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<  16ga. Guns  ~  New A5 Sweet 16 Reload reliability?
Wolfchief
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:04 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

Haven't posted here in a very long time. Just returned from Iowa where some friends and I had a fantastic hunt, limiting on roosters every day. I used a Merkel 1620, very nice gun and I love it, but am also thinking of acquiring an A5 Sweet 16, because I don't want to shoot steel in the SxS or expose it to inclement weather. I would use the A5 for skeet, quail, sporting clays and ducks as well as pheasants.

For those of you who own the new sweet, how do your reloads perform? I'm loading 15.4 grains of Green Dot, a Claybuster wad and 1 oz. of #8's or 9's as my target load. I'm wondering if the new A5 will cycle that load, and how the recoil will be.

Any thoughts? How do your reloads function in the new Sweet?

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df
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:35 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 962
Location: Minnesota

I have a new sw 16 ordered, so am interested in the responses to this post.
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df
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:43 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 962
Location: Minnesota

I have a new sw 16 ordered, so am interested in the responses to this post.
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Soggy socks
PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 3:12 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2016
Posts: 369
Location: Vermont

I have not had any issues with 1oz. reloads in my A5 Sweet. I suspect that if i bumped up the 7/8 oz loads a bit they would function too. As far as for skeet and sporting clays
the gun is a bit light IMO, but its fun to shoot it occasionally. I did use it in South Dakota this year and smoked the pheasants with it with the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant loads. I plan on using it on late season ducks as well with Bismuth. Good luck I'm sure you will enjoy the gun.
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William J. siefert
PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:37 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Jul 2017
Posts: 39

Giving reloading advice is a good way to make enemies. Taking that advice is a good way to loose fingers. That being said, based on what my brother and I have done with Green Dot and Unique, I'm absolutely certain that your pet 1 oz load is safe. However, I doubt it will function a new A-5.

I loaded 1oz for a 1400 Winchester for a short period of time but since the price of shot is the big factor in reloading, I went down to 7/8 of an oz. by the time I bought the A-5. It was a simple matter of just stepping up the load a bushing at a time until reliable function was achieved. By the time my brother was done with his Greed Dot loads and I with the Unique loads, we found we were using the same bushing. I'll only say that is is several grains higher than your load.

The good news is that once you make the load stout enough, function is 100%. There is variability in the guns. My brothers gun would not run on my load so I jacked mine by another bushing to insure reliability in both guns.

Good luck. I took a limit of pheasants with mine this morning and I really like the gun.
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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:44 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

I only reload the 16 for 7/8 oz. Which do not work to the cycle the new A5 Sweet 16. I use Federals for the first shot and Herter's for the second in the Sweet. Because the Herter's do not always eject. But Federals always do.

Not going into reloads as there are too many variables but will certainly be glad to talk about the new Sweet 16. It is one heck of a gun. At the last Sweet 16 shoot in South St. Paul 4 of us shot the flurry which is normally a 5 man team job. And none of us let a bird hit the ground. And it was the first time I had ever shot one. I am not a Browning fan they usually feel like a 4x4 to me and prefer my Ithaca's or Italian guns, but they donated a gun for us to shoot. And I ended up shooting it the most. Enough that I ended up buying one on here with 28" bbls.

Several have said it is not a SC or clays gun. I put a couple thousand rounds through mine with the 28" bbl. in a couple of months after I bought it and never noticed the recoil. And I am recoil sensitive enough that I shot a PFS for years on my 12 ga. JEG target gun to try and get over the yips. The new Sweet 16 is a soft shooter despite the light weight. For me.

Ended up sending mine to Briley to have the bbl. cut down to 23" and had Mark Larson round over the grip to a round knob for hunting. And shot it lights out on grouse this year. It is no longer a clays gun and some may say it never was. But I would put up to and over a 30" Benelli Super Sport in handling.

Shot a 46x50 with it on SC first time out with it after I got it back from Briley then Mark. While not the most difficult course it still was challenging.

