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yea i know this ain't a 6.5 grendel or a ar-15 --lol
but i have a standard browning a-5 semi shotgun lower with no barrel
and i found a deal on a 20 ga barrel BUT is is a 3" magnum barrel--
will the magnum barrel fit the standard a-5 action??
anybody done this swap? i have heard that 20s ae a bit odd on what fits and don't fit??
thanks---
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Ah1whiskey, I can give you some advice on this hehehe check my username, that's my fav shotgun.
The barrel will fit but the problem you will have is the action is not cut to load and or handle the three inch shells that the mag barrel is capable of shotting.
So even if you put the mag barrel on it you would only beable to shoot 2 3/4 inch shells from it.
Where did you find the barrel?
Best place to look for barrel's is barrelexchange.com
Also forgot to ask do you have the Japanese model are the more prized Belgium model A-5.
The advice I gave above will be correct if it is a Belgium model and should be correct for the Japanese model as well but can't confirm that because I don't own any of the Japanese models.
I own the mag 12, light 12, mag 20, light20, sweet 16, and the impossible to find 28 gauge model my grandfather owned.
My fav of them all is the Belgium mag duck 12 with the 32 inch fixed full choke barrel, talk about a attention getter in the duck blind when you pull that beast up and roll green heads from the sky, where them boys shooting the new 3 1/2 inch shells cant.
Only problem is that thing will kill your shoulder, even more so since I had surgery on my shoulder.
Hope this info helps, let me know if you have any more questions I will help the best I can sir.
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It freakin stupid what a barrel costs for these things.
In the late 90's I bought a brand new a5 stalker 3" mag 28" invector for $750.
A few years ago my son had been using it duck hunting when he noticed the barrel had a bulge in it.
Looks like I will have to shell out another 650-750 for a replacement.
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Yea the prices of the barrel's are very high, but it's more because of the name then anything I'm sure.
Bulged the barrel huh, it happens when people shoot steel shot throw a full choke and the steel shot is bigger then #2's, all my barrels have fixed full chokes and some of them where made in the early 60's, my grandfather always said if you shoot shot bigger then #2's it would do that so all I have ever shot was 2's and 3's.
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Dawg check barrelexchange or call Ed's sporting goods in Kaplan he may have a barrel to replace yours for cheaper.
Ed's a good guy to do buisness with bought my first mag duck a-5 from him and only paid 500 for the gun and it was priced twice as much other places for the same gun.
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The smith I showed it to speculated that a wadding may have stuck. It bulged about 2 inches past the end of the forearm.
I obtained a non-invector 2 3/4 barrel from my dad. It mates to the receiver but I haven't fired it to see if it functions. The finish is bad on it so if it works I will cerokote the whole thing so it matches.
I can't justify the cost of a invector barrel. I haven't fired a shotgun in 5-6 years
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i got this one with no the swelled up barrel , the fellow who had it before was shooting some old re-loads showing off how it could cycle ultra light loads.
had one round give a light "pop" then thoughtlessly pulled the trigger again--
so a 3" barrel WILL work? it is a 2-3/4" belgium.
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It should my light 20 is a 72 year model Belgium and I put a 3 in chambered barrel on it because I couldn't find a 2 3/4 inch chambered barrel for it at the time and it works fine.
Just got to remember no 3 inch shells the action isn't build to handle the powder charge weight of the three inch shells and the ejection port and loading post aren't made to allow 3 inch shells to pass properly.
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Rabbidawg the old fix choked barrels are better then the new barrels with screw in chokes as long as you don't shoot any shells with steel shot bigger then #2 you should be fine. Are buckshot bigger then #1 buckshot it should work fine.
Look down the barrel with a light long as you don't see any deep pitted area's it should be fine. I would have the choke checked by a gunsmith to make sure it is still what the barrel has it marked as.
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Ah1whiskey, I would call Browning and give them the numbers to run and double check to make sure you have a light 20.
You can also look under the forearm if it was a mag there might still be a paper inlay showing how to change the rings so it could fire 2 3/4 inch shells as well.
Better to double check with Browning before you buy a barrel.
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A5BLASTER Wrote:It should my light 20 is a 72 year model Belgium and I put a 3 in chambered barrel on it because I couldn't find a 2 3/4 inch chambered barrel for it at the time and it works fine.
Just got to remember no 3 inch shells the action isn't build to handle the powder charge weight of the three inch shells and the ejection port and loading post aren't made to allow 3 inch shells to pass properly.
OK i will keep that in mind-- thanks!!
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No problem glad I could help.
