Browning A3 shotgun

by Otony, Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 09:55 (3776 days ago)

I had been watching Gunbroker for the past year or two, hoping to find an older Browning A5, one with the trigger guard safety. I was waiting for the troika deal, first, reasonable price, second, reasonable condition, and third, a plain barrel.

Needless to say, once you attach the Browning name to anything, reasonable prices are long in coming. As well, there is a fair amount of collector interest in older Brownings, which drives the price up to boot. And finally, since the trigger guard safety versions ended in the late 1940s, most of this vintage are very well used.

What I was after was a plain barreled piece, so I could further lower the value by building a 21" or 22" home defense gun. Imagine my surprise when I ended up with an A3 that fit all of my requirements!

As I wrote above, I was constantly watching GB for such an item when a listing for an A5 caught my eye. It was reasonably priced, indeed, very much so, as I ended up paying 300 bucks for it. Condition was fairly good, it sports some patina at the rear of the receiver, and the stocks could be refinished (but are solid), and it has some pitting in the barrel. The real detraction is a Weaver choke, which brings the total barrel length to 25". All in all, a typically representative piece from the era, especially the patent choke. And that choke is likely the reason no one was bidding on it. But the real indicator of its value was the last picture of about a dozen listed in the auction. It showed a shot of the bottom of the forend, wherein was neatly carved: Browning 3 Shot.

At that point I had no idea what a Browning 3 Shot was, but a half hour with Google soon made me an instant expert. The three shot versions were not all that common, although Remington had produced quite a few of a similar version in their Model 11 series. The forend is almost 3" shorter than an A5. Because it was listed as an A5, I had a strong feeling no one was going to clue into the last picture. The die was cast, I made a bid.

Gotta tell you guys, this thing handles completely unlike any A5 I've ever shot. It is very lively, very much so, and swings nicely. I had a buddy here in town turn a choke out for me that is essentially just a thread protector. When I remove the Weaver choke, and install the Ring, as I call it, barrel length goes from 25" to 22.5". The existing choke is a modified, btw, so between it and the cylinder Ring, I'm pretty well covered. All it needs is a decent pad to replace the wormy horn buttplate.

I love old iron!

Otony