John Browning
Encyclopedia
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| Birth | January 21/23, 1855, Ogden Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a... , Utah Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the... |
| Death | November 26, 1926, Liège, Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
| Aged | 71 |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Relations | Jonathan Browning (father) Jonathan Browning Jonathan Browning was an American inventor and gunmaker. Born in Sumner County, Tennessee, he started earning a living as a blacksmith and later switched to become a lock and gunsmith. He invented a 'sliding breech' repeating rifle also called a Harmonica gun between 1834 and 1842 while living... Val A Browning (son) Val A. Browning Val Allen Browning was a noted Utah industrialist, philanthropist, and third generation gun innovator. His grandfather, Jonathan Browning, opened a gun shop in Ogden, Utah in 1852 and his father, John Browning, is considered by many to be the most important gun inventor in history.-Life:Born in... |
| Awards | John Scott Medal (1905) Order of Leopold (1914) Order of Léopold The Order of Leopold is one of the three Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civilian division... |
| Company Info | |
| Name | Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels.... |
| Foundation | 1927, Utah Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the... |
| Fate | 1977, acquired as a subsidiary by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal Fabrique Nationale de Herstal Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium.... (FN) |
| Company Value | unknown |
| Headquarters |  Mountain Green, UtahMountain Green, Utah Mountain Green is a census-designated place in Morgan County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2010 census. Located up the Weber River from Ogden, Mountain Green is the world headquarters of the Browning Arms Company.-Geography:... |
| Notable Weapons | |
| Pistols | M1911 pistol, Browning Hi-Power Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized... , Colt Woodsman Colt Woodsman The Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the American Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977. It was designed by John Moses Browning. The frame design changed over time, in three distinct series: series one being 1915–1947, series two 1947–1955, and series three... |
| Rifles | Winchester Model 1894 Winchester Model 1894 Winchester Model 1894 is a lever-action rifle which became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles... |
| Automatic rifles | Browning Automatic Rifle Browning Automatic Rifle The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed... |
| Shotguns | Browning Auto-5 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 designed and remained in production until 1998... , Browning Superposed Browning Superposed The Browning Superposed was one of the first over-under shotgun designs to be produced, and the last, possibly the most elegant, firearm to be designed by John Browning... |
| Machine guns | M2 Browning |
John Moses Browning (January 21 or January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926), born in Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He is arguably the most important figure in the development of modern automatic
Automatic firearm
An automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...
and semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
s and is credited with 128 gun
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop, and was awarded his first patent on October 7, 1879 at the age of 24.
Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design. He invented or made significant improvements to single-shot rifles, lever-action
Lever-action
Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made...
rifles, and slide-action
Pump-action
A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject a spent round of ammunition and to chamber a fresh one. It is much faster than a bolt-action and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from...
firearms. His most significant contributions were in the area of autoloading firearms. He developed the first autoloading pistols that were both reliable and compact by inventing the telescoping bolt
Telescoping bolt
A weapon with a telescoping bolt is one with a bolt which telescopes over, that is, wraps around and past, the breech end of the barrel...
, integrating the bolt and barrel shroud
Barrel shroud
A barrel shroud is a covering attached to the barrel of a firearm, that partially or completely encircles the barrel which prevents operators from injuring themselves on a hot barrel. Slides, extensions of the stock that do not fully encircle the barrel, and the receiver of a firearm itself are...
into what is known as the pistol slide
Pistol slide
The slide is the part of the weapon on a majority of semi-automatic pistols that moves during the operating cycle and generally houses the firing pin or striker and the extractor, and serves as the bolt...
. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol, as well as several modern fully automatic
Automatic firearm
An automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...
weapons. He also developed the first gas-operated machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
, the Colt-Browning Model 1895
M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
—a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation
Recoil operation
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used in locked-breech, autoloading firearms. As the name implies, these actions use the force of recoil to provide energy to cycle the action...
to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide.
Browning's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the Browning .50 caliber machine gun, the Browning Hi-Power
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
pistol, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and the Browning Auto-5
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 designed and remained in production until 1998...
