Great Grandpas Gun.

[Jackalope]

Last Christmas I was gifted something from my dad that was given to him by his father, who was given it by his father before him. A Belgian made Browning A5 Light 20 ga.

When my grandfather gave it to my dad he told him the story of how he received it. My grandfather and his dad were out squirrel hunting one evening and my grandfather was using an old single shot 22. He missed a couple more than usual that day and after returning home my grandfather gave him his Browning shotgun. My dad was gifted the gun by my grandfather a few years before he passed.

My grandfather was never a deer hunter, partially because in his younger days there wasn't such a thing. Like many of our older relatives they were small game hunters. I can remember squirrel hunting with my grandfather and him toting that Browning. Early season he would taken the Browning 20 until the freezer was well stocked then switch over to a single shot 22 with iron sights that my dad still has.

Without further ado

 

[Jackalope]

My grandfather and grandmother. With my dad(right), uncle and aunt.

My grandfather in his younger days (left)

Enlisted MP durring WWII.

The older gentleman i always knew.

 

[Qback5]

Beautiful! Very special to you, looks to be good condition too! I believe the entire barrel is part of the action, no? Such that when you shoot, the barrel itself is moving too. Makes for very little recoil.

 

[Qback5]

Love the Family pics too!

 

[Jackalope]

My great grandfather and his wife on their wedding day in the 1920s. She was a school teacher in Vicksburg Ms and he a poor farmer around Port Gibson Ms about 50 miles south. They had plans to get married in Vicksburg which he was a couple days late for because the train tracks were flooded.

Great grandfather in the sugar cane field with my grandfathers brother.

Circa 1980 in his house. The house is still in the family uninhabited and maintained by the heirs. We still meet there for reunions and holidays.

 

[Bigslam51]

Very cool, something you'll pass down to your boy someday!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Very nice! That's a treasure!

 

[Jackalope]

Beautiful! Very special to you, looks to be good condition too! I believe the entire barrel is part of the action, no? Such that when you shoot, the barrel itself is moving too. Makes for very little recoil.

I believe that is correct. To be honest I have no idea how it works and haven't shot it yet. Lol. I seem to remember hearing that they're tricky to get apart and back together so i plan to YouTube the crap out of it. A good explanation for how it works is on Wikipedia.

The Browning Auto-5 is a long-recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun. Shells are stored in a tubular magazine under the barrel. When a chambered shell is fired, the barrel and bolt recoil together (for a distance greater than the shell length) and re-cock the hammer. As the barrel returns forward to its initial position the bolt remains behind and thus the spent shell is ejected through a port on the receiver. Then the bolt returns forward and feeds another shell from the magazine into the action.

 

[hickslawns]

Priceless keepsake. It has landed into some solid and worthy hands. Good for you, Joe.

 

[Gordo]

That's awesome man. Truly one of a kind with the history. I hope that three,four,five generations from now some of your blood is still appreciating it! [emoji41]

 

[MoonLab]

That is really cool.

 

[Dustinb80]

Really neat story Joe. Cool lookin shotgun.

 

[Ohiosam]

It’s a beaut Joe! It’s amazing, when you think about it, how something like this can connect people decades apart.

 

["J"]

It’s a beaut Joe! It’s amazing, when you think about it, how something like this can connect people decades apart.

Amen, I’ve gotten a few passed down from my grandfather and FIL, both are cherished and will be handed down to my kids as well....

 

[Wmiller07]

I believe that is correct. To be honest I have no idea how it works and haven't shot it yet. Lol. I seem to remember hearing that they're tricky to get apart and back together so i plan to YouTube the crap out of it. A good explanation for how it works is on Wikipedia.

The Browning Auto-5 is a long-recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun. Shells are stored in a tubular magazine under the barrel. When a chambered shell is fired, the barrel and bolt recoil together (for a distance greater than the shell length) and re-cock the hammer. As the barrel returns forward to its initial position the bolt remains behind and thus the spent shell is ejected through a port on the receiver. Then the bolt returns forward and feeds another shell from the magazine into the action.

Field stripping is pretty easy but if you want to take the bolt out of the receiver I would have a gunsmith do it. I have a 12 gauge Auto 5 and watched the YouTube videos and they are a nightmare to take apart unless you know what you are doing. From everything I have read they weren't meant to be broken down that far very often and I'd bet many of them that are still running never have.

 

[jagermeister]

What an awesome gift, Joe. The Browning A5, particularly the Belgian made, is definitely one of my favorite guns in existence. A friend of mines dad has a "Sweet 16" model that is nothing short of gorgeous. My grandfather on my mother's side had an A5 in 12 gauge... Unfortunately he died when I was pretty young and I never knew him very well. I believe my uncle still had the gun but I'll likely never see it.

It's always really special to receive a firearm that's been in the family like that, especially one as nice as that A5. That's one of the reasons I've sworn to never sell another gun of I can help it.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

That is awesome Joe, what a sweet looking gun!

 

[Jackalope]

Thanks everyone. My grandfather was truly a unique gentleman. His mannerisms and demeanor matched that of Andy Griffith. One would have sworn they were brothers. A fine Christian man who was never preachy or judgemental, never heard a cross word out of his mouth, and he never met a stranger. Skinny as a rail, strong as an ox, only ever drank water, and never forgot to wind the mantle clock on Sunday. He drove an old white Ford Courier pickup truck that probably had half a million miles on it and never went over 40 miles an hour. He grew up rather poor and built his house with his own two hands from lumber and nails salvaged from an old school house. A stark contrast to my grandfather on my mother's side who was a Mac truck diesel mechanic for Builders Transport and had the demeanor to match it. Lol.

 

[motorbreaker]

Good stuff. I like history. Seems like he was a good man. Nice gun to have handed down.

 

[tracker 6]

Very nice,appears to be a post 1966 gun.What is the choke?These are easy to date by the prefix code,a number and the letter z[the number indicates the year and the letter z 20 ga. light weight,located ahead of the loading gate.These guns have some nice features like quick loading and a magazine cut-off.A owners manual is available free from browning on their website The Auto 5 20 ga was introduced in 1958,In 1967 the 3in.magnum was added and the pistol grip was changed from a round knob to a flat knob.