The gun I have a love/hate relationship with

[fabsroman]

Here I am with it before going dove hunting in September 1981. I was 10 and ended up getting 5 birds that day. Think my mom had me pose so long for that photo that I could barely even hold the gun up. Shot my first dove the year before that with a .410 single shot as it came in to land on some wires. Only dove I had shot before this day.

Can anybody guess what gun this is? lol

 

[fabsroman]

Here I am the following year after I shot my first pheasant with the gun. Shot another pheasant with it that day.

 

[Cochise]

nothing to hate with an A-5.
Looks like you needed a gun fitting though

 

[fabsroman]

nothing to hate with an A-5.
Looks like you needed a gun fitting though

We weren't the most affluent of people. Could not afford a gun fitting. Actually had a brand new Browning BPS in the cabinet for me that my dad gave me on my 8th birthday. Browning had just come out with the BPS. My parents ordered a stock for it and the company sent the wrong one not once, not twice, but thrice, so there was no cheap, unfinished stock for my dad to cut down on the BPS. Hence, I got to use the A5 and then a Win 101 as I grew into them. Believe it or not, I still shot pretty decent with the gun the way it was.

Some times, you have to make do with what you have.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

 

[trbon8r]

A5 works just as well as it always did. Some of the aluminum, plastic, and spray paint shotgun fans will be along shortly to tell you how the gun is a blast from the past. They will say the operating system is ancient and outdated because it won't self regulate and shoot a 3 inch magnum backed up by a 1 ounce 2 3/4 dove load. As if anyone actually does that.

It takes all of 5 minutes to clean an A5 and set the friction rings on a 12 gauge 3" Mag to reliably cycle 1 1/8 ounce 2 3/4 target loads.

However, what the detractors won't ever say is that an A5 is unreliable.

Also in before the "Belgian guns won't shoot steel" crowd. Bismuth shot in an older A5 works fine. I'm not a big hunter anymore, but I was 2 for 2 on geese using Bismuth and an old A5 including a good 50 yard crossing shot.

If you haven't shot an A5 in awhile embrace the love, and the hate will melt away.

 

[PJDiesel]

My goodness I hope your mount has improved.

Cool pics!

 

[august1410]

Just got my first A5...as you all have seen from my own threads. I don't want anything else. Ever.

 

[j_h_smith]

You look like a fine young man.

What happened?


Jim Smith

 

[pbharvey]

You look like a fine young man.

What happened?


Jim Smith

He went to law school with the rest of the poor kids who couldn't afford a proper gun fitting!

Just kidding Fabs

Great memories you have there.

 

[fabsroman]

He went to law school with the rest of the poor kids who couldn't afford a proper gun fitting!

Just kidding Fabs

Great memories you have there.

lol - I was going to say the same thing. I went to law school and there went the "fine young lad". Now, I am trying to raise a fine young lad. I look at pics of him and he looks so much like me when I was a kid.

Anyway, I am working on going from this:

 

[fabsroman]

lol - I was going to say the same thing. I went to law school and there went the "fine young lad". Now, I am trying to raise a fine young lad. I look at pics of him and he looks so much like me when I was a kid.

Anyway, I am working on going from this:

To something like this in 35 years:

 

[fabsroman]

My goodness I hope your mount has improved.

Cool pics!

Yeah, it has barely improved at all. I struggle with recoil.

 

[brownspotz]

thats really cool! please tell me you still have this shotgun. that would make for a really great conversation piece/heirloom. btw are you a member at agc? I'm less than a 20 minute walk from there.

 

[fabsroman]

thats really cool! please tell me you still have this shotgun. that would make for a really great conversation piece/heirloom. btw are you a member at agc? I'm less than a 20 minute walk from there.

They would have to pry that shotgun from my cold dead hands to get it away from me. Same goes for the Winchester 101. 6Den got to handle the Winchester 101 the other day, and I don't let many people touch that thing. Didn't break out the A5 for him though.

I just sent in my application for Greenbelt Gun Club. Hopefully, I get into the club. After that, I will get an AGC range badge. If you are a 20 minute walk from AGC, you live pretty close to me. I am at route 144 and route 32. About a 10, maybe 15 minute drive, for me to get to AGC. AGC was one of the selling points when my wife gave me the options of western Howard County versus Potomac, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Cabin John. My requirement was west of route 32 in Howard County, but my wife fell in love with a development just east of 32, which was closer to AGC, so it is all good.

 

[brownspotz]

They would have to pry that shotgun from my cold dead hands to get it away from me. Same goes for the Winchester 101. 6Den got to handle the Winchester 101 the other day, and I don't let many people touch that thing. Didn't break out the A5 for him though.

I just sent in my application for Greenbelt Gun Club. Hopefully, I get into the club. After that, I will get an AGC range badge. If you are a 20 minute walk from AGC, you live pretty close to me. I am at route 144 and route 32. About a 10, maybe 15 minute drive, for me to get to AGC. AGC was one of the selling points when my wife gave me the options of western Howard County versus Potomac, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Cabin John. My requirement was west of route 32 in Howard County, but my wife fell in love with a development just east of 32, which was closer to AGC, so it is all good.

I understand that, I went to WFES right on the corner of 144 and 32 back in 1979! if you ever want to go shooting please let me know I have a lot of firearms collecting dust. driver road and sugar maple drive and is where I'm located.

 

[fabsroman]

I understand that, I went to WFES right on the corner of 144 and 32 back in 1979! if you ever want to go shooting please let me know I have a lot of firearms collecting dust. driver road and sugar maple drive and is where I'm located.

PM inbound

 

[rtse4me]

Yeah, it has barely improved at all. I struggle with recoil.

Is the picture from the early/mid 90s at PG?

 

[fabsroman]

Is the picture from the early/mid 90s at PG?

Yes

Bought that 682 in 1994, so I would guess that is either 1994 or 1995 before I started law school, and it was at PG Trap & Skeet. Most of my clay shooting has been done at PG Trap & Skeet. I have a video of me, my brothers, and my sisters, shooting sporting clays there in 2003, right after I met my wife and got my dog, but I have no idea how to upload that stuff.

 

[rtse4me]

Yes

Bought that 682 in 1994, so I would guess that is either 1994 or 1995 before I started law school, and it was at PG Trap & Skeet. Most of my clay shooting has been done at PG Trap & Skeet. I have a video of me, my brothers, and my sisters, shooting sporting clays there in 2003, right after I met my wife and got my dog, but I have no idea how to upload that stuff.

That is my friend pulling trap for you. He could really shoot and ended up being a Master Class shooter in sporting clays. We used to shoot together in tje 90s. Have not seen him in years.

 

[fabsroman]

That is my friend pulling trap for you. He could really shoot and ended up being a Master Class shooter in sporting clays. We used to shoot together in tje 90s. Have not seen him in years.

That is awesome.

As far as I am concerned, this thread is just getting better and better. Your buddy was pulling trap for me, my brothers, and a buddy that day, and I just found out that another guy posting in this thread lives next door to a buddy of mine. The internet makes the world a lot smaller, and sometimes a lot better place.

Here is another pic from that day, but your buddy isn't in this one. Sorry.

I was going to try to get a bunch of guys/gals together for some clay shooting at PG Trap & Skeet one Saturday after tax season, but Dottrios is doing its shoot on the same weekend I had planned. Was going to shoot for Saturday, and Dottrios is on Sunday, but I have no idea how the heck that would work out. Might have to try and put something together in May, but the weekends in May are starting to get packed up with family events.