, a ground-breaking semi-automatic shotgun
Semi-automatic shotgun
A semi-automatic shotgun is a form of shotgun that is able to fire a cartridge after every trigger squeeze, without any manual chambering of another round being required...
. These arms are nearly identical today to those assembled by Browning in the 1920s, with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics. Even today, John Browning's guns are still some of the most copied guns in the world.
Biography
Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a two-year mission in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
beginning on March 28, 1887. His father Jonathan Browning
Jonathan Browning
Jonathan Browning was an American inventor and gunmaker. Born in Sumner County, Tennessee, he started earning a living as a blacksmith and later switched to become a lock and gunsmith. He invented a 'sliding breech' repeating rifle also called a Harmonica gun between 1834 and 1842 while living...
, who was among the thousands of Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
pioneer
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s in the mass exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, established a gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
shop in Ogden in 1852.
Jonathan had built a gunsmith in Nauvoo, developing and refining advanced (for the time) repeating firearms and manufacturing techniques. The Browning gunsmith in Nauvoo is now operated as a museum, and is open to the public at no charge.
John Moses worked in his father's Ogden shop, where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles, and encouraged to experiment with new concepts. He developed his first rifle, a single-shot
Single-shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded after each shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, and many centuries passed before multi-shot designs became commonplace...
falling block action
Falling block action
A falling-block action is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon and actuated by a lever....
design, then founded his own manufacturing operation and began to produce this firearm.
Production examples of the Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle
Winchester Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle
The Winchester Model 1885 is a single shot rifle with a falling block action. It was principally designed by John Browning. Two models were produced, the Low Wall and the High Wall....
caught the attention of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
, who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design and moved production to their Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
factory. From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the Winchester Model 1887
Winchester Model 1887/1901
The Winchester Model 1887 and Winchester Model 1901 were lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
and Model 1897
Winchester Model 1897
The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...
shotguns, the falling block single shot Model 1885, and the lever-action Model 1886, Model 1892
Winchester Model 1892
The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 .-History:When asked by Winchester to...
, Model 1894
Winchester Model 1894
Winchester Model 1894 is a lever-action rifle which became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles...
and Model 1895
Winchester Model 1895
The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester,...
rifles, most of which are still in production today in some form; over seven million Model 1894s have been produced, more than any other centerfire sporting rifle.
John M. Browning and Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester manufactured several popular small arms designed by John M. Browning. For decades in the late 19th Century-early 20th Century, Browning designs and Winchester firearms were synonymous and the collaboration was highly successful. This came to an end when Browning proposed a new semi-automatic shotgun design, a prototype finished in 1898, to Winchester management, which ultimately became the Browning Auto-5 shotgun. As was the custom of the time, Browning's earlier designs had been licensed exclusively to Winchester (and other manufacturers) for a single fee payment. With this new product, Browning introduced in his negotiations a continuous royalty fee based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment. If the new shotgun became highly successful, Browning stood to make substantially more fee income over the prior license fee arrangements. Winchester management was displeased with the bold change in their relationship, and rejected Browning's offer. Remington Arms was also approached without success.Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses with Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium....
of Belgium (FN), Browning took the new shotgun design to FN; the offer was accepted and FN manufactured the new shotgun, honoring its inventor, as the Browning Auto-5. The Browning Auto-5 was continuously manufactured as a highly popular shotgun throughout the 20th century. In response, Winchester shifted reliance on John Browning designs when it adopted a hammerless shotgun design of Thomas Crossley Johnson for the new Winchester Model 12, which was based upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun. This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.
John Browning designed products to the end of his life
John Browning was known as a dedicated and tireless innovator and experimenter who sought breakthrough consumer-oriented features and performance and reliability improvements in small arms designs. He did not retire from his career in his elder years, but dedicated his entire adult life -- literally to his last day of life -- to these pursuits. On November 26, 1926, while working at the bench on a self-loading pistol design for Fabrique Nationale de HerstalFabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium....
