Lot 28: Vintage REMINGTON Model 11 Bowning AUTO 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun

☆☆☆ All buyers must complete a FFL Transfer at LIBERTY ARMS in Fort Collins. The cost of this transfer is not included in the sale price and is the Duty of the buyer to complete within 48 hours after the end pf auction. This ensures that the transfer is not only LEGAL but that the burden of passing a background check and applicable ID Laws. The Browning Auto-5 was the first mass-produced semi-automatic shotgun. Designed by John Browning in 1898 and patented in 1900,[4] it was produced continually for almost 100 years by several makers with production ending in 1998. It features a distinctive high rear end, earning it the nickname "Humpback". The top of the action goes straight back on a level with the barrel before cutting down sharply towards the buttstock. This distinctive feature makes it easy to identify A-5s from a distance. A-5s were produced in a variety of gauges, with 12 and 20 predominating; 16 gauge (not produced between 1976 and 1987) models were also available. The shotgun saw military service worldwide from World War I through the Vietnam War. The weapon was used heavily by members of the Special Air Service in the Malayan Emergency, who found the semi-automatic shotgun perfect for close quarter jungle fighting. John Browning presented his design (which he called his best achievement)[4] to Winchester, where he had sold most of his previous designs. When Winchester refused his terms, Browning went to Remington. However, the president of Remington died of a heart attack as Browning waited to offer them the gun. This forced Browning to look overseas to produce the shotgun. It was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) of Belgium, a company that had already produced Browning-designed pistols, starting in 1902. Browning would later license the design to Remington, which produced it as their Model 11 (1905–1947). The Remington Model 11 was the first auto-loading shotgun made in the United States. Savage Arms also licensed the design from Browning and produced it as their model 720 from 1930 to 1949, and their model 745 with an alloy receiver and two-shot magazine from 1941 to 1949. Production of the Auto-5 in Belgium continued until the start of World War II, when Browning moved production to Remington Arms in the United States. The Auto-5 was produced by Remington alongside the Model 11 until FN could resume making the gun after the war. Unlike the Remington Model 11, the Remington-produced Browning shotguns had magazine cutoffs. Some 850,000 Remington Model 11 shotguns were produced before production ended in 1947. In 1952, production of Browning models returned to FN, where it continued until the end. However, the majority of production moved to the Japanese company Miroku in 1975. Finally, in 1998, manufacture of A-5s ceased except for a few commemorative models created at FN in 1999. As of 1983 it was well established as the second-best-selling auto-loading shotgun in U.S. history, after the Remington 1100.