A versatile shotgun with classic humpback lines.

I was one of the first writers to hunt with the then-new Browning A5 when the company reintroduced this classic “humpback” design in 2012. I walked through a pheasant field in South Dakota with a small platoon of other media members. While burning through 12 gauge ammo, I was amazed at how well the gun handled and aimed.

Everything I liked about the 12-gauge version of the A5 back then, I now like about the 20-gauge version of the A5 that Browning introduced this year.

We had the opportunity to check the range 20 gauge A5 Hunter in our review best shotguns this summer and then I spent time with him duck hunting during the early teal season. Overall, I think this lightweight semi-auto is a great all-around hunting rifle that is easy to carry and shoots well. But that doesn’t mean he’s flawless. Here’s everything you want to know about the Browning A5 20 gauge.

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• Caliber: 20
• Action: Semi-automatic, inertial.
• Capacity: 4 +1
• Camera: 3 inches
• Weight: 5.52 lbs (measured)
• Trigger Weight: 2.53 lbs (measured)
• Barrel length: 26″ (tested), 28″
• Overall length: 47.25 inches
• LOP: 14.25 inches
• Sight: middle part of the ball, ivory, red stripe.
• Barrel Finish: Blued Gloss
• Stock finish: Turkish walnut, grade I.
• Made in Portugal
• Price: 1980 US dollars.

Key Features

• Humpback type receiver
• Cushy Inflex II Butt Pad
• The kit includes: Invector DS (F, M, IC) chokes and hard case.

Highlights overview

• 50% hit rate with IC choke at 40 yards.
• Reliable 60/40 patterns have been created.
• Excellent handling and natural guidance.
• Large and effective safety cross bolt
• There has been some trouble in the duck swamp.

Semi-automatic in retro style

Many of today’s semi-automatic shotguns are made from synthetic materials and ceramic materials. These materials have obvious advantages in durability, but in my opinion, blued steel and walnut look much better. So, I admit, I liked the look of the A5 Hunter. The Turkish walnut the gun is made from is nice, but not so nice that you’ll feel embarrassed if you accidentally scratch it. Complete with a proud, humpback-shaped receiver, this gun should bring a touch of nostalgia to any old-school duck hunter.

But the appearance and profile of the receiver are where the similarities between the old Auto-5 and the new A5 end. The old Auto-5 (which was designed by John Browning and discontinued in 1999) was a long-recoil pistol in which the barrel and slide were released together and re-cocked. Old Auto-5s were produced in Belgium and then Japan.

The new A5s are made in Portugal and feature an inertial action (although Browning calls his system a “kinematic drive”) that relies on a rotating bolt head (similar in concept to the Benelli bolt). The advantages of this type of action are that it allows for a light, slender, and clean-running weapon. The downsides are that these actions sometimes cause cycling problems with light target loads and can cause sticking problems in poor hunting conditions or when dirty.

So is the new A5 just a nostalgia piece? Not really. Browning says the advantage of a humped receiver is that it creates a longer aiming plane, which allows for faster target acquisition and more accurate shooting.

Whether you believe in the benefit of a longer sight plane is up to you, but anecdotally, our testers shot the 20-gauge A5 pretty damn well, so maybe there’s something to it.

Browning A5 20 gauge pattern

The test gun we received only came with an IC choke, so that’s what I worked with (I usually used a modified choke). I shot five times at 40 yards from Heavy-Bismuth HEVI-Shot load: 3 inches, 1 ⅛ ounces, No. 6 at 1400 fps. I consider this to be an ideal hunting load for upland birds and small ducks.

The A5 puts an average of 145 bullets in a 30-inch circle at 40 yards. This resulted in a pattern percentage of about 50 (meaning that half of the bullets in the load hit the 30-inch scoring circle). This is really solid considering I was removing the choke IC. With the M choke we will of course see an even tighter pattern at this distance.

In my testing, the A5 fired in a 60/40 pattern, meaning 60 percent of the bullets hit above the point of aim and 40 percent below. In my opinion, this is an ideal option for a hunting rifle.

Conclusion: The A5 prints good and consistent patterns. If you were planning on killing game at 40 yards and beyond, I would definitely screw in a modified choke.