(FN) in Liège, he died of heart failure in the design shop of his son Val A. Browning
Val A. Browning
Val Allen Browning was a noted Utah industrialist, philanthropist, and third generation gun innovator. His grandfather, Jonathan Browning, opened a gun shop in Ogden, Utah in 1852 and his father, John Browning, is considered by many to be the most important gun inventor in history.-Life:Born in...
. Even the 9 mm self-loading pistol he was working on when he died had great design merit and was eventually completed in 1935, by Belgian designer Dieudonne Saive
Dieudonne Saive
Dieudonné Joseph Saive was a Belgian small arms designer who designed the FN Model 1949 and the FN FAL. He became the head firearms developer of Fabrique Nationale after the death of John Browning. After John Browning's death, Saive continued with several projects for modernizing and improving...
. Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as the successful Browning Hi-Power
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
pistol, a favorite of sportsman and law enforcement.
The premium priced Browning Superposed
Browning Superposed
The Browning Superposed was one of the first over-under shotgun designs to be produced, and the last, possibly the most elegant, firearm to be designed by John Browning...
shotgun, an over-under shotgun design for the ages, was his last completed firearm design and possibly his most elegant. It was marketed originally with twin triggers; a single trigger modification was later completed by his son, Val Browning. Commercially introduced in 1931 by FN, Browning Superposed
Browning Superposed
The Browning Superposed was one of the first over-under shotgun designs to be produced, and the last, possibly the most elegant, firearm to be designed by John Browning...
shotguns, and their more affordable cousins, the Browning Citori
Browning Citori
The Browning Citori is a double-barreled shotgun of the "over and under" type, with one barrel "stacked" above the other; sometimes referred to as a "stacked-barrel" model....
made in Asia, continue to be manufactured into the 21st Century, come with varying grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood, and all are highly-prized by their owners. An example of at least one can be found in virtually every shotgun shooter's personal collection of favorite shotguns.
Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as for Winchester
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
, Colt
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
, Remington
Remington Arms
Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....
, Savage
Savage Arms
The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns...
, and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium....
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the Browning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....
which had been established in 1927, the year after Browning's death.
Products
Several of Browning's designs are still in production today. Some of his most notable designs include:Firearms
- U.S. M1895 Colt-Browning machine gunM1895 Colt-Browning machine gunThe Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
- FN Browning M1899/M1900FN M1900The FN Browning M1900 is a single action, semi-automatic pistol designed ca. 1896 by John Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal and produced in Belgium at the turn of the century...
- Colt Model 1900Colt M1900The Colt Model 1900 was a self-loading semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt at the turn of the 20th century. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered ....
- Colt Model 1902
- Colt Model 1903 Pocket HammerColt Model 1903 Pocket HammerThe Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by famous American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original M-1900...
(.38 ACP) - Colt Model 1903 Pocket HammerlessColt Model 1903 Pocket HammerlessThe Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut...
(.32 ACP) - Colt Model 1905
- Remington Model 8Remington Model 8The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
(1906), a long recoil semi-automatic rifle - Colt Model 1908 Vest PocketColt Model 1908 Vest PocketThe Model 1908 Vest Pocket is a compact, hammerless, striker-fired, semi-automatic single action pistol. Manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1908 to 1948, it was marketed as a small concealable firearm which could be easily tucked into a gentleman’s vest pocket for unobtrusive carry...
(.25 ACP) - Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless (.380 ACP)
- FN Model 1910FN Model 1910The FN Model 1910 was a blowback-operated, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium.-Development:...
- U.S. M1911 pistol (.45 ACP)
- Colt WoodsmanColt WoodsmanThe Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the American Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977. It was designed by John Moses Browning. The frame design changed over time, in three distinct series: series one being 1915–1947, series two 1947–1955, and series three...
pistol - Winchester Model 1885 falling-block single shot rifle
- Winchester Model 1886 lever-action repeating rifle
- Winchester Model 1887Winchester Model 1887/1901The Winchester Model 1887 and Winchester Model 1901 were lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
lever-action repeating shotgun - Winchester Model 1890Winchester Model 1890The Winchester Model 1890 is a slide-action repeating rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th and early 20th century.-History:...
slide-action repeating rifle (.22) - Winchester Model 1892Winchester Model 1892The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 .-History:When asked by Winchester to...
