Browning A5 Help

MisterHappy

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I posted this in another forum, but I figued that NES Brain Trust shoud be consulted, as well.

My pre-war A5 (ser no 222xxx) stopped working. Suddenly, in the middle of a round of Trap. Trigger would not pull, felt like the safety was engaged, though it wasn't. By backing the magzine tube nut off, with the bolt in battery, so that it was about 1/8 inch forward of where it shoudl be, I could pull the trigger, and cause the hammer to fall.

I took out the trigger group, found a little cleaning was needed, no obvious broken pieces.

I was able to replicate the problem be moving the safety sear (Browning nomencalture)

So....do I need to replace the safety sear ( not the external safety) the link that impinges on the safety sear, or both.

THoughts?
 
did you take that part out and see if maybe a sliver of brass or something got under it and is messing everything up
 
Found the culprit after some more taking apart: Broken firing pin.

I was able to dowmload the pdf of the A5 manual, and that was the trick. There was some crud, but the broken part ( 1" back from the tip) appears to be the real issue. I'd heard horror stories about A5 work, but it was not that bad. More detailed than my Winchester 1400, but not rocket science. And it was cool to find a WOODEN part in the guts of a modern firearm!

The bad news was the price of a NOS replacement - more than I paid for the gun! Oh, well, used gun gets a used part!
 
I have 3 early Remington 11's, and they're still below the radar as far as cost goes. Fortunately, parts haven't gotten to A5 levels yet. I've been able to find many NOS parts for them at reasonable prices.
 
Actually, I can't complain - this sucker was built before WWII, and had a long, full life when I got it nearly 30 years ago. I had to replace the forend (it was cracked, a common thing of A5s) and did the stock too. ( IIRC it was a SARCo special from the old Shotgun News).

Since my kid stole my 1400, it's been my trap gun.

I've had a bunch of "real" shooters call it a "washing machine" but theirs have been to the shop more than mine! [laugh]

Aside from the cost of the part, it was a good experience. The engineering and workmanship on a "field grade" gun was pretty nice. Damn near everythign was numbered, and proof-marked.

It's easy to see why they kept this model in production for 99 years.
 
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