Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen
- Category
- Shotgun
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.64 kg
- Introduced
- 2016
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen is a recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun chambered in 16 gauge, reintroduced in 2016 to revive Browning's beloved 'Sweet Sixteen' name on the modern A5 platform. Unlike the original long-recoil Auto-5 that wore the Sweet Sixteen badge from the 1930s, the modern A5 uses Browning's Kinematic Drive short-recoil action, in which the breechblock and a recoil spring housed in the buttstock drive the cycle while the barrel remains fixed, delivering reliable function across a wide range of 16-gauge loads without friction-ring adjustment. Built on a lightweight aluminum alloy receiver sized specifically to the 16-gauge hull, the gun preserves the iconic flat-topped 'humpback' receiver silhouette of John Browning's original design while shedding weight, with the 28-inch-barrel model tipping the scale at roughly 5 pounds 13 ounces. It feeds four 2.75-inch shells from an under-barrel tubular magazine, wears a Turkish walnut stock with an Inflex recoil pad, a fiber-optic front sight on a vent-rib barrel, and the Invector-DS choke tube system. Marketed to upland bird and clay shooters who prize the 16 gauge's balance of light weight and effective patterns, the A5 Sweet Sixteen carries Browning's 5-year, 100,000-round reliability guarantee.
The 'Sweet Sixteen' nickname was earned by Browning's original 16-gauge Auto-5, prized by upland hunters for its uncanny balance between a 12-gauge's payload and a 20-gauge's carry weight. When Browning revived the A5 line in 2012, the 16-gauge chambering returned in 2016 wearing the same affectionate name, even though the action beneath the familiar humpback receiver had been completely reengineered from long recoil to a modern short-recoil Kinematic Drive.
The modern A5 (introduced 2012) shares almost nothing mechanically with the original long-recoil Auto-5 despite the deliberately retained humpback receiver profile; it is a short-recoil Kinematic Drive design. The Sweet Sixteen name dates to the original Auto-5 16-gauge models and was revived for marketing the 16-gauge A5 in 2016. Wicked Wing waterfowl variants add Cerakote metal finishes and camouflage composite or coated stocks and weigh slightly more. Like all modern Browning long guns, the A5 is manufactured by Miroku in Japan.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Browning Arms Company
- Category
- Shotgun
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 2016
- Variant of
- Sixteen gauge
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Overall length
- 1251 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.64 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 4
- Magazine
- Tube
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum alloy
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 381 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2030 J
- Effective range
- 40 m
- Maximum range
- 100 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Humpback receiver
Kinematic drive short recoil action- Lightweight aluminum receiver
Under barrel tube magazine
Invector ds choke tubes
Fiber optic front sight
Inflex recoil pad- Speed load plus
Magazine cutoff
Turkish walnut stock
Vent rib barrel
Takedown design
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 755 shotguns | 2.64 kg | 3.25 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 678 shotguns | 1251 mm | 1150 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 782 shotguns | 711 mm | 711 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 777 shotguns | 4 | 3 | Holds more rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen
How much does the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen weigh?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen weighs 2.64 kg (5.81 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen is chambered in 16 Gauge.
How many rounds does the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen hold?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen holds 4 rounds, fed from a tube magazine.
How long is the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen is 1251 mm (49.3 in) long overall, with a 711 mm (28.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen is made by Browning Arms Company (United States). It was designed by John Moses Browning.
When was the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen introduced?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen was introduced in 2016.
How does the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen operate?
The Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen uses a short recoil action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Civilian Hunters and Sport Shooters
- 2016
Provenance
Confidence in this record
85%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/browning-a5-sweet-16' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "browning-a5-sweet-16", "name": "Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen", "manufacturer": { "id": "browning", "name": "Browning Arms Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1878, "website": "https://www.browning.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:43", "version": "5d8cf4fb4b938ebaed9e76da3c57ad4cd9f27d22ee35d8b2265942435fbb875c" }, "category": { "id": "shotgun", "name": "Shotgun", "description": "Smoothbore firearms designed to fire shot or slugs" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 2016, "barrel_length_mm": 711, "weight_empty_g": 2637, "action_type": "short_recoil"}