Looks like someone got a nice shooter. The serial number is circa 1919, so it's one of the first guns made after the Great War. Somewhere along the line it was converted to shoot 2 3/4" shells. This is a good example of why you should take all descriptions with a grain of salt -- the seller thinks the gun is a 1907, but the 16 gauge wasn't introduced until 1909. I don't blame the dealers, but let the buyer beware.
I still blame the sellers.....I am a businessman and when I screw up, I don't blame my customers. However, the guy was crazy fast at answering my emails and even offered (in writing) that if the chamber wasn't 2 3/4, he'd forget the auction win and pay the gunbroker fees himself. So I'm sure the guy is just misinformed. However, the more I learn here, it seems it's best not to have a rechambered x-2 9/16 as those are not reliable?
I don't blame the dealers because they generally don't specialize on any one type of gun. There are a lot of different guns out there and nobody is an expert on all of them. In the case of the Auto-5 there is a lot of misinformation floating around -- much of it on the Browning website. As for converted guns -- the only reason that I don't trust them is that I don't know who did the work. If it was Browning or Art's or MGW that'd be OK. But I'm set up to load short shells and I'd prefer a collectible gun in original condition. There is an excellent article on what's involved in the conversion here: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=79647&sid=8e16b963ee6e804fed4a13437de55e27
This is a 1908 Remington Autoloading Gun. Remington made these from 1905 to 1948, changing the name to the Model 11 after six years. While FN starting modifying their version by the second year of production and standardized by 1909, Remington's looked like Browning's prototype until 1928. That was the year they changed from the "Suicide Safety" to a cross-bolt design. FN moved the safety to the front of the trigger guard in 1904 and switched to the cross-bolt in 1951.
Well i was cruising thru this very informative thread and just learned something interesting i have what i thought was a model 11 until i seen the picture above that rudolph31 posted my 12 gauge remington has the suicide safety and has no markings other than the remington mark on top of the barrel i need to do some more research on my guns lol
Yup, Remington changed the name to Model 11 in ... 1911. Here's another picture. Notice there's no checkering. Checkering was hand-cut back then so it was an expensive option. The only obvious difference between this gun the 1903 Browning is the round knob stock. Also, there's no receiver address.
As my stock is beyond repair, I've played with the idea of putting an earlier round knob stock on when it gets restored. While not original, it is certainly my favorite stock for the old humpbacks...
Both the 1903 "Suicide Safety" and the trigger guard safety (1904-1951) worked by sliding under a "shelf" in front of the trigger, preventing it from pivoting. The cross bolt safety works by blocking the trigger from the rear, necessitating a the addition of a tab in the back. You can see in the picture that the shelf has been removed.
One difference of the very earliest Auto-5's is the forearm. Originally the groove didn't extend all the way to the front. My forearm isn't original, but it has been on the gun long enough that it looks like it belongs there. But I have a replacement from Brownell's that is similar to the original. To make it match though I'd have to sand the checkering almost flat and destroy the finish. I think I'll leave it alone.
The first triggers were almost straight. This circa 1911 16 gauge's trigger is identical to the 1903's. After the first few months of production, imports stopped coming to the U.S. for 20 years. When they resumed in 1923 the trigger had changed. This 16 is from 1924.
I recently disassembled my 1908 Remington Autoloading Shotgun. As I've said before, instead of milling the rear of the receiver to prevent a firing pin strike like Browning did, Remington used a fiber buffer. The buffer also cushions the blow the bolt gives the receiver every time it fires. But I heard that the buffer wasn't used until the name changed to the Model 11 in 1911. So I took mine apart to see.
That's fascinating R31 I am no expert but to me that seems a much cheaper alternative to the milled receiver on the brownings. I bet the fibre buffers are nigh on impossible to find nowadays!
I just think the buffer, and the rivet that holds it are both available. Just how to install it is another matter. A lot of these guns have lost these parts over the years, making them dangerous to hand cycle.
Here's a view of the rear view of the bolt. The firing pin can get smacked if it hits the rear of the receiver, and if there's a live shell hooked on the extractor, bang!