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The new Browning A5 Sweet 16, just in time for 2016.
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The right side of the gun.
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Buy a Classic Sweet 16: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=sweet%16
Read more at Browning: https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/shotguns/a5/a5-sweet-sixteen.html
We all have that gun from our youth that left a lasting impression. For me growing up quail hunting on a farm in Arkansas it was the Browning Sweet Sixteen. Most of the boys my age were using single shot shotguns, but the gentleman who would often supervise us on our hunts would be caring the iconic Browning Sweet Sixteen. This gun seems to always be on the right side of the compromise that it was, it carried like a 20gauge but hit like a 12 gauge. As you can imagine, these guns were always out of reach price-wise. When I got to the point in my life where I could add one to my collection, they all had turned into collectors’ items.
They’re still worth collecting. Check out this one: https://www.gunsamerica.com/901051040/Browning-Auto-Five-Sweet-16.htm
Read our original review of the new A5: https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/browning-a5-stalker/
Now everyone who has ever wanted a classic Sweet 16 has a new reason to celebrate. This being 2016, Browning is updating their A5 to the classic caliber. This is a decidedly sweet gun, and one of the high points of SHOT Show 2016.
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The classic lines on the old A5 are still present, but the design has been significantly modernized.
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A classic Sweet 16 currently for sale on GunsAmerica.com.
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The right side of the new 16.
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The left side. The high polish on the deep black is stunning.
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Browning is turning heads with their new A5 line-up, and this is one of the best looking yet. It clearly has the family resemblance of the original but it is not your grandpa’s shotgun. This is a modern, fast cycling, soft shooting, recoil operated auto-loader. This gun is built on a smaller, lighter receiver that has reduced the weight and it feels thinner in your hands.
When I finally got to the front of the line to shoot this gun at Range Day, I could not believe that this was a 28 inch, 16 gauge shotgun. It clearly felt and swung like a light 20 gauge auto-loader. Weighing in at 5 lbs. 13 oz. this 16 gauge was so mild I could have kept it up all day, had they not told me to let someone else have a turn on their gun and their ammunition.
The gun is every bit as good-looking as it is a good shooter. It features a walnut stock with a brass bead front sight, the classic hump back receiver, and gold accents on the trigger and other key parts of the gun. It also features the Invector-DS choke tubes. This beautiful gun is just begging to be run hard.
The MSRP is $1699.99 and is available at a Browning dealer near you. At that price, some will treat this as a collector’s item, but it is every bit the workhorse that the original was. Those are collected because they worked so well, not because they were made with artificial scarcity in mind. I think the new Sweet 16 lives up to the potential of the original.
Here’s the in-house video Browning produced. It looks pretty good. We didn’t have any dogs with us at the SHOT Show, and there’s a paucity of ring-necks in southern Nevada. But the Browning camera crew has some stunning shots of exploding birds.