lever-action repeating rifle - Winchester Model 1894Winchester Model 1894Winchester Model 1894 is a lever-action rifle which became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles...
lever-action repeating rifle - Winchester Model 1895Winchester Model 1895The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester,...
lever-action repeating rifle - Winchester Model 1897Winchester Model 1897The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...
pump-action repeating shotgun - Browning Auto-5Browning Auto-5The 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 designed and remained in production until 1998...
long recoil semi-automatic shotgun - U.S. M1917 water-cooled machine gun
- U.S. M1919M1919 Browning machine gunThe M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
air-cooled machine gun - U.S. M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
- U.S. M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
of 1921 (the famed "Ma-Deuce" weapon) - Remington Model 8Remington Model 8The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
semi-auto rifle - Remington Model 24Remington Model 24Based on a John Browning design and manufactured from 1922-1935, the Remington model 24 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in either .22 Short or .22 long rifle. It is nearly identical to the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle which is still in production. It is a takedown design, meaning that the...
semi-auto rifle (.22) Also produced by Browning Firearms (as the SA-22) and several others - Browning Hi-PowerBrowning Hi-PowerThe Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
(Grand Puissance or GP), the standard sidearm of many military and police forces - The Browning SuperposedBrowning SuperposedThe Browning Superposed was one of the first over-under shotgun designs to be produced, and the last, possibly the most elegant, firearm to be designed by John Browning...
over/under shotgun was designed by John Browning in 1922 and entered production in 1931 - Ithaca Model 37 pump-action repeating shotgun
Cartridges
In addition, the cartridges he developed are still some of the most popular in the world. They include:- .25 ACP.25 ACPThe .25 ACP centerfire pistol cartridge is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning in 1905 alongside the Fabrique Nationale model 1905 pistol...
- .32 ACP.32 ACP.32 ACP , also known as the .32 Automatic is a pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol...
- .38 ACP.38 ACPThe .38 ACP also known as the .38 Auto was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the Browning designed Colt M1900. The cartridge headspaces on the rim. It had first been used in his Model 1897 prototype, which Colt did not produce...
- 9mm Browning Long9mm Browning LongThe 9 mm Browning Long is a military centerfire pistol cartridge developed in 1908 for the 9 mm Browning pistol adopted by Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden...
- .380 ACP.380 ACPThe .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
- .45 ACP.45 ACPThe .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
- .50 BMG.50 BMGThe .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
Military weapons
The Colt 1911, Browning 1917/19M1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
, and the BAR saw action with US forces in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, with the 1911 going on to serve as the U.S.'s standard military side arm
Side arm
A side arm is a weapon, usually a pistol but can be a dagger, as used in pre-modern times, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. A side arm is typically required equipment for military personnel and sometimes carried by law enforcement personnel...
until 1985; a variant
MEU(SOC) pistol
The MEU pistol, officially designated the M-45 MEUSOC, is a magazine-fed, recoil-operated, single-action, semiautomatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It is based on the original M1911 design by John Browning, and has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the...
is still used by special operations units of the United States Marine Corps
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
and the design remains very popular amongst civilian shooters and some police departments. The Browning Hi-Power
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
would have a similarly lengthy period of service outside the United States, and remains the standard side arm of the Australian, British, and Canadian armed forces. The M2 Browning machine gun, the timeless .50 caliber "Ma-Deuce", which was developed in 1918, entered service with the US Armed Forces in 1921, and remains in active service for nearly a century with armed forces across the world in a variety of roles. The M4 cannon
M4 cannon
The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm autocannon designed by John Browning and used in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra fighters, as well as experimentally on other designs. It provided interceptors with a weapon that could shoot down any...
, a 37mm autocannon
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
, was initially designed by Browning in 1921, and entered service in 1938; it was used both in aircraft and on the U.S. Navy PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
during World War II.
