Browning's New Interia-Driven A5 Was Worth The Wait

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Alot of great 20-gauge shotguns have come and gone over the years (see my article titled “The Twenty Is Plenty” elsewhere in this magazine for some of my all-time favorites), and one of the newest to come down the pike is Browning’s A5 Hunter, which was announced very recently. Lifting the new 20-gauge Browning A5 shotgun from its hard carrying case brought back pleasant memories of a 2011 dove shoot in Argentina where it is not uncommon to exceed 1,000 rounds each day. While the official introduction of Browning’s new inertia-driven A5 shotgun was still months away, we were there to give six preproduction guns a pounding available nowhere else that I am aware of.

Prior to the first shot being fired, our host informed us of a few bugs possibly lurking in the design, and he was right. Each night after dinner we met and discussed not only any malfunctions and what had likely caused them, but ideas we thought would make the A5 a better and therefore more successful shotgun overall. That trip to Argentina paid off. During the following summer, I used a production gun to shoot more than 3,000 rounds at skeet, 5-stand, and sporting clays, and in addition to chalking up rather decent scores, I experienced not a single malfunction. That first A5 was in 12 gauge, and it was followed in 2016 by the Sweet Sixteen on a scaled-down receiver. When, we impatiently asked, will the 20-gauge be added?

Features

It has taken a few years for that question to be answered, and believe me when I say the recently introduced 20-gauge A5 was well worth the wait. The gun I am shooting has a 28-inch barrel with a chromed chamber, and it measures 49.25 inches overall. It also is available with a 26-inch barrel. The ventilated rib has a 0.080-inch white bead in the middle and a 0.130-inch red fiber-optic rod at the front.

According to my measurement, bore diameter is 0.631 inch. The constrictions of three Invector DS flush-fit chokes included with the gun are 0.010 inch (Improved Cylinder), 0.016 inch (Modified), and 0.028 inch (Extra-Full). These and a very nice T-style choke wrench arrive in a pocket-size hard case. Browning makes identification quick and easy with notches at the muzzle of each choke along with a description and recommended shot type etched on the side. For example, four notches on one of the chokes I received indicate Improved Cylinder, and the word “STEEL” on the side indicates it is suitable for use with both lead and steel shot. The absence of “STEEL” on the tightest choke told me it can be used only with lead shot or nontoxic shot with a hardness similar to that of lead. If three chokes prove to be not enough, five others with constrictions ranging from Cylinder (no choke) to Full are available by contacting Browning Customer Service at 800-322-4626.

The Turkish walnut on the guns I have examined ranged from rather plain to showing enough contrasting figuring to make you reach for your credit card without hesitation. Whether fancy or plain, grain flow through the wrist of the stocks was correct for maximum strength in that area. While coverage of the nicely executed cut checkering on the stock and forearm could not be described as extensive, it is quite enough in all the right places. In addition to being extremely durable, the epoxy finish prevents the wood from absorbing moisture during rainy-day hunts. Browning’s Inflex recoil pad looks good, and it soaks up most of the kick. A black insert at the bottom of the grip tells us the gun is an A5.

The nine shims included in the package do a fairly good job of adjusting the gun to fit shooters of various sizes, shapes, and shooting styles. The gun departs the factory with a pull length of 14.25 inches; however, the length of pull can be changed by adding or removing spacers between the recoil pad and the stock. Two spacers with thicknesses of 0.25 inch and 0.50 inch give the gun owner additional pull length options. A Phillips head screwdriver with its shank lightly coated with petroleum jelly or liquid soap is used to remove and reattach the shotgun’s recoil pad.

The other six shims, each stamped with an identification number, fit between the stock and the rear of the receiver. The gun comes with the No. 2 neutral shim installed, and its only purpose is to fill the gap that will be occupied by one of the other shims if the owner of the gun finds doing so is necessary for adjusting the fit. The installation of shim No. 1 raises the comb of the stock approximately 1/16 inch and the heel 1/8 inch. Shim No. 3 lowers the comb about the same distances at comb and heel. Opposing edges of shims marked 1R1L, 2R2L, and 3R3L differ in thickness, and depending on their orientation during installation, they add cast to the stock of approximately 1/8 inch to the right for a right-handed shooter or the same distance to the left for a left-handed shooter. Their comb height adjustments are the same as for the other shims. Switching shims requires the use of the previously mentioned screwdriver to remove the recoil pad and a 0.50-inch socket wrench for removing the stock.

Operation

While designing the Browning Automatic 5 back in 1898, John Browning gave it long-recoil operation. When the gun fires, its barrel and bolt travel rearward together. The receiver has a humpback profile in order to give the large bolt with its flat rear surface plenty of space to travel all the way to the rear. The current A5 shares that receiver shape, but otherwise its operation could not differ more. It also utilizes recoil to operate but in a different way commonly called inertia driven. The bolt is of two-piece design with a rotating head containing locking lugs that engage shoulders machined into the inner wall of an extension of the barrel. During firing, the lugs remain engaged until the recoiling gun meets resistance from the shooter’s shoulder. At that point, the heavy body of the bolt begins its travel to the rear, and in doing so, it cams the locking lugs to their disengaged position. This movement is easily demonstrated by making sure the gun is unloaded and lightly bumping its butt against the side of a tree. Bolt travel continues to the rear for spent shell ejection and compression of the action spring housed in the stock. As the bolt reaches the end of its travel, the spring shoves it forward to feed a fresh shell into the chamber, followed by lockup with the barrel. The bolt automatically locks back when the last round is fired.

