I read a thread that inspired me to share my Browning story.
Through my adult life I had always been a Brownin guy. I had purchased several Browing rifles and pistols, and I had never had a problem. A few years back I was looking at shotguns, and I saw an ad for Browning's A5. It was backed up by their "Come Hell Or High Water" guarentee. Based on the guarentee and my loyalty to the Browning brand I decided to buy an A5.
The shotgun worked fine through dove season. When duck season rolled around I was hunting with 3.5" shells. A group of teals came in and I dropped one with my first shot. I swung around to shoot a second bird, and the shotgun blew up in my face when I pulled the trigger.
I sent the gun to Browning, and a few weeks later I get the gun back with a note saying it was the shell manufacturers fault that the shotgun had blown up. I sent the gun to the shell manufacturer along with Browning's letter. About a month later I get the gun back with a letter saying they did extensive testing on the barrel and reciever. They found that the metal had a weak spot where the barrel attaches to the reciever. That weak spot is what caused the gun to blow apart under pressure when I fired the gun. I called Browning and told them what the shell manufacturer's test showed. I asked them who I should resend the shotgun to at Browning, along with the test results from the shell company. They shut me down immediately.
Browning told me they had already examined the gun and would not be able to replace it. I asked to speak to a manager and the manager told me the same thing. I explained that I had test results from the shell manufacturer showing a weak spot in metal where the gun blew apart. He told me that Browning had already determined that it was the shell manufacturer's fault, so there was nothing more they could do for me.
In the end I was stuck with pile of scrap metal, because Browning refused to stand behind their guarentee. They sure didn't care about keeping me as a customer. That was the last Browning I will ever buy.
If you are in the market for a shotgun I would suggest you read other reviews about how Browning does not stand behind their products. There are too many other quality brands of shotguns to choose from. Learn from my experience so you aren't left with a $1500 pile of camo colored scrap metal.

You have any pics? Interesting, and odd

I'm not necessarily defending browning, bc I've heard numerous reports of bad customer service from a number of people over the years. Some are good friends.

But this is pretty common for one party to blame the other. I work with experts in litigated matters all day long for a living. Everyone can hire an expert to defend their position, and surprise surprise each party knows what their expert is going to say prior to retaining them. It's just the nature of the business.

With that said, I do think browning should have made this situation right.

Hey, that could have been really bad. You are very lucky to not have sustained a terrible injury or worse. I'm not a litigious person but I'd have to think long and hard about suing the chit out of them. It would give me the yips every time I pulled a trigger. It would be terrible optics for Browning. I bet it would certainly get tneir attention. Plus, you're probably not the only one.

For non injury claims your just throwing good money at bad money. There isn't an attorney that would waste their time chasing a couple grand.

Now if there was an injury, especially a significant injury. For example you have a young surgeon who losses fingers and can no longer do his job. That's an 8 figure claim. Every attorney in the country would be drooling to get that claim.

I’m curious as to exactly where it parted. At first sound replacing the barrel fixes it. The barrel doesn’t just attach to the receiver.

Every company can have production/QC problems, even the very best. How they deal with those problems will make or break customer loyalty.I have a long memory for who treats me right, and who doesn't. At some point, it becomes personal.

I’ve never heard of a shotgun barrel failing except for being caused by an obstruction such as a wad in the barrel from the previous shot or an overloaded shell.

Your lucky it was not worse it sounds like. I'm curious since they tested both. I think the receiver is aluminum on these. Did it blow out the side of the receiver, separate the barrel from the receiver, or blow out the side of the barrel? Or a combination of those? Pictures?

Statistically nearly impossible. Most likely obstruction IMO - barrels don’t just blow up side to side w no obstruction- it’s science

What brand of shells?

A stuck wad can be devastating.

I had my newer Browning sweet 16 blow up in my face on December 11th while goose hunting in Northern Kansas.
I thought someone shot me. Bleeding pretty badly on my face. Pieces of shrapnel all over my face and a cut knuckle with some stitches.
Apart from the barrel, there is nothing left of the gun, and i mean nothing. It blew the receiver and the woodwork into pieces.
Was wearing glasses that saved my eyes.
Was using boss 2 3/4 nr 3/5 mix in 16 g.
Boss blames Browning. Browning blames boss.
Boss sent me a case of 28 g, browning will send me a coupon of 40 % on my next purchase.
I still have 3 cases of boss 20 g and afraid to use them.
Waiting on the ER bill (prolly another $3000)
I wont buy any boss nor browning products no more.
My right ear is still ringing hard after 17 days.
I wont seek legal advise as it will lead to a bunch of nothing.
There is a police report and game-warden report. They were stunned with the results of the gun.
Another guide in a different state posted the story on his facebook, and boss called me the next day to have that guide remove the story. I definitely think some boss ammo is overloaded. But then I am reading above story about the A5 browning weak metal spots.

Beaversnipe? Is that really you?

U bet.

Also, a big thank you to Nathan with Twisted wind outfitters in Kansas to rush me to the nearby ER.
They really put us on birds, even with 60 degree temps and no wind. First day, we had 50 snows, second day over 100. Pheasant hunt were loads of fun too.
58 geese till my accident at 8:45 am, and the rest of the 5 guys downed another 50 during my ER visit. It could very well have been a 200 plus bird day.
Tornadoes of 3000 plus geese landing in the deeks multiple times. Took a bunch of videos.
Cant wait to hunt with them next week, this time in Oklahoma.

Put finger in splint, to greet people accordingly. Might leave it all year.

I tried some bismuth ammo called epic, from a local manufacturer, and they are cheaper than boss and much better made imo. They can mix some tss loads as well.
After my accident, i am done with boss.
https://epicshotshell.com/

Wow, that is shocking to see. I have shot my Browning new A5 Sweet 16 a lot. How did Browning evaluate it? Did you send the pieces in to Browning?

You said they blame Boss, but what do they think happened? Was it an OOB detonation, or do they think it fired in the chamber?

The barrel and the bolt look pretty good from the pics. Is there damage to the bolt face?

It really looks like the receiver failed first and took the forearm and other parts with it.

...and did you find the hull? That should tell pretty quickly whether it was an OOB or fired in the chamber.

I circled the entrance of the barrel which was damaged as well, its no longer round. A piece is missing.
You can also barely identify the rest of the shell in purple and a little bit of the primer, but we are talking about 1/16 of an inch residue. The guide found the other 2 shells intact, so it happened on the first shot fired. All the pressure went sideways and not forward. Perhaps the bolt action wasn't shut properly?
In these instances, it's either the ammo or the gun that failed. It's never both at the same time. Im leaning towards an overloaded shell.
I sent the gun back to browning. I would have kept the gun if I lost an eye and called The Texas hammer, the Strong arm or the Lion..

Interesting. The barrel damage is worse than it looked at first in the picture. Were the bolt and barrel stuck together after the blast? I'm wondering if the rest the hull is stuck inside the chamber.

I'm glad your injuries weren't any worse than they were. It could have been really bad.