Great forum here. I can see myself spending a bunch of time because I love these guns. Anyways, I just bought a Belgian A5 Light Twenty but it has a few curious traits. First off, the serial number is 5Z 95571. Not exactly sure what to make of the "Z". I've seen some things say it was the "lightweight" designation for these years but most things say "G" was the lightweight designation. (FWIW, I do think this is a light twenty.) I've seen one other thing say the "Z" marked lightweight guns with High Grade wood. Possible with this gun, as you'll see in the pictures below. Following the standard of my other A5's, I'm thinking this is a 1965 gun. Possibly even more interesting is that this gun has serial numbers everywhere. The obvious one is in front of the loading port on the receiver, but the serial number is also stamped in the fore end, stamped in the end of the wood buttstock, and etched in the inside of the black FN butt pad. I've never see this on an A5, personally. Finally, in the top of the comb almost to the heel is a small (maybe 1/2" diameter) inlaid piece of wood. I forgot to take a picture, but it almost looks like a place for an engraving plate. I don't know... I can post a picture of it tonight if it would help. Any information will be helpful. It's in about 95% condition and I'm tickled to add it to my collection.
Beautiful gun, and you are correct--it's from 1965. The "Z" stands for Light Twenty. The 20 gauge magnum used an "X". The Light Twelve was marked with an "L" prefix from 1953-58 when it was changed to a "G". Standard 12s had an "H", then an "M". Although marked "Twenty", all non magnum 20 gauge guns were "Light". In 1973 they changed the engraving on the receiver to "Light Twenty", but it was the same gun.
Yes. Until 1953 the barrel and the extension carried the serial number. Until 1951 the carrier screws and bolt had the last 3-4 digits. And so did the operating handle until around 1930. If you take the gun apart you might find the number on the trigger plate and a few other parts. About the only place I haven't seen the number before is on your butt plate--and that looks to be pencilled in. If you want to know more about the Auto-5 you should order this book: http://www.fn-browning.com/Browning Auto-5 Shotguns.htm It will even make sense of the proof marks. Enjoy your treasure!
Here is the little area of wood on top of the comb. Looks like an inlay of some sort. Finish is seamless on top so it would have been in before it was finished. Someone suggested it was a discoloration... I don't know. The grain of wood is in the same direction, but when I looked at it last night it didn't seem to flow straight through. Not much grain in that area, so hard to tell. It is perfectly round. The suggestion was that maybe a coin sat on it or something like that, but I don't see how you could even purposefully set something on that curved area of the comb and it not move or slide around in the time it would take to discolor the wood. Who knows...
Looks as though a previous owner had an "Initials Oval" installed. These were very popular and made sense at large meets, at a glance you could determine which gun in the rack was actually yours. They were made of brass, nickel and even silver. Or possibly a sling swivel had been installed at some point, and later "repaired".
The grain looks uninterrupted. My guess is that there was an adhesive sticker of some sort there and it discolored the wood over the years
I know this is an older thread but....I have a '54 A5 with a poly-choke barrel, it also has a Poly-choke compass imbedded in the stock. That looks like someone removed an inlaid compass and plugged the hole. The compass I have is about the same size and location of Yellowjackets wood plug.
The compass makes the most sense of anything I've heard. If it was a factory option, I'd guess this was bored for a compass, then they didn't actually install one in the factory but instead plugged the hole. The finish is too good and uniform for it to be aftermarket, imo. I don't want to spend the money but this gun might require a Browning letter if it would include info like that.
What a beauty! I have a 1971 "Twenty" (at the gunsmith right now, broken extractor?) and mine is not nearly as pretty as yours. My barrel has a purple tent to it. What's up with that? That does look like a plug to me.
My Dad's Sweet Sixteen from the 50's carries the same PolyChoke Gunner's Guide compass in the buttstock as well. Here's the story behind the one made by Poly-Choke: My grandfather, Dad and uncle grew up and hunted with this fellow going back to the 40's. All shared an interest in bird hunting, raising and training English Setters, and annual trips to Maine each year for grouse and woodcock. This man, Michael J. LaViano, also started a small jewelry business in 1945 here in New Jersey. He had a penchant for always getting lost in the thick woods of Maine, and I'm sure back then that area was pretty rural still. Being a jeweler, he also had a penchant for designing, tinkering and building small intricate things with his hands. He designed a small, well-made brass and glass compass that sat in the top of a buttstock to help a hunter find his way out of the woods. With two witness marks, it was easy to use. To use, you would orient and point the muzzle of the gun say to a horizontal reference like a logging road, line up the two marks, and head off into the woods. You always knew a general direction to head back to in order to find the road you walked off of by turning the dial to line up those two marks and head in the direction the muzzle was pointing. Michael's jewelry business flourished and he had a number of well-heeled clients and contacts. Somehow, he got introduced to the owner of Poly-Choke and sold him the patent rights to his compass and he collected a small royalty for the next forty or so years for each sale. Every shotgun of my Dad's, uncles and cousin's I ever hunted with as a kid all had those little Poly-Choke compasses mounted in the buttstock. EVERY family member had at least one or two in their possession. My father still has three. One each mounted in an old M37, Sweet-Sixteen, and an old Beretta Silver Hawk. They all still work beautifully. Made in America. Imagine that?
What a neat story! I think I have one mounted in the same place (top of the stock) on a Remington Model 8 from 1911.
Just because I know you'll want to see the rest of her (1911 was the year this one left the factory, .35 Remington).
Purple tinted blue is covered in the S/V book. For a while something was off with FN's bluing process. They went on to speculate that an Auto-5 collection isn't complete without one. I'd like to know what's up with the pull-tabs (if that's what they are) balanced on the stocks.
