Fabrique National Auto 5 12 gauge shotgun from 1927 - 1929

One of my shooting buddy's called me 3 times this afternoon to show me his new acquisition. This evening when we got home he brought over a shotgun that has been in his family for many years now but knows virtually nothing about its history.

I am pretty well versed in Auto 5 shotguns however this particular FN model sort of eludes me. It was made between 1927 and 1929 according to what I could find by the serial number. While it is basically a Browning A5 12 Ga. it differs in many ways from what I am used to seeing. There is no Browning roll mark and all it say on it is Fabrique National, Herstal, designed by John M. Browning. There is no engraving in the receiver, no ventilated rib on the barrel, and it does not function quite like any Browning version of the A5 I am familiar with.

The safety is in the front of the trigger guard (sort of like a M1 Garand), not on the side of the trigger guard as I am familiar with, the "bullseye button" must be pushed in to release the lifter and load each individual shell, and you can not load and auto chamber a shell from the bottom like on a standard Browning A5. When function testing it with dummy shells, the bolt locks back and will not feed the next round in the magazine. And yes - I made sure the magazine cutoff was not engaged. Oh BTW, the trigger and the safety are both gold plated - I doubt that is original either.

The forend looks to be light French Walnut (like on a Browning A5) but the stock looks like it is ill fitting and was replaced with an after market stock somewhere along the line. It appears to be an inexpensive copy and has stamped checkering - not hand cut. I do not believe either are original (maybe the forend is - don't know for sure) but I can tell the stock is definitely aftermarket. The bore is in excellent shape and the finish might have been reblued. The top of the receiver is Parkerized and I have never seen that on a commercial A5.

Is anyone here well versed in the Fabrique National A5 circa 1927-1929? I'd like to learn more about this shotgun. Actually as a Browning shotgun guy I am more curious about it than he is!

Serial # 919XX

I will continue to do some research but you never know who can help out here on the Forum.

I can’t add too much information. I had an auto 5 as you described about 20 years ago. It had the trigger guard safety and the gold trigger. It also had the bead blasted receiver top and a lack of engraving. Mine functioned as any other A5 should loading and cycling. Mine came with the original hang tags along with one stating its federal law to plug your gun to 3 shot for migratory birds.

I have owned a few A5s, still own a couple. The safety in the front of the trigger guard was used into the mid 50s I believe. Many A5s have replacement forearms because they crack is the barrel gets a bit loose and people squeeze them when picking the gun up. Original stocks have a round pistol grip. Gold plating of the trigger is original. All of the older A5s were made in Belgium by FN and will be marked FN. I am by no means an expert but Browning never made A5s in the US, only imported them. So A5s that were made before The Browning company was established in the US would not have the Browning name on them. Many were used for shooting Trap in years gone by and loading one round at a time might have been a special feature but I'm guessing. A trap model would have a vent rib barrel but the barrel might be a replacement. Check the serial number on the barrel. They were matching until some time in the 60s I think when FN stopped matching barrels and receivers.

I’ve only owned one with the safety in the front of the trigger guard. It was chambered for 2 1/2” shells. Do some measuring before you fire 2 3/4” shells.

Chief38, are you familiar with the shotgunworld.com website? They have a whole section devoted to Brownings ( I love my...Brownings). Lots of great info there. I found some great info on my grandfather's 1935 A5 16ga.

Browning Arms Co didn't come to being until 1954/55.
That's when that name was established to market the FN made firearms of JM Browning design/patent in the USA.
They didn't make a thing. They imported the FN made guns into the USA, which before 1955 was not allowed by the licensing and marketing agreement betw mainly Remington and FN.

Before 1955, the A5 mfg'rd FOR SALE in the USA was mfg'd in the USA under license and agreement from FN by Remington.
That started in 1908 or 1910. Remingtons end of production of the Mod 11 was in 1947 or '48 I believe.
Savage Arms was also licensed to produce the A5 for sale in the USA from approx 1930 to 1950/51. It has it's own design quirks.

( There was a short time, during WW2 when FN's factory was under occupation Remington produced the A5 for FN's market. They are called American Brownings by collectors. They are ser#'d on the side of the recv'r instead of the usual loading port position of the FN mfg.
They also have the mag cut-off feature, something the Rem M11 didn't have.
Many see nothing special in these war time Rem mfg 'American/FN A5's
and just call them a Rem Mod 11 w/ cut-off.

In 1955 'The Browning Arms Co' began importing the still FN mfg'd A5 into the USA with the Browning Arms Co name on it & of course still with the Made in Belgium marking.

