OKay, good. It should be a 12ga, until 1910-1913 for a 16ga. In that case, all US market 12ga guns were made with 2 3/4" chambers.

oh ok i just realized the other posts were about the 16 ga.still good to know if i ever get a 16ga thanx

I have one 1932. 16 it was 16/60 and than restamped 16/70 Grade 3. with 3 barrels. You know that word "sweet" no true its mean.

I've got European 12 gauge A5 that was made in 1930 and has a 2 9/16" chamber. It was missing the barrel when I got it, and I got a smoking deal on a Belgian barrel from the 1950's with a 2 3/4" chamber. Can I use this barrel without any modifications? I figure it is cheaper for the time being to hunt down 2 1/2" shells.

Can I still shot a 2 1/2 shell in a 16 ga modified for a 2 3/4 shell? Just wondering.

Shooting a 2 1/2 in a longer chamber is no problem. Just like shooting a 2 3/4 in a 3 1/2 chamber.


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Probably not, as the extension and ejector are different...at least w/o some machining, you'll likely have ejection/cycling issues. I do have something you may be interested in, though. Just PM me.

I want to thank you all for your input on this thread. I have just purchased an old Auto 5 16 gauge gun and I can see by the posts here that it is still a 2.5 gun. I am going to shoot RST or Polywad shells in it. The gun has #3 engraving and is a wonderful piece.

Yeah, Browning didn't make the 16 Auto 5....thinking now, until something like - 1930. Guessing. I'll have to look it up, but for sure a 1903 gun cannot be a 16. It took even longer for them to get around to making the 20.

Not all of the 16's are "sweet". They made them concurrently until, if memory serves, 1940.

Actually, they were made for Europe by around 1910, and started to trickle in to the U.S. within a few years. I had what was (according to Vanderlin) one of the first 1k 16ga A5s made for the American market. Another collector wanted it more than I did.

My Browning 16 is not a Sweet Sixteen. It is a very light, slim gun however. I'd like to hold it up next to a Sweet Sixteen to see if I can identify differences. I am a fan of 16's because the ones that I own, a model 12, a Remy 11 and an Ithaca model 37 feel lighter and therefore faster than a 12. The mag 20 killed the 16 and I think that they are coming back. I like mine.

My Browning 16 is not a Sweet Sixteen. It is a very light, slim gun however. I'd like to hold it up next to a Sweet Sixteen to see if I can identify differences. I am a fan of 16's because the ones that I own, a model 12, a Remy 11 and an Ithaca model 37 feel lighter and therefore faster than a 12. The mag 20 killed the 16 and I think that they are coming back. I like mine.

Only differences I know of between sweet and regular 16 are holes in the barrel ring, trigger color, and slots cut in the receiver (inside).

Early sweet bbl rings had no holes, but were milled inside the ring, and rode on the outer lips, only.

Thank you for the conversion info on the 16 gauge A5.

Does anyone know how they marked the gun when they made the conversion?
I spoke to a tech at browning and he told me they usually stamped the gun somewhere but didn't know what the stamp was.

I thought they would cross out the 2 9/16" and add 2 3/4" mark on the barrel. My gun has all the signs of a conversion but no indication that it was done.

Thanks

Not so. The first Sweet Sixteens had five holes, later three. The Japanese guns had the so-called shaped ring.

And FN introduced the 16 gauge Auto-5 in 1909, but it wasn't imported into the U.S. until 1923. The Sweet Sixteen was test marketed in 1936 and became a catalogued item in 1937. Here is a picture of the ring on a 1938 barrel.

I hoped someone with a converted gun would answer your question, but since no one has, I'll try.
As I understand it, if Browning did the conversion they stamped 2 3/4" in large digits on the barrel near or over the other markings. If someone else did it, they may not have marked the gun at all, which is why this thread is so valuable!

0n converted guns were chambers also reamed deeper. I checked mine which has all the visible signs and measured app. 3" ?

Reaming the chamber is what makes shooting the longer shells safe; all of the other mods are there to make the gun cycle. You probably got some of the forcing cone in your 3" measurement.

Enjoy your 16!