Browning A5 20-Gauge Shotgun Review

Reviewing the long-awaited 20-gauge Browning A5.

August 23, 2024 By Brad Fitzpatrick

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It was late September, but the temperatures at Redstone Ranch outside Dilley, Texas were still pushing triple digits. Nevertheless, the die-hard dove hunters that arrive in this area each year in—ahem—flocks were not put off by the heat, and I was among them. As I stood, backed up against a mesquite thicket loading my gun, I could see that the mercury wasn’t the only thing that was hot in south Texas at the time. The birds were flying in great numbers back and forth across the milo fields. If I didn’t bag my limit, it wouldn’t be because of a lack of game.

I’ve always enjoyed dove hunting, but I had particularly looked forward to my trip to Redstone because I would have a chance to test Browning’s new 20-gauge A5 semiauto. The smaller sibling of Browning’s popular 12- and 16-gauge A5 is everything you’d desire in a semiauto, sub-gauge upland gun. It’s light, balances nicely, and the fit and finish is superb. With a Winchester dove load chambered, and a couple more in the magazine tube, I pulled my hat low against the evening sun and set out to take my limit of birds.

The first doves passed so quickly overhead that I didn’t even shoulder the gun. Slowly, I shook off the rust of eight months without wingshooting and began to hit a few passers.

The dogs were back in the shaded kennel because the afternoon hunts were so warm. This meant every bird I downed I had to find myself, with help from GUN DOG editor Kali Parmley and Browning’s Shaundi Cambell. The heat and tall grass slowed the search—this was snake country, and nothing ruins a hunt faster than the staccato buzz of an unseen rattler.

As the sun sank and turned from hot white to a deep red, the birds came more quickly, and at times I could barely keep the A5 20-gauge fed. But gradually, my game bag filled and by the time the sun set, and the temperature dropped, I had a limit of birds.

The Wait for a 20-Gauge A5 is Over

browning-a5 — The Browning A5 is an inertia operated semiauto shotgun. (Photo courtesy of Brad Fitzpatrick)

After we’d returned to the lodge, Shaundi told me that since Browning unveiled the original A5 in 2012, there had been questions about when the 20-gauge version would appear.

Browning shocked the shooting world by releasing a 16-gauge version four years later, a move which largely revitalized interest in 16 bore guns. But browning fans were relentless in their desire for a new 20-gauge gun, and after a little more than a decade, their wish has been granted.

The new A5 is mechanically similar to both the 12- and 16-gauge versions. Which is to say, that it is very different than the original Auto-5 design developed by John Browning himself, and patented in 1899. John Browning’s original design was a long, recoil-operated design, wherein the barrel and the bolt moved rearward. The barrel then moved forward back into position, followed by the bolt which plucked a shell from the carrier. The new A5s use Browning’s Kinematic Drive system which utilizes recoil energy in a slightly different manner. When the gun is fired, a spring in the bolt compresses, and when that stored energy is released, the four lugs in the front of the bolt unlock and the gun cycles. A recoil spring in the stock applies pressure to the bolt driving it forward and back to scoop another round off the carrier and sliding it back into position. The lugs then lock in position and the gun is ready to fire again.

The system is splendidly simple. There are no gas ports to clean, and routine maintenance of A5 shotguns is simple and straightforward. The A5 20-gauge’s inertia-operated action offers other advantages as well. For starters, the system performs best in lighter guns which means that the A5 20-gauge can be built lighter than competing gas-operated guns. The A5 20-gauge, with its aluminum alloy receiver, weighs around 5 3⁄4-pounds. This is ideal for an upland gun that you’ll be carrying more than shooting. It’s about a quarter-pound less than a Benelli M2 and a full pound lighter than most steel receiver 20-gauge over unders. If you don’t think a pound of gun weight has a substantial impact on your performance as a hunter, you haven’t climbed many mountains searching for Huns and chukar or walked long miles in milo fields looking for pheasants.

