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The Browning A5 Ultimate 4+1 12-gauge is part of its short-recoil operated autoloader A5 shotgun series. The modern Browning A5s share beneficial branding and name recognition with their original A5 – that’s short for Automatic 1905 - namesake from a century earlier that was designed by none other than John Browning himself. But the new A5s are the result of repeated tweaks and upgrades to make them very, very different.

For starters, the A5 Ultimate has a stunning satin nickel receiver engraved with pheasants on one side and mallards on the other. The furniture is eye-catching, rich, dark, gloss oil finished Grade III Turkish walnut. It has a fine grain complimented by impressive 22 LPI (lines per inch) cut checkering on the forend and stock. The checkering is in stylized pennants that are more trapezoidal than anything else. The result is effective, comfortable and reassuring. The primary metal components have superb bluing.

There are two 12-gauge models. You can get 26” or 28” barreled guns with 3” chambers. Both have a 14 ¼” length of pull, 1 ¾” drop at comb and a 2” drop at heel. The first is 47 5/8” overall and weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces. The 28” is 49 5/8” overall and weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces.

Regardless of model, the barrel has an accuracy-inducing lengthened Vector Pro forcing cone between the bore and chrome-plated chamber. And these Brownings include a trio of interchangeable Invector-DS (Double Seal) chokes (Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder) designed with a gas and grit-sealing brass band at their base.

These premium Browning choke tube sets are the longest chokes the company offers. They thread into the muzzle front instead of in back as do the more affordable short Standard Invector and medium-length Invector-Plus tubes. Longer tubes have a longer taper, and thus the less shot deformation and greater accuracy. A cool detail is that Browning has engraved which chokes their guns are compatible with on the barrels and the receiver’s monoblocks.

Browning calls the A5 series the world’s “most reliable, fastest cycling, best performing and softest shooting recoil-operated” autoloader shotgun. It backs this claim with a 100,000 round or five-year guarantee.

The new A5 range’s visual signature is its characteristic humpback lightweight aluminum alloy receiver. Its long sight line makes for easy sighting and leads to an ivory mid-bead and a red fiber optic front bead sight that sit atop a 1/4" width vent rib. But one of the many upgrades in this modern gun is the versatile, all-weather, recoil-operated Kinematic Drive System.

A5s have tube magazines and handle various ammunition down to one-ounce loads without requiring adjustments. Moreover, the included TurnKey magazine plug blocks the magazine for safety. Cleverly designed venting outlets evacuate gases from the barrel and keep parts cleaner and operating more smoothly than they might otherwise.

A5 bolts are hard chrome plated. The bolt release and the rest of the bolt carrier group is nickel Teflon coated for a durable protective coating. The trigger guard is also oversized so you can operate the gun while wearing gloves. And within is a gold-plated trigger. A5s feature a Speed Unload to easily empty any shells at a touch. The straight stock design comes with .25” and .5” stock spacers that can be combined for a total .75” length of pull adjustment. In back is a highly absorbent Inflex 2 recoil pad.

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