Hi, just signed up to this forum and haven't poked around too much. Looking fwd to seeing what all is on this forum. Anyhow, I have an A5 Sweet Sixteen that I inherited from my father 20 something years ago. I remember when he bought it, think 1959, and he sure was proud of it. I used it just the other day to sprinkle some feral dogs near our home. I have been on Browning's site trying to date this fine old shotgun, but with no success. Has 0S over 4xxx4. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks-Rick
Hello, Rick. And welcome to the site. First, let me warn you about the Browning page. It is full or errors and contradictions. This is a much better reference: http://www.nramuseum.org/media/940941/serialization-date of manufacture.pdf And if you really want to learn about your treasure, you can order this book: http://www.fnbrowning.com/browning-auto-5-shotguns That said, and to finally get around to answering your question, your Sweet Sixteen was made in 1960.
Yes you were. And just to confuse things, I'll mention that FN used a fiscal year that didn't coincide with the calendar. But I'm not sure if that means that a gun marked 1960 could actually have been made in 1959 or 1961.
I have two FN Auto 5 (No Browning markings at all: even the buttplate is marked "FN"). These have an alloy receivers with the Serial # A69040 and #A69143. Both are 12 Gauge x 2 3/4". The receivers have a black krinkle finish. See the attached photograph. Anyone have information on date of manufacture?
Dennis, you've got a couple "Super Lights". The series began in 1958 with alloy trigger plates, and "by 1969" (according to S/V) also featured aluminum alloy receivers -- like yours. They also say they had trouble with the light guns' recoil cracking the stocks. The problem was eventually solved with denser wood, but I don't know how to tell the difference. With special serial numbers, the only way I know to date your guns is to check the code on the barrels.
The codes on the barrels are Q98786 for Serial # A69040 and R47646 for Serial # A69143. You are correct about the stock. Serial # A69143 has a recoil pad installed and reinforcing pins of dowel rod at the wrist. It is a bit of a game with my very old Luigi Franchi for stock repairs. It kicks to much with 2 3/4" baby magnums. The stock splits and pops chips out of the wrist at the receiver that I paste back and fill with an epoxy/aluminum powder mix. The Franchi 48AL is manageable up to 1 1/4 Ounce loads as an upper limit. One ounce high velocity slugs are brutal. New photographs are inserted below for the receiver serial numbers.
The date codes will be a letter, possibly Greek, among the proof marks. See this list: http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html That will tell you when the barrel was proofed, not necessarily when the gun was made. In some cases the barrel is several years older than the rest of the shotgun. I think that was mostly during the Depression, though.