Remington had the NorthAmer market. FN had the European and Far East markets.

The FN A5 up to 1955 used the Garand style inside the trigger guard safety. Early Remingtons used it as well. Then the Rem designers decided to use a standard cross bolt Button style safety on later production.

Early FN A5 actions require the bolt release button on the side to be depressed for the carrier to lower for loading the magazine.
The articulated (two-piece) carrier came into being in the 50's IIRC.

Early FN A5 guns had no engraving on the Field models. No wriggle cut border engraving or flashy scroll work on the recv'r.
Plain bbl was the Field gun but a Solid rib bbl was available as were higher grades. VR became avail as well.

Remingtons Model 11 had a few internal changes that they decided made the design better. Rem added a buffer to the inside rear wall of the recv'r for the recoiling bolt to bump up against. Over time those fibre buffers, rivited into place have most all deteriorated. You can replace them. Many M11's are used not knowing there used to be such a part inside there and go merrily along working just fine.

Remington's vent rib bbl was unique in that the bbl, the vent rib posts and the rib itself are all one piece. All machined from the one piece of steel.
Remington used this same process in making VR bbls for the M17, M10T, and M31.

Fn's vent ribs are brazed posts onto the bbl. The sold rib on the FN mfg guns was also brazed into place. Even then it's not uncommon to find either loose on their bbls. The violent double shuffle recoil of the long recoil op system probably something to do with it.
I've re-layed a couple of the SRibs with High temp silver braze. Not an easy job.

Very early magazine cut-off system on the FN A5 was just that, a magazine cut-off. It would either block the shell in the mag from being fed onto the carrier (single load/auto eject),,or allow the shell to be fed (semi-auto). The latter occuring only when the bolt was first closed and then pulled back open and released
Later the cut-off was redesigned so that when it was released with a shell held in the magazine & the bolt locked open,,the shell will feed from the mag tube right on to the carrier. At that instant, the bolt release will trip and the bolt will unlock and run forward as the carrier lifts the cartridge up. The cart will be fed into the chamber and the gun ready to go. That's how I remember it anyway.


Remington and FN had the same licensing and marketing agreement with the FN .22 semiauto rifle & Remingtons Model 24 semiauto 22 (later updated to the Rem Model 241.
Same agreed upon markets for each. Same basic firearm with some differences introduced in the Rem version by their designers.

Rem discontinued the Model 241 in Jan. 1955
Same thing happened with the FN 22 semi auto at that point as with the FN A5.
The rifle which had before only been marked as the FN and sold in Europe and the East, was now marked with the new Browning Arms Co name along with Made in Belgium by FN.
Importation began almost immediately into the US

That new Browning Arms Co also began importing FN 1910 pistol. The 1910 given a new designation as the Model 1955 Browning semiauto pistol. Note the yr.

Remingtons Model 8 (and later M81) rifles were were another under the same agreements with FN.
FN mfg'd the same design as the FN Model 1900 semiauto rifle in 9mm cal for their markets. Never a big seller

2152hq beat me to it, but I concur. You have a shotgun manufactured for sale somewhere other than the US, that's why it's marked FN and not Browning. The trigger guard safety was actually the second safety design, introduced around 1909 and lasting until the early 50s, then was changed to the cross button behind the trigger we are all so familiar with. And that's also correct about needing to push the side button to release the carrier to load. Val Browning changed the design in the early 50s. The new 2 piece carrier is known as a "Speedfeed" design. If the gun is empty with the bolt locked back, you just thumb a shell into the magazine (which you can do because the 2 piece carrier will move up) and it automatically shoots back onto the carrier and the bolt releases and feeds the shell into the chamber. Val designed this as part of his Double Auto, and then incorporated it into the A5.

Thanks Guys! I am very familiar with the Browning A5's the Remington A5's but had not seen an early FN version up until yesterday - many differences even though it is somewhat similar as well. My Browning A5 has had tons of shells through it and I have used it for hunting, sporting clays, trap and skeet along the way. The A5 is my second favorite shotgun - my all time #1 fav is my Browning Belgium Superposed.

I have an Auto 5 from the exact same time period, around 1927. This was that family "trunk gun" and has been in the family since the 1930's. Plain receiver, 30 inch full barrel with no rib, safety in the front of the trigger guard. It was in sad shape when it finally made it down through the family to me in the 70's. I have gone through it completely replacing worn/damaged part's, it was polished and blued, the broken/damaged stock was also replaced. After I reassembled it I took it out to make sure it functioned correctly, cleaned it and then put it back in the rack. This will get handed down to one of my grandson's.