I have several Browning A5's and am pretty well versed with them - or thought I was. I recently picked up a round knob 12 gauge that has knurling the length of the barrel ( where you would normally see a vent rib or solid rib ). Was this a factory offering or was this done later? I cannot find anything similar listed on the internet. Any help would be appreciated.
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Browning calls that a "Matte Rib". I guess it's anti-glare. Most of the guns without a real rib will have it.
Off topic, but there was a Winchester with a knurled barrel. As was their practice, Winchester patented every feature of Browning's new gun in his name, with the expectation of buying them. But JMB wouldn't sell and he took his masterpiece to FN in Belgium, and to Remington in the U.S. Remington produced the gun beginning in 1905 as the Remington Autoloading Shotgun, changing the name to the Model 11 in 1911. Winchester, who had had first crack at it, had nothing to compete against Remington's wildly successful new shotgun. It took them 8 years to develop something that avoided Browning's patents; they called it the Winchester 1911, but it became known as the "Widow Maker". Winchester's patent attorneys were so thorough they even patented the Auto-5's operating handle. As a result, the new Winchester couldn't have one, and the gun was cocked by grabbing a knurled section of the barrel and pulling back. Some thought it was easier to put the butt on the ground and push with the muzzle pointed at their face... The Winchester 1911 wasn't very successful. I've seen them at Cabela's selling for about $200. I thought about getting one as part of the Auto-5 story, then decided against it.
