Browning’s new A5 Sweet 16 semi-auto revives a classic and creates an upland hunter’s dream gun.
Officially launched in 2016, the latest reincarnation of the Sweet 16 harkens back to a day when the 16 gauge was in its heyday. The original Sweet 16 first hit stores in 1937, and was built on a 20 gauge frame, presenting more firepower than the 20, but in a gun lighter than a 12. Introduced in 1902, the Auto-5, and its cousins manufactured by Remington and Savage, were the first commercially successful autoloading shotguns. These early models worked on the long recoil method, where the barrel moved about three inches backwards to eject the shell and recock the hammer. Upon moving forward, a new shell was reloaded and the action closed.