A5 Hunter 20 Caliber Range Test

We tested the A5 with other new shotguns of the year at the show Brownells Home Range outside of Grinnell, Iowa. This year’s testing team included shooting editor Jon B. Snow, executive editor Natalie Krebs, freelance writer and professional shooter Matt Foster, and yours truly. We burned thousands of rounds on the skeet course and Crazy Quail Station and then we evaluated each gun.

We were pleased to find that the A5 Hunter handled the target loads without issue. It’s a hunting rifle in every way, but most of us like to shoot skeet or clay pigeons with our hunting rifles. It’s nice to know that the A5 can handle whatever you throw at it.

Thanks to the shotgun’s high-speed loading feature, we were able to fire it lightning fast. The design automatically loads the case when the bolt is locked and you insert a round into the magazine tube. This allows you to quickly get extra rounds into range, or refill a pistol by loading one round and then loading the magazine two rounds at a time (a method our shooting editor Jon Snow has practiced in multi-gun competitions).

“Shooting the Crazy Quail, I was able to push the gun (and my shooting ability) to the limit, firing five shots at the target and then reloading again for three more before all the targets were thrown,” Snow writes in “The Shotgun Test.” ” . “No other shotgun tested could match its rate of fire.”

Both Snow and I found the pistol to mount, point, and swing well. Although the other two test shooters had difficulty getting used to shooting the humpback. Everyone liked the large and convenient transverse safety at the rear of the trigger guard.

The main flaw we found with the gun was that its appearance and finish didn’t quite live up to its high price tag. The configuration of the notches on the forend looks a little strange. There was a noticeable gap between the rail and the receiver, and the shutter release button was reduced in size and slightly beveled. These are minor quibbles, but we agreed that a $1,980 semi-automatic shotgun should be nearly perfect.

Hunting with the A5 Hunter 20 rifle.

Modeling and testing the range of a gun is nice and all, but the real measure of a field gun is how well it runs and shoots while hunting. So I took the A5 at the start of turquoise season in Minnesota in September. I primarily hunt teal in small potholes and swamps in western Minnesota that require walking. The ultra-light A5 was a real pleasure to carry around in those hidden honey holes. For reference, it is about 2 pounds lighter than my favorite gun. 12 gauge SBE III.

Catching teal early in the season can be challenging, partly because these little suckers are fast and agile, but also because many duck hunters get tired in early September. Relatively speaking, I shot well with the A5, stacking ducks at close range into decoys as well as dropping birds on some long-range cross shots. I expected to feel the sting of duck loads fired through such a lightweight platform, but luckily I didn’t notice any unpleasant recoil at all while hunting. I think this was a result of the gun fitting me well and the comfortable Inflex II recoil pad.

Because of its light weight and ease of handling, I think the A5 20 gauge would be an excellent choice as a hard-working pheasant or grouse gun.

The hunting was excellent for the first two days of the season with constant flocks of birds buzzing our decoys. Both days I managed to shoot the limits of bluewings on A5. However, on the second day of hunting I started having problems. The pistol fired a round, but did not fire, apparently because the bolt head did not rotate all the way in the battery. This problem cost me several attempts to lure ducks.

To be honest, I haven’t cleaned it since testing the shotgun when it fired countless shots. Eventually I managed to get it running and hit my limit. When I took the gun apart at camp, everything was very dirty. After a thorough cleaning and lubrication, it worked reliably again.

Another snag I found with the A5 was its unloading. Pressing the holder release tab did not cause the cartridge to reliably fall out of the magazine. I searched the Internet for this problem and found several A5 size shooters. I admit the same problem. I got around this problem by simply pressing the cartridge release to release the rounds from the magazine, which I find to be a better and safer way to unload the gun compared to running them through the chamber. But the problem seemed to confuse and frustrate other shooters.

Final thoughts on the A5 Hunter 20 gauge

The 20 gauge A5 Hunter is great to carry in the field, and I shot it well, which earned it a few extra points in my book—finding a light, small gun to shoot can be a challenge. I liked the traditional look of the A5 Hunter, despite the slight fit and finish issues that bother some hunters more than others. I would advise all A5 owners to keep their guns clean to ensure reliable operation.

Overall, I think the A5 20 gauge is a good choice for an all-around hunting rifle with a lightweight, smooth platform that doesn’t feel flimsy and still looks good.