John Browning (footballer, Born 1888)
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John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and
automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...
firearms. Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design, especially the autoloading of ammunition. He invented, or made significant improvements to, single-shot,
lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocki ...
, and
pump-action Pump action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge (firearms), cartridge and typically to co ...
rifles and shotguns. He developed the first reliable and compact autoloading pistols by inventing the
telescoping bolt A telescoping bolt (also known as an overhung bolt) is a firearm bolt which telescopes over, that is, wraps around and past, the breech end of the barrel. This feature reduces the required length of a weapon such as a submachine gun significan ...
, then integrating the bolt and
barrel shroud A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects or the user accidentally touch ...
into what is known as the
pistol slide The slide on the majority of fully/semi-automatic pistols is the upper part that reciprocates ("slides") with recoil during the gun's operating cycle. It serves as the bolt carrier group (BCG) and partly as the receiver, and generally houses ...
. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
, as well as several modern
fully automatic An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firear ...
weapons. He also developed the first
gas-operated Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, Semi-automatic firearm, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the Cartridge (firearms), cartridge being fired is used t ...
firearm, the Colt–Browning Model 1895 machine guna system that surpassed mechanical
recoil operation Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of th ...
to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide. He also made significant contributions to
automatic cannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
development. Browning's most successful designs include the
M1911 pistol The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early histo ...
, the water-cooled M1917, the air-cooled M1919, and
heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, a wake turbulence category used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft with a maximum takeoff mass of 136,000 kgs or mo ...
M2 machine guns, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and the
Browning Auto-5 The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotg ...
the first
semi-automatic shotgun A semi-automatic shotgun is a repeating shotgun with a semi-automatic action, i.e. capable of automatically chambering a new shell after each firing, but requires individual trigger-pull to manually actuate each shot. Semi-automatic shotguns use ...
. Some of these arms are still manufactured, often with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics to those assembled by Browning or his licensees. The Browning-designed M1911 and Hi-Power are some of the most copied firearms in the world.


Early life and craftsmanship

Browning's father Jonathan—who was among the thousands of pioneers of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
who made an exodus from
Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...
, to
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
—established a
gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...
shop in Ogden in 1852. As was common in the
Mormon church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...
community at the time, Jonathan Browning was a
polygamist Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
, having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children, including John Moses, and raised two stepdaughters with his wife Elizabeth Caroline Clark. Browning worked in his father's Ogden shop from the age of seven, where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles, and encouraged to experiment with new concepts. He developed his first rifle, a
single-shot In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...
falling block action A falling-block action (also known as a sliding-block or dropping-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 is actuated by a lever. Desc ...
design while he was still his father's apprentice, then, in 1878, in partnership with his younger brother, co-founded John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company, later renamed
Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and M ...
. The company began producing the brothers' designs and other non-military firearms. By 1882, the company employed John and Matthew's half-brothers Jonathan (1859–1939), Thomas (1860–1943), William (1862–1919), and George (1866–1948). Like his father, Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year
mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...
in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
beginning on March 28, 1887. He married Rachel Theresa Child (September 14, 1860 – September 30, 1934) on April 10, 1879, in Ogden, Weber County, Utah Territory, and the couple had 10 children, two of whom died in infancy.


Firearm designs

Production examples of the Browning Model 1878 Single Shot Rifle caught the attention of the
Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...
, who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design for $8,000 and moved production to their
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
factory. From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever action Winchester Model 1887 and the Model 1897 pump shotgun, the falling-block single-shot Model 1885, and the lever-action Model 1886,
Model 1892 The Winchester Model 1892 is 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 pistol-caliber rounds such as ...
, Model 1894, Model 1895 rifles. After falling out with Winchester, Browning designed the
long recoil Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the pr ...
operated semi-automatic
Remington Model 8 The Remington Model 8 is a semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms, introduced as the ''Remington Autoloading Rifle'' in 1905, though the name was changed to the ''Remington Model 8'' in 1911. History On Octo ...
rifle. Many of the models are still in production today in some form; over six million Model 1894s had been produced as of 1983, more than any other sporting rifle in history. 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
long recoil Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the pr ...
operated 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 sold exclusively to Winchester for a single fee payment. With this new product, Browning and his brother Matthew sought royalties based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment. If the new shotgun became highly successful, the Browning company stood to make substantially more income. Winchester management, which had agreed to royalties for an earlier Browning shotgun design that was never manufactured, now refused to accede to the Brownings' terms. Remington Arms also was approached but the president of the company died of a heart attack while the Brownings were waiting to offer him the gun. Remington would later produce a copy of the Auto-5 as the Model 11 which was used by the US Military and was also sold to the civilian market. Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses with
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...
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 away from John Browning designs when it adopted a shotgun design of Thomas Crossley Johnson for the new Winchester Model 1911 SL, (Johnson had to work around Browning's patents of what became the Auto-5) and the new Model 1912 pump shotgun, which was based in small part upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun. This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.


