Gold Trigger Belgium Brownings

Moneyshot1982

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I inherited 2 Belgium made gold trigger A5’s. 1 is a light 12g and the other is a 20g I’m thinking they are late 50’s to early 60’s. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them, not really my style and I’m trying to narrow down the manufacture date. Any assistance someone can provide is greatly appreciated.
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Check out this link to figure out the date to at least a block of a couple of years if not the exact year.
https://www.browning.com/support/date-your-firearm/auto-5-semi-automatic-shotgun.html
If you want to sell them you will need to post a bunch of good pictures (this one is a REALLY good start!) and take special note of any cracking of the forarms near the receiver. (Cracking of the forearm is rather endemic of the A5 design)

Good Luck whatever you decide. When properly set up, the A5 is one of the sweetest shooting, lightest felt recoil of any shotgun I have ever fired, but it does take some work to get (and keep) them set up properly. I have an old 12 Magnum that I have set up for normal dove loads and everyone who shoots it likes it a lot.
 
34B9DC11-FC2B-4D97-B518-B4FBEB0CA838.jpeg 20773014-EC84-4B56-BE87-48A42CD95CC0.jpeg 0C9911AE-2F5D-4A4F-B02E-E4C366FE2620.jpeg
Check out this link to figure out the date to at least a block of a couple of years if not the exact year.
https://www.browning.com/support/date-your-firearm/auto-5-semi-automatic-shotgun.html
If you want to sell them you will need to post a bunch of good pictures (this one is a REALLY good start!) and take special note of any cracking of the forarms near the receiver. (Cracking of the forearm is rather endemic of the A5 design)

Good Luck whatever you decide. When properly set up, the A5 is one of the sweetest shooting, lightest felt recoil of any shotgun I have ever fired, but it does take some work to get (and keep) them set up properly. I have an old 12 Magnum that I have set up for normal dove loads and everyone who shoots it likes it a lot.
The 20 is near mint. The 12 was my uncles go to for northern deer season in upstate ny. No cracks anywhere on either Gun. E5FB7CCE-38AD-4827-AE7D-AE13D0AC24B8.jpeg
 
Nice! Only down side I see here is you inherited them. That usually means someone died. Sorry for your loss. Nice that someone thought enuff of you to leave them to you.
 
There were my grandfathers he died in 76. Then my uncles he died in 2015. I just dont need use them, my kids aren’t into them, I’d rather they went to someone who would use them and appreciate them.
 
I purchased my FIL's light 20 after he passed. I shoot it quite a bit at clays and it is an extremely well shooting gun. There is no telling how many quail he dropped with it when he was alive. I have always been temped to pick up a 12.
 
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I’m in the weeds on pricing this. Seems in really good condition they are bringing around 1k. What would you value it at if you were selling it? I know it’s Hard to say without seeing, but ballpark.
 
Ser# on the light 12 is 8G-364xx so some where between 1958 and 1967 from what I can find.
Ser# on the 20g is 3Z-741xx can’t find anything on it.
 
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Ser# on the light 12 is 8G-364xx so some where between 1958 and 1967 from what I can find.
Ser# on the 20g is 3Z-741xx can’t find anything on it.
The Light 12 is a 1958 model as it has the 8G prefix. The G means Light 12 and 8 is the last digit of the year.
The Light 20 is a 1963 model with the 3Z prefix. The Z means Light 20 and 3 is the last digit of the year as well.

More info than I had before but less well laid out at: https://proofhouse.com/browning/a5.htm

I would love to run across a nice Light 20 but $1k is tooooo rich for me, but might not be out of line with market price. I have been called "Cheap" before, but usually its just a case of The Brokes!
 
The Light 12 is a 1958 model as it has the 8G prefix. The G means Light 12 and 8 is the last digit of the year.
The Light 20 is a 1963 model with the 3Z prefix. The Z means Light 20 and 3 is the last digit of the year as well.
More info than I had before but less well laid out at: https://proofhouse.com/browning/a5.htm

I would love to run across a nice Light 20 but $1k is tooooo rich for me, but might not be out of line with market price. I have been called "Cheap" before, but usually its just a case of The Brokes!

t thank you for the additional info. I’m pricing it on what I’m seeing on gun broker and other sites. I think I’m in the ball park with it.
 
When looking for pricing on the auction sites, you need to go to 'ended' auctions. Then peruse those auctions for an item like yours that actually sold and this will give you a more realistic price. There are a lot of folks who look to Auction Arms, Gun Broker et al and find a similar make and model 'selling' for thus and so. If you watch these auctions, they aren't selling -they are asking with no takers. I have seen guns sit for years in classifieds because a gun-shop guru told someone that their rusty 15 % bluing Stevens hammer gun was worth $500.

Both of your shotguns would make great shooters. I recently picked up a Light 12 for around $300, but it was treated shamefully and had a lot of light rust on it. After spending about a day with fine steel wool, I finally got down to metal on all the parts. It is a go to Skeet gun for me now. Make sure the rings are installed correctly under the forearm for the load you plan to use. The main reason that so many fore-stocks at cracked on these is because folks don't put them back together properly.
 
When looking for pricing on the auction sites, you need to go to 'ended' auctions. Then peruse those auctions for an item like yours that actually sold and this will give you a more realistic price. There are a lot of folks who look to Auction Arms, Gun Broker et al and find a similar make and model 'selling' for thus and so. If you watch these auctions, they aren't selling -they are asking with no takers. I have seen guns sit for years in classifieds because a gun-shop guru told someone that their rusty 15 % bluing Stevens hammer gun was worth $500.

Both of your shotguns would make great shooters. I recently picked up a Light 12 for around $300, but it was treated shamefully and had a lot of light rust on it. After spending about a day with fine steel wool, I finally got down to metal on all the parts. It is a go to Skeet gun for me now. Make sure the rings are installed correctly under the forearm for the load you plan to use. The main reason that so many fore-stocks at cracked on these is because folks don't put them back together properly.

I’m in no hurry to sell it. so if it sits, it sits. The guns been sitting for for at least 4 decades. a few more wont hurt.
 
I'd say you'd be lucky to get $1,000 between both guns. They'd both be great candidates for cool SBS chops. They'd look like old gangster guns!
 
Love an A5. I have been shooting one since the early 1960's when I got serious about duck hunting. My go-to deer and turkey shotgun is a 12 gauge 3" Magnum I bought in the late 1970's. I used it Saturday for turkeys. A 20 gauge 3" Magnum from about that time has accounted for a huge number of doves, quail, moorhens, squirrels, and about any other small game out there. It will shoot any load if you put the rings in correctly. I have a fairly recent Light 12 that cracked the forearm because the inside cut left a burr on one side so that the wood would be twisted a bit when the barrel slammed forward. A few minutes with a pocket knife and some epoxy fixed it OK, but I got a spare forearm from Numrich just to be sure.
 
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