The "X" marked Auto 5 Sixteen Gauges were the first ones sent to the United States after WW2. The "X" was the sign that these guns were chambered in 2 3/4 inch up from the 2 9/16 inch befor the war. The Sweet was not put on the light guns till a couple of years later. All the Sweets had gold plating on the trigger and safety. I also owned one of those 1947 guns. Some of the BEST engraving work FN did.

The recoil spring will compress over the years. A new spring and bronze friction piece will help a gun that old. You have a Great Gun. Enjoy!

Below is the one I had. Mine was X11172

 

Thanks Rob for your response. I have a feeling this has some real history and can see the quality of craftsmanship. So tell me, are these guns considered "Sweets" or not - if it doesn't have the "Sweet 16" engraved on it?

What would be an estimated range in condition and value based on the photos I provided?

That's a nice photo with the doves. What choke did yours have?
And the photos of the gun disassembled - very nice.

I would like to do a thorough cleaning and restore the stock finish. Is there dis-assembly / assembly instructions available?
What is the technique to pull the dark staining and oils out of the stock? And for finish - would you use mineral oil or tongue oil? Can anyone provide any direction or recommendations on the proper process and materials for stock work specific to these guns and that era?

There is a very good gunsmith here that does full restorations - but I'm thinking it might be best to leave the metal finish alone aside from clean and re-lube - do you agree?

I will order a new recoil spring and friction piece. Is that all it should need given there are no other signs of wear or problems?

Thanks much

 

By your description and the photos, the gun is a Sweet Sixteen.

Rob, Your pictures are great! The pic of the disassembled A5 gives me the shivers but I am sure that you can put it back as new. I just don't trust my skills as a smith to do that to one of my guns. I once tried my hand at a Purdey S/S. That cost me $300 to make right in 1960's money! A good lesson. :roll:

Greatwhite, If you think that the gun needs to be disassembled and cleaned, I would suggest that you have a good smith do the job. His set of proper screwdrivers would cost you the price orf a screw set alone. I had Grandfather's 1927 A5 cleaned after 50+ years and that is about as often as most of these guns need the operation unless the gun goes for a swim.

 

A5guy, Thanks for the warning on proper tools and skills. I do have the proper tools and have done gun work before - however I am not a gunsmith so I will consider looking into professional help to be sure. Based on new info, I only want to clean and lube this - not restoration work. Here's an update. I contacted Browning on this question of identification. At first request, the initial serial number look-up identified it as a Standard A5 16GA. Speaking with the Browning historian, he looked it up and said the same thing. I persisted in listing the lightweight features so he dug into archives and found that it is indeed a Sweet 16 w/ cylinder bore barrel - the oldest he has looked up, it was delivered July 18, 1947 and sold for $93.33. He could not answer why it was not marked properly as a Sweet 16 but that it is a very unusual case. I applied for an official letter stating their records.

Thanks guys for you very helpful assistance.

 

I have the same gun. I was told it is a "Special Sweet Sixteen" and my $40.00 letter from Browning will identify it as such. Mine was special ordered with a 28" full choke and solid rib. Some 1947 Sweets were engraved some special orders were not. I just got off the phone with the daughter in law of the original owner. Her brother was the second owner and I am the third. The original owner owned a hardware store in a very small town in 1947. He bought it for pheasant hunting.