Where to look for Light 12 value

[lax]

I was at a family BBQ tonight and was shown a Browning light 12 and Remington sportsman 20 gauge tonight. The owner inherited them a few years ago and wanted to get an idea on their values. The sportsman seems pretty straight forward, but the Browning A5 light 12 not so much. Any sites to gather information would be appreciated. The Browning shows some wear which is expected for a hunting gun. It was made in Japan(mirokou), invector chokes, and steel rated barrel. The stock looks ok but there is some cracks/repairs near the tang.

 

[pre64hunter]

Nice Jap A-5's are around a $1000. Earlier Belgium A-5's generally $1000-2000. You're not supposed to shoot steel shot out of the older Belgium guns. When water fowling went to steel shot only, the value of the Belgium ones dropped and prices were stagnant for awhile until the A-5 was discontinued. Jap guns with the invector chokes became more desirable. You can look up the date of manufacturer on the Browning website and there should be some brief history. I have and had several A-5's. I shot at least 10K rounds through my Light 12 that I bought around 1975. I have a light and mag 20 too.
Back in the early 80's a 3" mag 12 model's life span on a gun shop shelf was measured in hours.

 

[rseymorejr]

My son recently won a Belgian A5 12 gauge light on Gun Broker. Great shape, no stock cracks, he paid $650 for it.
I think he got a pretty good deal
I picked up a Belgian Magnum A5 locally for about the same price abd it's in very good condition also

 

[pre64hunter]

The Remington Sportsman or aka Model 11 was the earlier A-5 so to speak. Winchester wasn't interested in the Auto 5 so Browning took it to Remington. The Remingtons range around $650 with the 20 being more desirable than the 12ga. The Remington didn't have all the same features as the Browning like the magazine cutoff and auto loading from the tube, on an empty gun, you just push the shell in the tube and the action would wisp it into the chamber and close the bolt in a blink.

 

[pre64hunter]

My son recently won a Belgian A5 12 gauge light on Gun Broker. Great shape, no stock cracks, he paid $650 for it.
I think he got a pretty good deal
I picked up a Belgian Magnum A5 locally for about the same price abd it's in very good condition also

yes, that's a pretty good deal, then add tax, shipping, transfer and 1% GB fee, you'll still get change from a $1000 bill. Allan Price at the Baltimore County Show Saturday had a nice Mag 12 for around $800 I think.
The Auto 5 was the heaviest of all auto loading shotguns. They were all machined parts and all steel.

 

[Biggfoot44]

The Remington Sportsman or aka Model 11 was the earlier A-5 so to speak. Winchester wasn't interested in the Auto 5 so Browning took it to Remington. The Remingtons range around $650 with the 20 being more desirable than the 12ga. The Remington didn't have all the same features as the Browning like the magazine cutoff and auto loading from the tube, on an empty gun, you just push the shell in the tube and the action would wisp it into the chamber and close the bolt in a blink.

" Sportsman " is an adjective for the submodel that only had 3 shot capacity ( 2+1)

There were Model 11 Sportsman and Model 11-48 Sportsman models .

 

[lax]

Thanks for the info. The sportsman is the 3 shot model 11 which should date to 1939. The a5 being a well used Japanese build would the group think it’s in the 500s? Here are a few pictures of both.

 

[Augie]

With the bad stock on the A5 400 to 500, the Japanese barrels are desirable for the chokes and steel rating.

 

[Squaregrouper]

I have an A5 Light Twelve almost identical to the one pictured, but in great shape. I would say the one pictured is worth ~$575-$600

 

[pre64hunter]

Browning A-5 Light Twelve 12ga for sale

Browning A-5 Light Twelve 12ga for sale online.

www.gunsinternational.com

 

[Yingpin]

I think I paid $450 for one a few years ago but they have gone up since then and I had to replace the spring but it has been shooting great since. These were popular shotguns for my family and now we all have one but only a few from my grandfather. I have a good number of shotguns and my A5 is what I take to Kansas every year for our pheasant hunt. Great gun, you will even see me shooting trap with it at BCGF!

 

[lax]

Had a chance to look at the light 12 again. It has an L serial so it was built 54-55 making it an fn gun with a newer Japanese barrel.

My son will be using the 20ga.