Another advantage to the Kinematic Drive system is that there’s no gas system in the forearm. As a result, the A5’s forearm is trim and narrow. I found the A5 to be a very well-balanced gun, sitting squarely between the hands, since it was neither butt nor forend heavy. It’s quick to the shoulder and smooth-swinging. Pick one up and I think you’ll agree that there’s no denying how the A5 20-gauge’s design architecture translates into a great handling upland shotgun.

One design feature that’s a hallmark of the A5 family is the “humpback” design. More than just a signature look, the humpback profile extends the sight plane by several inches and leads the eye down the Browning’s flat rib. Traditionally, American field shotguns wore flat ribs and shot 50/50 patterns; Browning embraced that ethos when building the A5.

Other notable Browning-specific features that have found their way into this gun include: Invector DS choke tubes, an Inflex II recoil pad, nickel Teflon coating on the bolt, bolt handle, and carrier, Vector Pro lengthened forcing cones, TurnKey magazine plug, and Browning’s Speed Load Plus feature that automatically chambers the first shell loaded in the magazine tube when the bolt is locked back. I particularly like this feature as a bird hunter because after emptying the gun I can simply load shells into the mag tube while maintaining a lookout for late-rising birds or, in the case of our Texas dove hunt, birds that whistle past the shooter while they’re pausing to reload.

The A5 20-gauge will initially be available in a Hunter version, with a gloss black anodized aluminum receiver, and Turkish walnut stock with 18 LPI checkering. It will weigh close to 5 3⁄4-pounds and measure about 47 1⁄4-inches with a 26-inch barrel. Standard length of pull is 14 1⁄4-inches and spacers will likely be included as they are with other A5 shotguns. MSRP will be around $2,000.

Shooting the Browning A5 20-Gauge on the Range

texas-dove-hunt — No gas ports and easy disassembly on the A5 make routine maintenance and cleaning simple and straightforward. (Photo courtesy of Brad Fitzpatrick)

During a lull in the late afternoon, when the Texas temperature was beginning to drop but the birds were not yet flying, I had an opportunity to test the A5 20-gauge at Redstone’s sporting clays course. The course includes overhead targets, incomers, and hard crossers. I didn’t break a clay with every trigger pull, but with the varied target presentations I got a fair idea of what the A5 20-gauge had to offer bird hunters in the field. The primary takeaway is that the gun is exceptionally well-balanced. Linger on a rising pheasant or flushing chukar, and the bird can quickly get out of range. Clay target shooters can get away with a gun that isn’t quick to the shoulder and target, but upland hunters (who very often walk all day for one or two shots on public land) don’t have that luxury. I also like the A5’s long sight plane and flat-shooting characteristics.

A sub six-pound 20-gauge can be abusive, especially with magnum field loads, but the Browning isn’t. I credit that to the Inflex II pad which lives up to Browning’s promise of less felt recoil. I also like that the Inflex pad has a generously rounded heel; it’s hard to hit fast flying birds with a poor handling gun, but it’s impossible if the heel of the recoil pad hangs up in your shooting vest with every shot.

The Browning’s safety, which is mounted behind the trigger guard, and the magazine release button, which lies ahead of the trigger guard, are both large enough that you can operate them blindly and while wearing gloves. The magazine tube release button on the front of the trigger guard (as opposed to the side) is a departure from standard inertia-operated design architecture, but I’ve come to prefer it.

There were a handful of failures to chamber rounds during the hundreds of shots fired on the range that day, but each could be attributed to the guns being dry and remedied with a light layer of lubrication on the moving parts. Simply disassembling the gun, wiping it down, and adding a light layer of lubricant solved the issue each time. The Browning is simple to disassemble, doesn’t require O-rings that can be easily lost or damaged, and the trigger drops free for cleaning.

I’d rank the A5 20-gauge among the best semiauto upland guns available today. Fit and finish are characteristically good, and there are no rough edges on the gun’s design. It’s light enough for all-day carry but not punishing to shoot, and reliability is excellent. The 20-gauge humpback is back, and it’s a worthy successor to the original design.