Selected patents
Winchester 1885Winchester Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle
The Winchester Model 1885 is a single shot rifle with a falling block action. It was principally designed by John Browning. Two models were produced, the Low Wall and the High Wall....
single-shot rifle, Browning’s first patent Winchester 1886 and Model 71
Winchester Model 71
The Winchester Model 71 was a lever-action rifle introduced in 1936 and discontinued in 1958. A slightly modified version of the Browning designed Model 1886, it was only chambered for the .348 Winchester round; it was also the only firearm that ever used that cartridge...
lever action rifles Winchester Model 1887/1901
Winchester Model 1887/1901
The Winchester Model 1887 and Winchester Model 1901 were lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
lever action shotgun Winchester 1890
Winchester Model 1890
The Winchester Model 1890 is a slide-action repeating rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th and early 20th century.-History:...
pump action rifle Winchester 1893 and 1897
Winchester Model 1897
The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...
pump action shotguns Winchester 1892
Winchester Model 1892
The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 .-History:When asked by Winchester to...
lever action rifle Winchester 1894
Winchester Model 1894
Winchester Model 1894 is a lever-action rifle which became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles...
lever action rifle Colt-Browning Model 1895
M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
machine gun Winchester 1895
Winchester Model 1895
The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester,...
lever action rifle Colt 1900 automatic pistol
Colt M1900
The Colt Model 1900 was a self-loading semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt at the turn of the 20th century. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered ....
Winchester 1900 bolt action single shot .22 rifle Browning Auto-5
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 designed and remained in production until 1998...
shotgun, also Remington Model 11 and Savage 720 Remington Model 8
Remington Model 8
The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
semi-automatic rifle M1917 Browning machine gun Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut...
automatic pistol Stevens
Stevens Arms
Stevens Arms was an American firearms manufacturer founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864. The company introduced the .22 Long Rifle round and made a number of rifle, shotgun, and target pistol designs before being bought by Savage Arms in 1920. After 1920, Stevens made training rifles and machineguns...
520 pump action shotgun Colt Model 1905 in .45 ACP
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
(predecessor to the M1911) FN Model 1906 and Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket
Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket
The Model 1908 Vest Pocket is a compact, hammerless, striker-fired, semi-automatic single action pistol. Manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1908 to 1948, it was marketed as a small concealable firearm which could be easily tucked into a gentleman’s vest pocket for unobtrusive carry...
in .25 ACP
.25 ACP
The .25 ACP centerfire pistol cartridge is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning in 1905 alongside the Fabrique Nationale model 1905 pistol...
Colt 1911 Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle
Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle
The Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle, also known as the Semi Automatic 22 or SA-22, is a takedown rifle produced by FN Herstal based on a John Browning patent. The rifle is currently produced by Browning as the Semi-Auto 22. Production began in 1914 and continued through 1974 in Belgium and production...
and Remington model 24
Remington Model 24
Based on a John Browning design and manufactured from 1922-1935, the Remington model 24 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in either .22 Short or .22 long rifle. It is nearly identical to the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle which is still in production. It is a takedown design, meaning that the...
Remington Model 17
Remington Model 17
In 1915 John Browning patented a pump action, hammerless, under-loading, tubular-magazine, bottom-ejecting, take-down shotgun which became the Remington Model 17. The manufacturing rights were sold to Remington Arms shortly after, but due to the production efforts of World War I, Remington was...
and Ithaca 37
Ithaca 37
The Ithaca 37 is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, military, and police markets. It utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements. In addition, the outline of the gun is clean...
pump action shotguns Colt Woodsman
Colt Woodsman
The Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the American Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977. It was designed by John Moses Browning. The frame design changed over time, in three distinct series: series one being 1915–1947, series two 1947–1955, and series three...
Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
Model of 1918 FN "Trombone" pump action .22 caliber repeater (Rare in USA) 37 mm automatic cannons, M1 and M4
M4 cannon
The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm autocannon designed by John Browning and used in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra fighters, as well as experimentally on other designs. It provided interceptors with a weapon that could shoot down any...
Browning Superposed
Browning Superposed
The Browning Superposed was one of the first over-under shotgun designs to be produced, and the last, possibly the most elegant, firearm to be designed by John Browning...
over/under shotgun FN and Browning Hi-Power
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
pistol M2 Browning machine gun in .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...