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| < 16ga. Guns ~ Browning Sweet Sixteen confusion |
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 Posted:
Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:37 am
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Joined: 03 Nov 2013
Posts: 2
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My neighbor has decided he must sell me his Browning Sweet Sixteen at a good price. I'm not arguing. But I am rather confused. I printed out the Browning "Date Your Firearm" serial number information and the A5 owner's manual but the gun is old and the documentation is new and I can't reconcile everything. Is anyone up to pointing me in the right direction?
I've attached several pictures of the gun's engravings.
(1) The closest thing to a serial number is on the bottom next to the magazine loading port. It is (symbol)31116. If this is the serial number then was the gun manufactured in the 1930's as the "Date Your Firearm" document suggests? What's the symbol? It looks like a weakly struck 'X'. It doesn't look like a '2', '3', 'H', 'L', 'G', or 'M'.
(2) A friend sent me a scan from the "AUTO-5 SWEET 16" entry in the 34th edition of Blue Book Of Gun Values which states, "16 ga., 2 9/16 in. chamber from 1937-1940, and 2 3/4 in. chamber from 1947-1975" The gun's engraving states, "SPECIAL STEEL-16 GAUGE-SHELLS 2 3/4". Does this mean the gun was manufactured 1947 or later?
(3) The owner's manual has a procedure for unloading the magazine by pushing on the shell stop. I tried this with a finger and with a plastic pen to no avail. I had to cycle the shells through the chamber to empty the magazine. Was I doing something wrong or is this a difference between new and old guns?
(4) There's a latch on the gun that isn't mentioned in the owner's manual. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it. When engaged it appears to retain the shells in the magazine, preventing them from loading into the chamber. What is this for?
Pictures:
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:52 am
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Member
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 759
Location: Somewhere in the Socialist State of Minnesota
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Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:27 pm
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Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 398
Location: Virginia
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Perhaps you know this, but I see two (and possibly three) asterisks on the barrel. Two means modified choke and three would be cylinder bore.
Enjoy this gun! I think the Sweet Sixteens are special. |
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C&R FFL since 2002 |
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Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:05 am
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Joined: 21 Mar 2013
Posts: 326
Location: South Dakota
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| http://www.16ga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14912 |
_________________
1909 Browning A5 16ga
1936 Very Sweet Sixteen, 1937 Sweet Sixteen 3 Shot, 1938 Sweet Sixteen 3 Shot
1947 Sweet Sixteen Three Shot, 1947 A5 16ga Three Shot, 1947 Sweet Sixteen
1935 Superposed 3 inch chambered, 16ga conversion
Browning 725 16ga |
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| Posted:
Mon Nov 04, 2013 11:13 am
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Joined: 03 Nov 2013
Posts: 2
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Thank you everyone. With the accurate information you provided I finally figured out all the documentation I downloaded and printed was for the 12 gauge gun, hence my confusion. I now have a stack of proper & correct 16 gauge documentation.
Thank you Flues16 in particular for pointing out the asterisks. I did not know what they meant.
I took Sweet Sixteen up to a friend's camp yesterday where a group of friends and I shot it. They all agreed it's an excellent firearm and I'm lucky to have gotten it. |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:19 am
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Joined: 07 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
Location: Fairbanks Ak
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| mountainman wrote: |
Thank you everyone. With the accurate information you provided I finally figured out all the documentation I downloaded and printed was for the 12 gauge gun, hence my confusion. I now have a stack of proper & correct 16 gauge documentation.
Thank you Flues16 in particular for pointing out the asterisks. I did not know what they meant.
I took Sweet Sixteen up to a friend's camp yesterday where a group of friends and I shot it. They all agreed it's an excellent firearm and I'm lucky to have gotten it.
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You may not be aware of it but your gun is one of the x prefix guns which are the most desirable of the 16ga guns. It is a factory 2 3/4" chamber and the s/n was the same prefix for both standard and sweets during this time. It was from 1947 until 1953 that they were made. Most say these were the best quality workmanship and engraving and detailing of all the a5s. Yours is old enough that the barrel and even the screws are all stamped with the serial number. The forearm and stock wood are also stamped someplace with the s/n. This was done till mid -953 when the barrels were no longer serialized to the recivers. You have a simi rare and also a very nice 16ga. I have one a couple years newer than yours but still a x s/n gun. I shoot a few rounds of skeet with it at least once a month. They are great dependable guns that will out last all of us. Only sad thing is they are way under valued. So shoot the hell out of it! Your damn sure not gonna wear it out. If you want to get rid of it let me know. I have a little room left in the safe.
Jim p |
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Jim P |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:15 am
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Joined: 18 Jul 2010
Posts: 591
Location: SoCal-FL- NYC
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| Quote: |
Only sad thing is they are way under valued. So shoot the hell out of it! Your damn sure not gonna wear it out. If you want to get rid of it let me know. I have a little room left in the safe.
Jim p
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SHHHHH!
I still want one of these, but havent put the effort or money into finding on.
We have a sweet 16 on the ticket, but I dont shoot the browning as well as I do the model 12 due to the drop in comb and general fit, so I always grab it first. Thus far Im unwilling to modify one to fit me correctly (im all messed up and need quite a bit of cast off and a very flat gun with a long LOP).
They are fantastic guns, and a true marvel of design and build. The lock out feature and the load one shoot one still amazes me if you take into account when the gun was designed. Great stuff. |
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Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:01 am
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| Thank you for good communication. |
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| Posted:
Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:28 pm
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Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 325
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3) The owner's manual has a procedure for unloading the magazine by pushing on the shell stop. I tried this with a finger and with a plastic pen to no avail. I had to cycle the shells through the chamber to empty the magazine. Was I doing something wrong or is this a difference between new and old guns?
I think you were looking at the wrong manual. My B2000 has that procedure, but the Auto-5 manual says to cycle the shells through the chamber.
Congratulations on obtaining a great gun! |
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| Posted:
Mon Jan 26, 2015 5:52 pm
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Joined: 13 Dec 2008
Posts: 460
Location: Texas
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The latch on the side is to hold what shells are currently in the magazine. Say you are loaded for quail and a rabbit jumps. You throw the lever, eject the bird shot and place a no 6 shot directly in the loading port and close the chamber.
BOOM....rabbit for dinner.
Not so much of a feature on the clays course, but a patented feature for Browning none the less.
Good info on the X prefix,
X24500 built 6-30-1949
X34600 built 12-31-1949
By averaging production you can almost figure what day it was built.
To load the magazine you have to hold the bolt release button down, my son had issues with his & we learned it loads a bit easier holding it half way down, he enjoys watching his friends try to load it with that little latch forward, and none have figured out how he does it.
yours may vary. Congrats on a very nice find. |
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