Anybody have one? I recently picked up a WW2 Savage 720 Military with a 20" barrel. The wood normally is cracked on almost all of the Browning A5 copies I have seen.Any ideas on how to protect the handguard and stock from cracking if I want to fire it? I was told to leave the mag tube nut snug but not very tight to prevent the handguard from cracking.

An A-5 cousin w/o the speed-load feature and magazine cutoff switch.

 

Keep the forearm nut finger-tight. Snug up the nut with the the forearm seated flush with the receiver face with the barrel inserted fully is the best way to explain it. (It's the only annoying part of assembling the gun.) Don't allow the wood to pick up moisture, so protect the inside of the wood forearm. Don't over-oil the recoil spring, friction ring and magazine tube. Allow the friction rings to impose "friction" on the cycling of the action. That's its purpose. Utilize placement of the the friction rings properly for light loads and heavy loads.

 

This newer A-5 guide notes the do's and don't's and will apply to the Savage 720 for fit of the barrel/forearm:

http://media.browning.com/pdf/om/auto5_light_om_s.pdf

 

Thanks