I am trying to decide if my next clays gun should be a 28" A5 Sweet 16 and keep it unmolested. Or Benelli SS 12. Or Iside 16 with 30" bbls. I think the 28" Sweet is going to win the battle. Easily..

For grouse in thick woods I will stick with my modified Sweet 16, it is my favorite grouse gun at this point.

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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:45 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

Thanks to all who posted in reply. The deal is, my LGS has 2 of the new sweets--a 28" and a 26". I have a stocky build and a short neck so the longer barreled guns tend to be less comfortable for me to handle. My Merkel, for example, came from the factory with 28" barrels and a 13 7/8 " length of pull. I shoot it very well, particularly on game where a swift mount is critical.

Both of the new sweets at the shop are light but I feel the 26" may be more responsive, plus, it has noticeably nicer wood. I'm glad to hear that the recoil appears manageable because I'm somewhat recoil sensitive myself. Browning is offering a $150 rebate on the new Sweets from 11/27 through 12/1, which makes the purchase that much more affordable. I love to hunt birds with my 12 year old Chocolate Lab, and we recently bought a yellow Lab pup to be the understudy of my old dog Gus. So I hope to be hunting ducks, roosters and quail for a while in the future, and want something I can carry without too much difficulty. Sounds like the Sweet 16 could be the ticket.

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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:53 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

My LGS has both a 28" and a 26" new A5 Sweet 16. I', stocky, with a short neck so probably the 26" gun would fit me best. Plus, it has noticeably nicer wood. I'm glad to hear that recoil appears manageable as well, because I'm somewhat recoil sensitive myself.

Browning is offering a $150 rebate on Sweet 16's purchased from 11/27-12/1, which of course increases the affordabiliy so timing is right. I love to hunt birds with my 12 year old Chocolate Lab, and we have a 13 week old yellow Lab understudy to take his place when that time comes. So I hope to be hunting ducks and roosters for some time to come, and I want a light gun. Sounds like the Sweet could be the ticket.

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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2019 7:48 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

Yesterday I did finally "pull the trigger', so to speak, and bought the A5 Sweet 16 I'd been looking at. Purchased the 26" model and was struck by how lightweight and responsive it seems to be. This afternoon, while waiting for family to arrive for supper, I managed to slip out to jump some local irrigation ditches for ducks, and took the new Sweet along.
I found it to be light to carry, with the IC choke installed and loaded with factory #5 Bismuth. Managed to sneak up on a hen and drake mallard pair on a remote, mucky farm drainage ditch, and scored a double as they flushed, maybe 18-20 yards away. I don't remember feeling the recoil.
Both birds were dead when they hit the ground, and my Lab retrieved them, making for a special Thanksgiving memory with the new A5. It should be great for roosters too and I can't wait to try it out on them. This weekend I'll shoot some skeet targets with it as well.
Happy Thanksgiving to all !

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rdja
PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 1:19 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 02 Sep 2010
Posts: 829
Location: SW Ohio

I have shot 7/8 reloads thru mine with no issue. They are pretty fast so only a slight reducion in recoil from a target 1 oz load.
Cheddite hull, Cheddite 209, 20 gr International clays, SG 16 wad
Listed at 1380 fps 10100psi

Have shot clays with mine a few times, once I got used to the light weight it shot well. Took it pheasant hunting yesterday for the first time at our local pheasant preserve.
Had my dog flush a cock at about 20 yards and I fumbled with the safety and missed a too long of a shot. I am used to the safety in front of the trigger with Beretta autos, this is behind the trigger and feels unnatural to me. I like to rest my finger across the trigger guard to keep it off the trigger and it is a very quick push on the Beretta, then slip my finger on to the trigger. With the A5 I ended up removing the safety when the dog got birdy, then re-applied if no bird. May have to see if I can change my carry grip, so I can flip the safety off and slide my hand forward to grip the trigger. So I can go back to releasing the safety as I mount the gun. I feel that is safer.
Till I figure that out, next hunt might be the SxS, no problem with the thumb safety.
I am open to any suggestions.
Nate
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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:57 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

rdja--I just turned 67 in April and my 12 ga. "new version" A5 works great on clays, ducks and geese but for me it's a bit heavy on all-day, all terrain pheasant hunts. I took the new Sweet 16 out a couple of days ago and my Lab flushed a rooster in a very weedy CRP field, giving me a shot of about 15 yards. The gun came up fast and with the IC choke and Fiocchi #5's, one shot brought him down. I just seem to be notably faster to respond to a flush with this lighter 16.

