Once through the lengthy, serpentine registration line at the Media Day shoot, I made a bee line for the Browning tent. The goal: shoot the new A5 to see how that mother works. The verdict: mighty, mighty nice. I shot the field model (the Hunter) along with their new over/under field gun, the 725. Not too surprisingly, the dual bore kicks at your shoulder like an angry mule. A small one, anyway. The A5, on the other hand…
…leans into you like a gentle, uh, well it’s noticeably softer. Which you’d expect from a recoil-operated gun. But the auto-loader feels even softer than you’d think it should. The A5 also feels surprisingly light in your hands – probably having something to do with that aluminum receiver – and swings smooth as a baby’s freshly powdered butt. In fact, powdering high incomers and low crossing birds was a breeze.
Quick impression: this is one nice gun. And for an MSRP of $1,559, it ought to be. Too bad getting our name in for a T&E review sample’s been less pleasant than, you know, shooting the gun. But fear not, we never give up. Full review when we inevitably run someone in a Buck Mark shirt to ground.