New Browning A5 Sweet 16

So I handled the new production Sweet 16 today at Elwood Epps. Very light, very "Sweet". They made a mistake with the style of pistol grip it has though. Not at all what a light upland gun should have. More like a clays grip if anything. In fact if it had a rounded knob like my Citori and Superposed have I would have bought it on the spot. Some may like it though, feel is very subjective. It does come with shims and spacers to adjust LOP, DAH and Cast though so you could really fine tune it. If you like semis this would make a great "all day" carrying gun.

Thanks for the review. I have been wanting to handle one of these to see if it is worth it to buy one.

Surprised they didn't go with a round knob as well, especially for a shotgun that's marketed for upland. Browning has used the round knob on some of the original Auto 5's and with some of there O/U's, bet in a few years they bring out a lightning model with the round knob, just after a bunch of people buy this model.

A few guys in the US on the 16ga forum are already making plans to strip their stocks of the shiny finish and reconfigure it to a straight grip. Seems extreme to me, but hey, I've done some major alterations to guns to make them fit me better. I wish I had access to a pantagraph. I could probably make a stock blank that would sell.

I picked up a 28" Sweet, and yes the grip is definitely closed and tight. In my case though, it will be used more for clays than hunting so will suit my needs fine. But a round knob would have been great on that gun, and I agree, I'm sure Browning will put out a future model with one since that seems to be the main sore spot among buyers.