Browning Auto-5
The Browning Auto-5 is a self-loading shotgun developed by John Moses Browning as a recoil loader . It was the first successful weapon of its kind and was in production for almost a hundred years. The name implies that it reloads automatically and can be loaded with five cartridges (four in the magazine and one in the chamber).
history
The Browning Auto-5 was the first self-loading shotgun to be produced in large numbers. It was patented by John Moses Browning in 1900 and offered to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. for manufacture, which was rejected by them, although Winchester was not able to manufacture a perfectly functioning self-loading gun without infringing Browning's patents for a long time. Of the Winchester model 11 and model 40 self-loading shotguns, only about 125,000 were sold by 1942.
Browning then turned to the Remington Co. in the USA and the Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre in Belgium, which took over the production. Remington manufactured the guns for the US market under license and sold 850,000 of this Remington Model 11 gun there by 1947. The most important manufacturer was the Fabrique Nationale de Herstale in Belgium, which also manufactured all Browning pistols , self-loading rifles and series firearms from Browning. Other manufacturers were Savage in America and Franchi in Italy. After production by the Fabrique Nationale in Belgium was discontinued, the Auto-5 was also made in Japan. From 1903 to the end of production in 1998, over 4,000,000 of these weapons were sold.
Although it was designed as a hunting rifle, the Auto-5 in caliber 12 and with a 20-inch barrel was also used by the military and the police. The police shotgun had an extended magazine and held eight rounds.
Technical specifications
- Ammunition: shotgun ammunition , shot and shotgun barrels in caliber 12, 16 and 20
- Total length: approx. 1–1.35 m
- Barrel: 20 ", 26", 28 ", 32" (50.8–81.3 cm)
- Lock case made of steel or duralumin
- Total weight, unloaded: 2.4 kg (aluminum) or 3.1–3.7 kg (steel)
- Magazine capacity: 2-4 rounds plus one in the barrel
Structure, function
The Auto-5 is immediately recognizable by the vertical rear end of the cylindrical lock box. The tube magazine is located in the fore-end and is surrounded by the barrel recoil spring. The loading opening with a flap is attached to the bottom of the breech block in front of the trigger guard. To insert the cartridges into the magazine, this flap, which also serves as the cartridge feeder, must be pushed up. The ejection opening and loading lever are on the front right of the lock box. The weapons manufactured by the Fabrique Nationale have a lever on the front left of the lock case to activate the magazine lock.
The Auto-5 is a long recoil blower. The common return of barrel and slide is slowed down by the recoil spring and the closing spring and ends in the rearmost position in the housing, with the cock being cocked at the same time. The barrel and slide separate, whereupon the barrel is brought back into the firing position by the recoil spring. The empty case will also be ejected. The bolt is then released by a suitable mechanism, pushed forward by the closing spring located in the piston and locked again with the barrel. In the forward movement, the flap in the loading opening snaps up and brings the new cartridge into the loading position. It is pushed into the chamber by the breech and the shotgun is ready to fire again.
The barrel and slide are locked by a swivel bolt attached to the slide . A ring is attached to the bottom of the barrel, which, pushed over the magazine, guides the barrel. At the same time it transfers the recoil force to the recoil spring. One or more friction rings made of bronze between the ring and the recoil spring serve to reduce the recoil and to protect the weapon. These rings slow down the back and forth of the system. With these rings, the function can be adapted to various types of ammunition.