I won't be selling my other A-5's but I am glad I found this one. Best to you----

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rdja
PostPosted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:16 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: SW Ohio

Agreed, it comes up very nicely, shot clays with it this summer but of course the safety is off when you call for the bird. Like all aspects about the gun, I just need to adapt to the safety. I do understand not carrying heavy gun. I will be 64 in January. Wink
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Jagdhund
PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:17 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 29 Jan 2010
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Location: McPherson, KS

I've only had my A5 since May, so I've not done an extensive amount of patterning. Since most of my loading is for quail, I've tested the IC tube with 1 oz loads. So far, my handloads with plastic OP wad and fiber wads have thrown patterns in the mid-40% range. Close to skeet or low IC. One load with a plastic wad did very well: using a Fiocchi NPE case, 16 grs. of 700X under a Z16 wad with an OS on top of an oz of 7.5s, it made 63.6% for an Imp. Mod. rating out of the IC tube at 1218 fps. Probably tighter than necessary.

For a heavy pheasant load, I tested a Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3 1/4-1 1/8-5 that ran 55.5% from the Mod tube, right on the IC/Mod split.

So, at this point, I would say mine gun has slightly loose chokes.

I did try one load I had reserved for my CZ Bob White. It did not function the action. The bird I hit came down, but not like it was dead. I have not tested the load, but it must be weak.

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Jagdhund
PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:22 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 29 Jan 2010
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Location: McPherson, KS

I've only had my A5 since May, so I've not done an extensive amount of patterning. Since most of my loading is for quail, I've tested the IC tube with 1 oz loads. So far, my handloads with plastic OP wad and fiber wads have thrown patterns in the mid-40% range. Close to skeet or low IC.

Velocity was 1184 for one load and 1248 for another, so velocity was fine and functioning superb.

One load with a plastic wad did very well: using a Fiocchi NPE case, 16 grs. of 700X under a Z16 wad with an OS on top of an oz of 7.5s, it made 63.6% for an Imp. Mod. rating out of the IC tube at 1218 fps. Probably tighter than necessary.

For a heavy pheasant load, I tested a Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3 1/4-1 1/8-5 that ran 55.5% from the Mod tube, right on the IC/Mod split.

So, at this point, I would say mine gun has slightly loose chokes.

I did try one load I had reserved for my CZ Bob White. It did not function the action. The bird I hit came down, but not like it was dead. I have not tested the load, but it must be weak. Functioning overall with a several 1 oz and 1 1/8 factory and a few 7/8 oz steel reloads has been very reliable.

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Jagdhund
PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:23 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 29 Jan 2010
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Location: McPherson, KS

I've only had my A5 since May, so I've not done an extensive amount of patterning. Since most of my loading is for quail, I've tested the IC tube with 1 oz loads. So far, my handloads with plastic OP wad and fiber wads have thrown patterns in the mid-40% range. Close to skeet or low IC.

Velocity was 1184 for one load and 1248 for another, so velocity was fine and functioning superb.

One load with a plastic wad did very well: using a Fiocchi NPE case, 16 grs. of 700X under a Z16 wad with an OS on top of an oz of 7.5s, it made 63.6% for an Imp. Mod. rating out of the IC tube at 1218 fps. Probably tighter than necessary.

For a heavy pheasant load, I tested a Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3 1/4-1 1/8-5 that ran 55.5% from the Mod tube, right on the IC/Mod split.

So, at this point, I would say mine gun has slightly loose chokes.

I did try one load I had reserved for my CZ Bob White. It did not function the action. The bird I hit came down, but not like it was dead. I have not tested the load, but it must be weak. Functioning overall with a several 1 oz and 1 1/8 factory and a few 7/8 oz steel reloads has been very reliable.

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