So I got myself a Father’s Day present a few days ago, a Belgian-made Browning magnum Auto-5 in 12 gauge. Like me, it’s a 1969 vintage and apparently it used to belong to one of the other gun store owners here in town before he passed away. I spent a lot of time growing up stopping in at his store so I was glad to pick this one up since it has a little extra meaning.
What never gets old is the long recoil system of these guns. It’s a different feel than a gas gun like my Mossberg 930 or the recoil operation of my Stoeger or Benelli shotguns. It’s a little more labor-intensive to take it apart than modern designs but that’s just the way they made them back in those days. It’s just too bad Browning quit making the old humpbacks but in a world of cost cutting and modifications to make the lawyers happy, I suppose Saint John Moses Browning’s masterpieces like this are a thing of the past.
What never gets old is the long recoil system of these guns. It’s a different feel than a gas gun like my Mossberg 930 or the recoil operation of my Stoeger or Benelli shotguns. It’s a little more labor-intensive to take it apart than modern designs but that’s just the way they made them back in those days. It’s just too bad Browning quit making the old humpbacks but in a world of cost cutting and modifications to make the lawyers happy, I suppose Saint John Moses Browning’s masterpieces like this are a thing of the past.