Browning A5 Light 12 Help

[brian5271]

Hi All,

I inherited a Belgium A5 Light 12 from my dad. He bought it new and it has seen minimal use. It is as close to NIB as you will find with a 50 year old used gun. My dad always liked his guns to be pristine and well maintained, so I would like to make sure that anything I have done to the gun, is done well. Kind of a tribute gun.

I believe the barrel is approximately 28" (as I recall the FN A5's had a metric length barrel?) and is either full or improved choke.

I would like to set this up to get back into trap and skeet. I shot both somewhat regularly 25 years ago and am looking forward to getting back into it again.

The shotgun seams to be set up pretty good for trap, but I can't hit skeet for the life of me. For skeet, I am thinking about getting an additional barrel that is a little bit shorter and has adjustable chokes. Any recommendations on length or suggestions on where to buy?

Also, I would like to add a recoil pad, but I want one that will keep with the nice clean look of the stock, and one that is fitted. Any recommendations as to brand and/or a gunsmith that will do a good job fitting it?

My next question is regarding barrel porting. Does this make any real difference in felt recoil?

I have been reading up on the A5 and have read in several places that replacing the recoil spring and friction ring is a good idea for any older gun. Any recommendations regarding this?

Anything else I need to know about this gun? Any other advice on how to set it up?

Last question; I assume that skeet is like every other shooting sport and that spending money on the gun makes up for lack of training? Isn't that how it works?

Thanks in advance.

[Bainter1212]

It is a good idea to change at least the recoil spring, as it will take a set whether it is fired or not.

Midwest Gun Works carries the springs/friction ring in a kit, they have been out of stock for quite some time now though and I have a nagging suspicion that they won't be carrying them anymore.
You can put your email in on the product page to be notified when they are back in stock.

There is a guy (Trivettes Gunsmithing(?) on ebay who sells new springs and friction rings, but he sells them individually, and to buy all the parts that would make up a kit that Midwest sells gets a lot pricier than Midwest.
I recently sent this guy a PM through ebay asking if he would put together a kit for me and price-match to Midwest, and I got no answer. I have to assume the guy is an ***hole or he just never checks his PMs.

As far as barrels go, if you want a TRUE Light Twelve barrel, you will pay substantially more for it than just a regular A5 barrel.
A regular A5 barrel WILL work on a Light model. A "Light" barrel will have holes drilled in the shank (the piece that goes around the mag tube).
Ebay is (again) a good source for barrels. With patience, you can find what you need at an acceptable price. There are many with aftermarket comps or adjustable chokes and the good news is, these will be cheaper than an unmodified barrel. Remember, a Magnum barrel will not work on a non-Magnum receiver.
I would strongly urge you to not modify your stock barrel or permanently alter your factory stock if you care anything about the value of the gun. The Light models are just now starting to become somewhat collectible and are slowly climbing back up in resale value. Any permanent mods will chop a couple hundred bucks off of the resale value, and that number will get worse over time.
If you want to do the choke/permanent buttpad thing, get a replacement barrel and stock. They are easy to swap out.

I have 3 Light Twelves and love these guns. I even did this (non-permanent mods) to one of them and it works great:







Good luck with your Skeet goals, I can't help you in setting up your gun for Skeet, as I only shoot sporting clays. I do however plan to shoot 3 Gun with the 18" 8+1 you see above.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

[Bainter1212]

Oh and one more thing - I have the AGI DVD that covers teardown/diagnosis/repair/theory of operation/reassembly for these guns.
It is a good DVD and got me tearing these apart to clean and repair/modify with some degree of confidence.
You can borrow the DVD if you want, just send me a PM.

[shovelon]

You have a great gun there. My first shotgun is a Belgian A5. I also learned skeet with it and like you could not hit the broadside of a barn.

A few months later I attended a SoCal skeet clinic. Don and Richard figured out right away my mount was way off and corrected the fit with a comb riser offset to the right for a secure cheek weld. Then with the proper training and sending the barrel to Brilley for skeet chokes the broken clays came.I got my first 25 straight with that gun and still shoot it for sporting clays now.

So get a fitting, fit choke tubes, attend some clinics, and practice.

[shovelon]

Just to add. Don't cut or port your barrel. It does not need porting and the trend is for longer barrels as it points better. The nice thing about the humpback is it's longer sight plane. I love mine.

Now I did find that my A5 eats american shells very well. Italian not so much. Remington, Winchester, and Federal are perfectly sized. I also found I can go down to 1oz, #9, 1180fps low recoil shells and they cycle perfectly.

The Italian shells seem to be sloppy and have rounded lips on the brass and slip off the extractor teeth.

I would also recommend light oiling and if it shoots learn how to pull the wood and clean it yourself. I have about 20k shells through mine now, and once a year I pull the wood and run solvent through the rear end. Let it drip dry and reoil. I do run mine very wet but then also saving the wood and put plastic furniture on during heavy use.

[Huntsprig]

Oh and one more thing - I have the AGI DVD that covers teardown/diagnosis/repair/theory of operation/reassembly for these guns.
It is a good DVD and got me tearing these apart to clean and repair/modify with some degree of confidence.
You can borrow the DVD if you want, just send me a PM.

Nice offer! ^^^^^^

It is also a good idea to print this and keep it where you clean you gun.

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/field_service_manual/browning_auto_5_field_service_manual.pdf

.

[Ducky's Dad]

I also have a Light 12, and it's the only 12ga A5 that I would own. Seems to be the best of breed for those guns. The Japanese (Browning/Miroku) A5 barrels should fit and will give you Invector chokes.

