Browning Auto - 5 The Browning Automatic 5 , most often Auto - 5 or simply A - 5 , is a recoil - operated semi - automatic shotgun designed by John Browning . It was the first successful semi - automatic shotgun design , and remained in production until 1998 . The name of the shotgun designates that it is an autoloader with a capacity of five rounds , four in the magazine and one in the chamber . History . The Browning Auto - 5 was the first mass - produced semi - automatic shotgun . Designed by John Browning in 1898 and patented in 1900 , 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 gauge s , with 12 and 20 predominating ; 16 gauge ( not produced between 1976 and 1987 ) models were also available . The gun saw military service worldwide between World War I and the Vietnam War . Production . John Browning presented his design ( which he called his best achievement ) to Winchester , where he had sold most of his previous designs . When Winchester refused his terms , Browning went to Remington . Tragically , 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 FN ( a company that had already produced Browning - designed pistols ) starting in 1902 . Browning would later license the design to Remington , who produced it as their Model 11 ( 1905 – 1948 ) . The Remington Model 11 was the first auto - loading shotgun made in the USA . 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 . Browning ' s long - recoil design itself served as the operating system for subsequent Remington ( 11 - 48 ) , Savage ( 755 , 775 ) and Franchi ( AL - 48 ) models . 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 . By that time , it was well established as the second - best - selling auto - loading shotgun in U . S . history , after the Remington 1100 . Design details . The Browning Auto - 5 is a long - recoil operated semi - automatic shotgun . Shells are stored in a tubular magazine under the barrel . When a chambered shell is fired , the barrel and bolt recoil together ( for a distance greater than the shell length ) and re - cock the hammer . As the barrel returns forward to its initial position the bolt remains behind and thus the spent shell is ejected through a port on the top of the receiver . Then the bolt returns forward and feeds another shell from the magazine into the action . This type of long recoil action was the first of its kind and patented in 1900 by John Browning . To load the gun , shells are fed into the bottom of the action , where they are pushed into the tubular magazine . Most A - 5s have removable plugs in the magazine which prevent more than three shells from being loaded ( two in the magazine , plus one in the chamber ) to comply with U . S . Federal migratory waterfowl laws , as well as some state hunting regulations . With the plug removed , the total capacity is five rounds . If the chamber is open ( the operating handle is drawn back ) the first shell loaded into the magazine tube will go directly into the chamber ( there is an automatic bolt closing button under the ejection port ) , the bolt then closes , and all further shells fed into the gun go into the magazine . The A - 5 has a system of friction rings that control the rate of recoil . Setting these rings correctly is vital to good shotgun performance and to ensure a long life to the weapon , by controlling excessive recoil . The friction rings are set based on the type of load to be fired through the gun . Different settings can be found in the owner ' s manual .