slab cut blanks, smudge stained and spray lacquered. This is something i would expect on a $300 Mossberg not an $1800 Browning. My 1973 $269 20 gauge BSS has far better furniture than what I have seen. This should be an embarrassment for Browning. I don't expect fancy wood on a field grade gun...just a little QC.

I'm sure they function great...but so does a Remington.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
S.davis
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:26 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 14 Sep 2016
Posts: 68
Location: KC,MO

The wood on the ones I have seen has been comparable to the stocks on Remington V3s, Franchi Affinities and Bennelli Montefeltros think that’s just what entry level wood looks like now for the most part.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
byrdog
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:28 am  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Aug 2011
Posts: 1498
Location: the Moosehorn

Furniture does not refer to the stock. it is mechanical placement of lock parts.

_________________
ALWAYS wear the safety glasses

If you take Cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like Prunes than Rhubarb does ----G.M/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
kgb
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:03 pm  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1256
Location: Nebraska

..and I prefer iron to brass furniture most of the time.

_________________
Bore, n. Shotgun enthusiast's synonym for "gauge" ; everybody else's synonym for "shotgun enthusiast." - Ed Zern
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
1stgun
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:49 pm  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2010
Posts: 356
Location: Ponchatoula, Louisiana

All that previously having been said, mine seems to bring down the ducks as effectively as the Beretta 400 does.

Just my 2 cents,

Chuck

_________________
The reason I am awed by shotgun shooters is that most of them don’t know how in the hell they do what they do.
Charles F. Waterman,
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
William J. siefert
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 5:33 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Jul 2017
Posts: 39

I've handled only 3 of them. One at Cabelas, my brothers and the one I own. The stain was uniform on all three. The finish was the high gloss prevalent on guns in the 60s and 70s. Mine even has some figuring.

If you are looking for very high grade rubbed oil finishes, I suspect you'll be disappointed. If you'll take serviceable I doubt you'll have a problem with them.

Doesn't mean some aren't poorly finished. It just means I haven't seen one in that condition.

Bill
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
silverhawk
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:12 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Posts: 94

I have been cautious about sharing my opinion about the "New" Sweet Sixteen. I have read about various material/quality/function issues re the gun. I have handled and examined a few. All I can say is "I LOVE Old School firearms, particularly the Belgian Auto 5's"
I own or have owned Sweet Sixteens, Twenty's, Twenty Magnum, and Light Twelves. I still own a Japanese Auto 5. I would not exchange any of them for the new A5. But, honestly, I regard all vintage guns in higher regard than 9/10 firearms today.
The most I ever paid for any Sweet Sixteen or Auto 5 Belgium manufacture was $1050 for an Auto 5 Twenty in 100% condition. All of my guns were made at a time when human skills were still necessary and evident to produce the gun.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
studdog
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 5:24 am  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 472
Location: drummond island MI

I own a new Sweet 16 and an old vintage sweet. Both are beautiful and shoot great. The key difference is the lighter weight of the new model, 1 lb lighter. That's a lot in my book. I like the rounded grip of the vintage better as well as the oil stock finish. The action on the new is 2 inches longer than the vintage. I'm sure that's to accommodate many different shell lengths of other models. The shorter action on the vintage looks better IMO. I wish they had scaled down the action to the old length. As a field gun the new sweet is a delight to carry. I doubt that any competitors have smaller actions?

_________________
shoot quick but take your time!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
S.davis
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 5:29 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 14 Sep 2016
Posts: 68
Location: KC,MO

studdog wrote:
The action on the new is 2 inches longer than the vintage. I'm sure that's to accommodate many different shell lengths of other models.


I think it’s actually because it’s a completely different action, right?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
studdog
PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 5:44 am  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 472
Location: drummond island MI

Yes it is completely different. But, It didn't need to be that long to accommodate 23/4 inch shells. I suspect all the new A5 actions are the same length.

_________________
shoot quick but take your time!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
smashdn
PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:26 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 234
Location: KY

Not a 16 but I handled my buddies new A5 the other day in the blind. I did not care for the pistol grip one bit on it. It seemed "too perpendicular" to the barrel if that makes sense. It did not possess enough rearward cant and seemed uncomfortable in my hand. My preference though, others may find it perfect.

They need to have a rounded knob pistol grip to catch my interest.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
studdog
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:06 am  Reply with quote
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 472
Location: drummond island MI

I would prefer the POW like grip like my vintage sweet. I've carried my SXS Fox XE 16 and the new Sweet A5 in the field. The SXS is much easier to handle even though the weight is close. A5 is just chunkier.

_________________
shoot quick but take your time!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
pbr streetgang
PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 1:25 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Dec 2006
Posts: 90
Location: At the edge of a Florida marsh

I handled a light 12 and a new A5 today.....
And to be fair and disregarding my personal preferences,
They are different.
Literally different from stem to stern but it’s still a Browning A5.
Just like today’s Ford Mustang is different from a 1960’s mustang but in the end it’s still a Ford Mustang.

Do you follow?

To compare one to the other is not apples to apples.
Although they are slyly marketing it as such, it’s not.
I think a better comparison for the new A5 would be say to a Benelli but not to a JMB Auto 5 because there is nothing that compares to the original design.
By the way, who designed the new A5?
Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller?

_________________
Never get out of the boat unless you're willing to go all the way
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tselliott
PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 6:52 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Jul 2011
Posts: 38
Location: Missouri

The new sweet 16 is nothing but a Benelli with Brownings name on it.

_________________
T.S. Elliott
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
pbr streetgang
PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:17 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Dec 2006
Posts: 90
Location: At the edge of a Florida marsh

Pretty much

_________________
Never get out of the boat unless you're willing to go all the way
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
All times are GMT - 7 Hours

View next topic
View previous topic
Page 1 of 1
16ga.com Forum Index  ~  16ga. General Discussion

Post new topic   Reply to topic


 
Jump to:  

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum




Powered by phpBB and NoseBleed v1.09