The elimination of gas-operating apparatus along with machining the A5 receiver of aircraft-grade aluminum results in a weight of 5.75 pounds, according to my digital postal scale. In comparison, a gas-operated 20-gauge Remington 1100 LT-20 skeet gun with a steel receiver that I have been shooting for many years weighs 7 pounds.

The A5 has a transverse, trigger-blocking safety behind its aluminum trigger guard and a sliding bolt latch just in front of the guard. Pulling the latch to the rear allows the bolt to be locked back when the magazine is empty. The bolt release button is located on the side and toward the front of the black anodized receiver.

The gun is designed to be loaded in several ways. With the safety engaged and the bolt locked back, push a shell through the loading port in the bottom of the receiver, and that shell will be automatically fed into the chamber. The magazine can then be charged with additional shells. Another way is to lock back the bolt, manually insert a shell in the chamber, and push the bolt release button, followed by loading the magazine. In the absence of an immediate need to fire the gun, the magazine can be loaded and the chamber left empty. When preparing to fire, simply trip the bolt latch, retract and release the bolt, and a shell will move from the magazine to the chamber.

The A5 can be unloaded by manually cycling shells through the action. With the safety engaged and the bolt latch to the rear, cycle the bolt and repeat until the gun is empty. I prefer holding the gun bottom-up and using a finger to depress the hinged carrier in the loading port and pushing the spring-loaded shell catch inward to release a shell from the magazine. This is repeated until the magazine is empty, and a round in the chamber is then removed by retracting the bolt. To make sure a shell is not lurking in the chamber, pull the bolt latch and then retract the bolt to its locked-back position. Then turn the gun bottom-up, depress the carrier, and visually confirm the absence of a shell in the magazine.

Magazine capacity is four 2¾-inch shells and three 3.0-inch shells. The gun features what Browning calls a Turnkey Magazine Plug, which reduces magazine capacity to two rounds as required when hunting migratory birds. With the bolt locked back and the magazine cap detached, the plug is easily removed or inserted with a key or small screwdriver.

Field-stripping many autoloading shotguns begins with locking back the bolt, removing the magazine cap, and sliding the forearm forward and off the tube. The barrel is then free for removal from the receiver. Taking down the A5 starts with those first two steps, but it becomes a bit tricky from there. With the bolt locked back and the magazine cap removed, the barrel and forearm remain together as they are pulled forward and off the magazine tube. The forearm is then removed from the barrel by first pulling its rear end a bit away from the barrel and then pulling it away from the barrel bracket.

Shootability

The new 20-gauge A5 arrived at my house in August 2024, and there was no hunting season, so I gathered up a supply of hand-loads with 7/8 ounce of No. 8 and No. 9 shot and headed to the gun club. Prior to trying the gun on flying targets, I fired rounds at the steel patterning plate from 16 yards away. For hunting and skeet shooting, I want a gun to place the center of its pattern dead on my hold point or no more than an inch or two high. Much to my delight, the A5 placed the center of its pattern precisely where I wanted it.

The shooting vests and jackets I wear have thin padding at the front of my right shoulder, and that, the excellent recoil pad on the gun, and minimal recoil from my target loads made  the Browning A5 quite comfortable to shoot during rounds of skeet. Trap is dominated by 12-gauge guns, but just for fun, I love shooting it with smaller guns, so on another day, I installed the Modified choke in the A5 and shot targets from the 18-yard line with loads containing 7/8 ounce of No. 8 shot at a velocity of about 1,200 fps. I break most of those targets at about 37 yards, and very few managed to escape the little Browning. Not a single malfunction says a lot, not only about Browning’s sweet little 20, but the shells loaded on my Ponsness/Warren 800/LS progressive press as well.

The remaining question in my mind is: When do we get A5s in .410 and 28 gauge?

A5 HUNTER SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Browning, browning.com
• TYPE: Inertia-operated autoloader
• GAUGE: 20 (3.0-in. chamber)
• MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 4 rounds (2¾-in. shells)
• BARREL: 28 in.
• OVERALL LENGTH: 49.25 in.
• WEIGHT, EMPTY: 5.75 lbs.
• STOCK: Turkish walnut
• LENGTH OF PULL: 14.25 in. (shim-adjustable)
• FINISH: High-gloss black anodized receiver and barrel, gloss stock
• SIGHTS: White mid-bead, fiber-optic front
• TRIGGER: 2.5-lb. pull (as tested)
• SAFETY: Transverse
• MSRP: $1,979.99

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