How old is belgium fn27071 browning 16 gauge shotgun?

Answer 1

If this is the complete serial number on the gun, it was made in 1923. Often serial numbers are misread. Check to see if it has a letter above or preceding the 27071. If it does, please restate and ask the question again. If 27071 is the complete serial number, it was made in 1923. Now the question: Is it a Browning Arms Co Gun, or an FN gun? If an FN gun, it will say "acier special" on the Barrrel. Acier special means Special steel, and barrels marked this way are only on FN sales guns, not Browning. If the barrel is acier special, then FN produced the gun for sale outside the US and was not imported to be sold by the Browning Co. If this is one of the first Browning Arms Co guns, it should say "Browning Arms Co Ogden Utah on the barrel. This gun would be one of the shotguns that was first sold to the Browning Arms Co in 1923. Importation was very limited to Browning from FN until serial 22538 16ga was shipped to Browning in July of 1923. The highest serial number shipped in 1923 was 28400. If this is what you have, then this shotgun certainly has a place in history as one of the first Browning 16ga Auto 5's that came to America.