Maybe I haven't been around clay target shooting sports enough or haven't owned an old model long recoil Auto 5 long enough to know this, but why do so many guys say this is a poor choice for skeet, trap, & sporting clays? Specifically what I read is that they claim the Auto 5 won't cycle fast enough to be competitive and that they "overrun" the gun due to its slower cycling -- or some such. I've owned semiautos in many brands, and they all seem to cycle plenty fast to me.

Thrown into the conversation is always a negative comment or two about the "ker-chunk ker-chuck" sound and feel of the action.

I call BS. An A5 will cycle faster than you can get on the target.

This

I recall reading that the A5 was the fastest auto action out there. This was w/r/t using it for defensive competition. Might be some new-fangled one slightly faster today, but... Regardless, there ain't an auto out there that cycles slower than recoil will let you acquire a follow-on clay - OR living - target! Go shot the old gal and have a blast!

I bet those guys that say an A5 is not fast enough for sporting clays are younger fellers and haven't seen one in the hands of an A5 pro.
To Oscar's point , back when we had wild quail in Northeast Bama I quail hunted a little , I toted an A5. Of all the fellers I ever hunted with, 1 shot a 1100, 1 a old Model 12 and I can count 8 A5s. One family all shot A5s and were quick as lightening with them . They'd shoot 3 times while the average feller would get off one shot and they'd have birds flopping everywhere.

THe A5 is plenty fast. Anyone that says it isn't has not shot one very much.

PawPaw’s A5 was so fast he’d have a limit of birds on the ground before he got the gun loaded.

Speaking of loading , an A5, it loads so quick and easy even Tim Walz could load it. Bata Boom Bata Bing , Thank you, I'll be here all week!

as you can see from above, someone was trying to feed you BS - maybe they wanted to BUY your A5?!?

Good one!

I was combining a bunch of opinions I'd read online (you know how that goes) for the most part. The gist of it was: the old A5 is an excellent hunting shotgun in the field but not so good at the skeet range.

I've never been to an actual established range, so all my shooting at clay targets has been extended family affairs on the edge of a field. I don't hit flying targets well with any shotgun, but my best results (still very modest results) are with an A5 Sweet 16 from 1964 and an 1100 20 gauge from 1976.

😂😂😂😂. i think i met that guy, it was the gun holding him back from shooting in the 90’s every round

That's what I'd say if I stunk it up at the range and happened to be shooting an A5 ! LOL !!!

Wish I had a dollar everytime we ran the graveyard with dogs that an A5 put one on the ground. If an A5 is slow I'd hate to see what fast was.

An old A5 is just fine. If it is a Belgium, you better make sure the stock is right, those things have a tendency to split/crack, then you don't have that pretty wood anymore.

it's not for the so called slow action. it's because they kick like a mule!

With good springs in the gun and the friction rings set up they re not bad on recoil. If the springs are old and set then sure they can be. You have to maintain anything.

You are correct, Sir.

bought a spring kit from midwest gunworks and their weighted end cap. reduced the recoil significantly vs the old spring

My go-to for skeet and trap. And I have a Remington Model 11 that's in-between-the-wars that's a dream to shoot.

Set up the rings and springs right and she's the lowest recoiling auto you'll shoot.

There’s so many myths and misconceptions about Auto 5s.

They’re machine gun fast, if you are.

I’ve even won a couple of fairly large, sporting clays events while shooting a Mag 12 Stalker….my kryloned duck gun. I and my buddies all agreed we’d leave our ‘pretty’ guns at home and shoot our hunting guns, just to see what folks said. It was fun, but I’m not sure some of the Krieghoff shooters thought much of it. You can run light 12 springs and rings on a mag 12 and it’ll shoot any light load out there.

Some of Y'all will surely tell me I'm stupid, but I can hit more birds with an old 870 than with a semi auto. I think the extra time it takes to shuck the shell gives me the needed time to acquire my next target instead of BoomBoomBoom and maybe one puff of feathers. That said, any semi auto should be way faster than your average semi auto operator. Or maybe I'm just slow...