[Thefeeder]

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You can get another a-5 barrel of the same gauge and it will slip right on.
Try ebay or other sites for a barrel...lots of them out there

Porting does nothing but make the gun louder....and look good

A gunsmith will need to fit a recoil pad....you can look for a used one that had been fitted, but it maynot be a perfect fit on your stock...again ebay

Keep in mind that the pad will be much thicker then the butt plate that is on the gun.....a pad will add length to the overall stock and if you want the same LOP, the stock needs to be cut before the pad is installed

Springs last a long time...so maybe you do, or don't need a new one...just need to shoot and see if you can see/feel any problems

FYI ....the friction rings can be set for heavy or light shells...diagrams and vids all over the net

Edit...the choke is marked on the barrel... a * is Full, ** is Mod

No bueno at Skeet!.....I'll take a leap of faith and say its 90% shooter error and 10% other.....Skeet is all about swing, gun speed, lead, trigger pull, follow through.

[FatCity67]

Why change or add anything especially given the condition you state it's in. I have a Belgium 1963 Light 12 that is still going strong after thousands and thousands of rounds from light dove to heavy goose loads. Only modification was to buy an updated barrel in the 1980's so as not to risk damaging the original with steel shot for waterfowl and having choke options. Have never changed the spring and have not had an issue.

[brian5271]

It is a good idea to change at least the recoil spring, as it will take a set whether it is fired or not.

Midwest Gun Works carries the springs/friction ring in a kit, they have been out of stock for quite some time now though and I have a nagging suspicion that they won't be carrying them anymore.
You can put your email in on the product page to be notified when they are back in stock.

There is a guy (Trivettes Gunsmithing(?) on ebay who sells new springs and friction rings, but he sells them individually, and to buy all the parts that would make up a kit that Midwest sells gets a lot pricier than Midwest.
I recently sent this guy a PM through ebay asking if he would put together a kit for me and price-match to Midwest, and I got no answer. I have to assume the guy is an ***hole or he just never checks his PMs.

As far as barrels go, if you want a TRUE Light Twelve barrel, you will pay substantially more for it than just a regular A5 barrel.
A regular A5 barrel WILL work on a Light model. A "Light" barrel will have holes drilled in the shank (the piece that goes around the mag tube).
Ebay is (again) a good source for barrels. With patience, you can find what you need at an acceptable price. There are many with aftermarket comps or adjustable chokes and the good news is, these will be cheaper than an unmodified barrel. Remember, a Magnum barrel will not work on a non-Magnum receiver.
I would strongly urge you to not modify your stock barrel or permanently alter your factory stock if you care anything about the value of the gun. The Light models are just now starting to become somewhat collectible and are slowly climbing back up in resale value. Any permanent mods will chop a couple hundred bucks off of the resale value, and that number will get worse over time.
If you want to do the choke/permanent buttpad thing, get a replacement barrel and stock. They are easy to swap out.

I have 3 Light Twelves and love these guns. I even did this (non-permanent mods) to one of them and it works great:







Good luck with your Skeet goals, I can't help you in setting up your gun for Skeet, as I only shoot sporting clays. I do however plan to shoot 3 Gun with the 18" 8+1 you see above.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

Oh and one more thing - I have the AGI DVD that covers teardown/diagnosis/repair/theory of operation/reassembly for these guns.
It is a good DVD and got me tearing these apart to clean and repair/modify with some degree of confidence.
You can borrow the DVD if you want, just send me a PM.

Thank you for the info. What is the difference between the "Light" barrel and the normal?

I will keep the barrel I have now for trap as it seams to work well for me. I would like to get an additional barrel for skeet with a different choke and possibly a little shorter.

Thank you for the offer to borrow the AGI DVD, but I plan to buy one to keep with my others.

[brian5271]

You have a great gun there. My first shotgun is a Belgian A5. I also learned skeet with it and like you could not hit the broadside of a barn.

A few months later I attended a SoCal skeet clinic. Don and Richard figured out right away my mount was way off and corrected the fit with a comb riser offset to the right for a secure cheek weld. Then with the proper training and sending the barrel to Brilley for skeet chokes the broken clays came.I got my first 25 straight with that gun and still shoot it for sporting clays now.

So get a fitting, fit choke tubes, attend some clinics, and practice.

What clinic did you attend? I would like to do that as well. Who did you have fit the gun to you? Are happy with the results?

[BOBGBA]

The clinic is a sticky at the top of this forum.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1081488

[shovelon]

What clinic did you attend? I would like to do that as well. Who did you have fit the gun to you? Are happy with the results?

Yes, it was the Calguns SoCal Skeet Clinic held at TripleB Clays in El Monte. Cost is $30 and yes it is worth every dollar. The fit was the most important aspect. Don and Richard do the fitting and adjustment at the clinic. I just need an offset riser. The fundamentals and Don's $20 clinic book is second. Don, Richard, and the new friends I made are priceless. Like I said earlier I sent the barrel out to Briley for thinwall chokes installation. Next time I will use Mike Orlen as he is nearly half the price. Briley thinwall chokes are the best though IMO.

Don Ziegler made me shoot at his 80th birthday shoot a couple of years ago. Almost every month since I shoot the Sansei skeet fun event in competition. Today I shot their doubles only tournament with a 62 out of 75 targets. I had the most fun ever and was even asked to pace the last lone shooter.

Now they work me on the mental game of skeet, as well as doubles routines. Where Don emphasizes the smoothness and plan at the station, Richard emphasizes the quickness and mind trusting. A combination of the 2 are working for me. I have been to some 10 clinics and gotten quite a few 25 straights. Hoping for my 50 straight soon.

Don working me and my Auto5 at a Clinic.

[Ducky's Dad]

Looks like Don has put on a couple of pounds since he taught my boys to shoot. That was a long time ago, but Don was very patient with the kids and the lessons were money well spent.