Hey folks, I appreciate any information in advance. I have what I believe to be a 1937 FN Browning Sweet Sixteen. It has a serial number 108913 under the FN logo with an asterisk above the FN logo. Not sure what the asterisk indicates. The barrel band has the three holes drilled and it does have gold plating on the trigger and safety. The other oddity is that this shotgun has both the forward old style safety as well as the newer button crossbolt safety. Thanks again for any info!
I’ve seen (on the internet) guns like that before. The question is, Do both safeties work? The trigger guard safety works by sliding under a “shelf” on the front of the trigger. The crossbolt safety blocks the trigger from the rear. That trigger does away with the shelf but adds a tab in the back. For both safeties to work the trigger will need both the shelf and the tab. Here are the two types:
Another interesting thing about your gun is that 1937 is the first year of regular production of the Sweet Sixteen after being test-marketed in 1936. You say the barrel ring has three holes, but although later guns had three, early Sweet Sixteens had five lightening holes. If yours does in fact have only three, check to see if the serial number matches the receiver. Early lightened ring: Later ring:
Thanks for the info Rudolph31! I appreciate these details! The barrel does have 5 holes and the number is a match to the receiver. From what I can see the trigger does have both attributes. I will pull it apart to confirm. I attached the images. Do you have any information regarding the asterisk above the FN logo and serial number on the receiver. Thanks again for your help! Jeff
I can see that your trigger has been modified to work with the crossbolt safety. That’s not the standard tab. A closer look at the asterisk shows it to be a six pointed star. I have three Auto-5’s from the ‘30’s and two of them, a 1931 Grade 2 16 and a 1938 Sweet Sixteen have that star. On both, the star appears between FN and the serial number. The 1930 12 gauge just has FN and the serial. I have no clue what it means.
Thanks again! I was able get the trigger assembly broken down. The trigger does have both attributes. The front safety also functions after removing the set screw, the hole for the set screw is shown in image #4. The cool thing is that the trigger assembly is serialized to match the barrel and receiver. Thanks again
As you break the gun down you’ll notice several parts with the serial number. FN gradually stopped doing that as most parts are interchangeable without hand fitting. Whoever modified the gun went to a lot of effort, modifying the trigger and trigger plate, and even disabling the original safety with a stop screw. I’d guess it wasn’t the original owner as he could easily have purchased a Remington Model 11 already equipped with a crossbolt safety. Personally, I like the trigger guard safety, especially the gold plated ones on early Sweet Sixteens. As your gun is a first year of production Sweet Sixteen, you should consider getting a letter from Browning. I think it’s $50, though they’ll give you the information over the phone for free. Please let us know what you find out.
Thanks again for the comments! I emailed both the Browning and FN historians about 2 weeks ago, but have not heard anything yet. Per your advice, I contacted Browning Customer Service and paid for a letter. They stated it should be ready in two weeks or so after their historian reviews the order. I told them that I had emailed Lenny Rees but had not heard from him yet. They told me that he had retired. I will repost once I have the letter and info. Take care!
