Browning Auto-5
FN Herstal1902–1998Smokeless revolution
Also known as A-5, Remington Model 11, Humpback
Image credit
- Title
- File:Browning Auto 5.JPG
- Author
- Hmaag(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 3.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Browning_Auto_5.JPG
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m28.38 g438.0 grverifiedsource438 gr as published, converted to grams. One ounce.
- v490.7 m/s1,610 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 762 mm barrel, not this arm's 711 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length — no extrapolation (SPEC.md §8.2)
Inputs
- v at 762 mm490.7 m/s1,610 fpsverifiedsource1610 fps as published.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 762 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
2 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm4.1 kg9.039 lbverifiedsource
- v_recoil3.397 m/s11.14 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights (SPEC.md §14). This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity5verifiedsourceTube magazine, four rounds plus one chambered; some variants hold two plus one.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m28.38 g438.0 grverifiedsource438 gr as published, converted to grams. One ounce.
- v490.7 m/s1,610 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 762 mm barrel, not this arm's 711 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Not calculated: diameter has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass28.38 g438.0 grverifiedsource438 gr as published, converted to grams. One ounce.
- velocity490.7 m/s1,610 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 762 mm barrel, not this arm's 711 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Not calculated: rpm has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Not calculated: sight radius has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table — and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Shotgun
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Semi-automatic
- Operating system
- Long recoil
- Feed
- Roles
- Designed in
- United States
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1905
- Production
- 1902–1998
Dimensions and mass
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- not recorded
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
- not recorded
- Trigger pull
- not recorded
- Effective range
- not recorded
- Units produced
- not recorded
- Launch price
- not recorded
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- Browning Auto-51,270 mm50.00 inheight not recorded
Representative outline — the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours. Browning Auto-5 records no height, so its outline is drawn at the type's proportion — that height is part of the shape, not a measurement.
Detail
The first successful self-loading shotgun, and the only long-recoil design most people will ever handle. Barrel and breech stay locked together and travel the entire length of the stroke — over 70 mm — before the breech is held, the barrel returns forward alone, and the shell is extracted on the way. Watching one fire is watching the barrel disappear into the receiver and come back.
That stroke is why the receiver is squared off at the rear and why the gun is called a humpback, and it is also why it needs a friction ring stack under the barrel that the owner has to set for light or heavy loads. Get it wrong and the gun either fails to cycle or beats itself apart.
Browning offered it to Winchester and to Remington on a royalty rather than a lump sum, both refused, and he took it to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium — which is how an American design became the foundation of a Belgian company and stayed in production for ninety-six years.
The article publishes no width, height or sight radius, and its production dates cover every licensee rather than FN alone.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- Browning Auto-5 · Wikipedia · 1370005160 · read 2026-08-31 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-08-31 · review status: agent-populated