GunsAmerica calls the Introduction of Browning’s Sweet Sixteen A5 Shotgun “Epic.”
GunsAmerica calls the Introduction of Browning’s Sweet Sixteen A5 Shotgun “Epic.”
One of the big stories of the 2016 SHOT Show was the introduction of the new Browning Sweet Sixteen A5 autoloading shotgun. Veteran GunsAmerica gun writer Jon Hodoway provided an in-depth report on his impressions of the new shotgun, and in a word, he thinks the Sweet Sixteen is “epic.”
“We all have that gun that left a lasting impression on us,”
“We all have that gun that left a lasting impression,” recalled Hodoway. “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 20 gauge but hit like a 12 gauge.”
“Now everyone who has ever wanted a classic Sweet 16 has a new reason to celebrate.”
“Now everyone who has ever wanted a classic Sweet 16 has a new reason to celebrate,” Holdoway continued. “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. 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.”
“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.”
“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,” Holdoway continued. “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.”
“This beautiful gun is just begging to be run hard…it is every bit the workhorse that the original was.”
“This beautiful gun is just begging to be run hard,” concluded Holdoway. “…it is every bit the workhorse that the original was.”
Check out the entire Browning A5 autoloading shotgun lineup at your local Browning retailer. There is some stunning new video of the Sweet Sixteen A5 in upland action at browning.com
You can read Hodoway’s entire GunsAmerica review on the new Browning 16 gauge A5 autoloading shotgun here link here.
The video above is linked from YouTube and was not produced by Browning. It is only made available as a convenience to our readers.