Belgian Browning Auto-5 Magnum 12 Ga. 27.5″ Semi Auto Shotgun MFD 1967 C&R
SOLD FOR: $1,130.00
LSB#: LSB260625WM021
Make: Browning, manufactured by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium
Model: Auto-5 Magnum Twelve
Serial Number: 7V8117
Year of Manufacture: 1967 / C&R
Gauge: 12 Gauge, 3″ Chamber
Action Type: Recoil Operated Semi Auto Shotgun with Tubular Magazine
Markings: The left side of the barrel is marked “BROWNING ARMS COMPANY ST LOUIS Mo. & MONTREAL P.Q.” and “MADE IN BELGIUM”. The right side is marked with a single star, “SPECIAL STEEL-12 GAUGE-SHELLS”, and a 3″ chamber designation. The left side of the receiver is marked “Magnum” and “BROWNING” with a portrait of John Browning. The receiver has scroll engraving and border decoration. The recoil pad is marked “BROWNING”.
Barrel Length: 27.5″, Ventilated Rib
Choke: Full, Fixed
Sights / Optics: There is a metal bead at the front of the ventilated rib. The top of the rib is finely checkered to reduce glare.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered wood with a finger-grooved forend, flat-bottom pistol grip, straight comb, and a brown ventilated Browning recoil pad with black and light-colored spacers. There are scattered light scratches, small dings, and handling marks. The buttstock finish has crazing on both sides. There are no chips or cracks in the wood. The checkering remains well defined. The pad has light wear at the heel and toe. The LOP measures 14″ from the front of the trigger to the rear of the buttpad. The stocks are in Very Good overall condition.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: The barrel has been refinished. The receiver finish is original.
Bore Condition: The bore is bright. There is no erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 9/10.
Overall Condition: This shotgun retains about 95% of its current metal finish. There are scattered light scratches and handling marks, light edge wear, and a few small spots of discoloration on the barrel. The receiver has light wear along its edges and around the operating controls. The screw slots show light tool marks. The markings and engraving are clear. Overall, this shotgun is in Very Good condition as partially refinished.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly.
We did not fire this shotgun.
As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None
Our Assessment: By the time this Auto-5 was made in 1967, Browning’s self-loading shotgun had been in production for more than six decades, but its Magnum Twelve version was still a comparatively recent development. Browning added the three-inch Magnum 12 in 1958, the same year it introduced a lightweight 20-gauge Auto-5. Those two additions widened the model’s appeal in different directions: one reduced the size of the sporting gun, while the other accommodated the larger shells favored for ducks, geese, and turkeys. The Magnum retained the recoil-operated system that had made the Auto-5 successful, with a recoil mechanism specifically arranged for the heavier loads. A design first delivered by FN in 1903 was continuing to develop around the needs of postwar sportsmen.
The “Magnum” inscription and three-inch chamber marking identify this example with that expansion of the Auto-5 line. Its Browning-marked ventilated pad also follows a distinctive feature of the Magnum Twelve, which received a recoil pad as standard equipment. The Belgian barrel marking and St. Louis-Montreal address bring the manufacturing and commercial sides together: FN built the guns in Belgium, while Browning distributed them in North America. The Montreal connection had become especially significant in 1958, when Browning and FN established Browning Arms of Canada. Even the portrait of John Browning within the receiver engraving links the later model to its inventor. This 1967 Magnum belongs to a period when his original self-loading concept was still being adapted and sold through the international partnership that had brought it into production.