Later work and 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 in his later years but dedicated his entire adult life literally to his last day to these pursuits. On November 26, 1926, while working at the bench on a self-loading pistol design for
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...
(FN) in
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, he died of heart failure in the design shop of his son
Val A. Browning Val Allen Browning (August 20, 1895 – May 16, 1994) was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and third-generation gunmaker. He was president of the Browning Arms Company. Early life Browning was born in Ogden, Utah Territory on August ...
. Even the 9 mm semi-automatic pistol he was working on when he died had great design merit and was eventually completed in 1935 by Belgian designer
Dieudonné Saive Dieudonné Joseph Saive (; 23 May 1888 – 12 October 1970) was a Belgian small arms designer who designed several well-known firearms for Belgian armsmaker Fabrique Nationale, including the Model 1949 and the FAL (''Fusil Automatique Leger'' ...
. Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as the successful
Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
pistol, a favorite of sportsmen and gun collectors as well as many military and law enforcement agencies around the world. The premium-priced
Browning Superposed Belgian-produced over-and-under shotgun introduced to the United States two years after the Great Depression, in 1931. Despite its original high cost, it was regarded as a fine and valuable weapon by both shooting competitors and hunters. The Super ...
shotgun, an over-under shotgun design, was his last completed firearm design. 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 Belgian-produced over-and-under shotgun introduced to the United States two years after the Great Depression, in 1931. Despite its original high cost, it was regarded as a fine and valuable weapon by both shooting competitors and hunters. The Super ...
shotguns, and their more affordable cousins, the Browning Citori made in Asia, continue to be manufactured into the 21st century and come with varying grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood. Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as for
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, Colt, Remington,
Savage Savage may refer to: * Savage (pejorative term), a derogatory term to describe a member of a people the speaker regards as primitive and uncivilized Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Bill Savage, in the 2000 AD ''Invasion!'' ...
, Stevens, and
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...
of Belgium. Browning firearms have been made, both licensed and unlicensed, by hundreds of factories around the world.
Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and M ...
was established in 1927, the year after Browning's death on November 26, 1926, in Liège, Belgium. In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the company.


Legacy

The M1895 Machine Gun saw action in the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
with the United States Marine Corps. The
Colt M1911 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early histor ...
, Browning 1917/19, and the
BAR Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
saw action with US forces in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
,
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. The M1911 went on to serve as the U.S.'s standard military
side arm Sidearm, side-arm or Side Arm(s) may refer to: * Sidearm (weapon), a backup weapon *Sidearm (baseball) In baseball, sidearm is a motion for throwing a ball along a low, approximately horizontal plane rather than a high, mostly vertical plane (Ov ...
until 1986; a variant is still used by special operations units of the United States Marine Corps and the design remains very popular among civilian shooters and some police departments. The
Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
has had a similarly lengthy period of military service outside the United States. The .50 caliber
M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...
– the enduring "Ma Deuce" – was developed in 1918, entered service with the US Armed Forces in 1921, and has remained in active service for over a century with militaries across the world in a variety of roles. The 37mm
M4 autocannon The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm (1.46 in) recoil-operated autocannon designed by John Browning, Browning Arms Company and entered service in 1942. The M4 and its variants would primaril ...
was initially designed by Browning in 1921 and entered service in 1938; it was used both in aircraft and on
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...
s during World War II.


Products

Several of Browning's designs are still in production today. Some of his most notable designs include: ; Cartridges: * .25 ACP * .32 ACP * .38 ACP * .380 ACP *
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After su ...
* .50 BMG *
9mm Browning Long The 9mm Browning Long, also known as the 9×20mmSR, is a military centerfire pistol cartridge developed in 1903 for the FN Model 1903 adopted by Belgium, France, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.Janson, O"Browning pistol M1903 becomes Swedi ...
; Pistols: * FN M1899/M1900 (.32 ACP) * Colt Model 1900 (.38 ACP) * Colt Model 1902 (.38 ACP) *
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by the American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original Colt M1900. The ...
(.38 ACP) *
FN Model 1903 The FN Model 1903 (M1903, FN Mle 1903), or Browning No.2 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN). It was introduced in 1903 and fired the 9×20mmSR Browning Lon ...
(
9mm Browning Long The 9mm Browning Long, also known as the 9×20mmSR, is a military centerfire pistol cartridge developed in 1903 for the FN Model 1903 adopted by Belgium, France, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.Janson, O"Browning pistol M1903 becomes Swedi ...
) *
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a .32 ACP, .32 ACP (7.65mm Browning) caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt's Manufacturing Company, Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford ...
(.32 ACP) * FN Model 1906 Vest Pocket (.25 ACP) *
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 ...
(.25 ACP) * Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless (.380 ACP) *
FN Model 1910 The FN Model 1910 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium. Development The FN Model 1910, also known as the Browning model 1910, was a departure for Browning. ...
(.32 ACP, .380 ACP) * FN Model 1922 (.32 ACP) and (.380 ACP) * U.S. M1911 pistol (.45 ACP) *
Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
(
9mm Parabellum This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Case length'' refers to the round case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design ...
) started by Browning but completed by
Dieudonné Saive Dieudonné Joseph Saive (; 23 May 1888 – 12 October 1970) was a Belgian small arms designer who designed several well-known firearms for Belgian armsmaker Fabrique Nationale, including the Model 1949 and the FAL (''Fusil Automatique Leger'' ...
at
FN Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...
*
Colt Woodsman The Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the U.S. 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 ...
pistol ( .22 LR) ; Shotguns: * Ithaca Model 37 pump-action repeating shotgun *
Stevens Model 520/620 The Stevens Model 520 was a Pump action, pump-action shotgun developed by John Browning and originally manufactured by the Stevens Arms, J Stevens Arms & Tool Company between 1909 and 1916. Stevens was sold to New England Westinghouse Company, ...
pump-action repeating shotgun * Winchester Model 1887 lever-action repeating shotgun *
Winchester Model 1893 The Winchester Model 1893, commonly known as Model 93, is an American hammer-action pump-action shotgun designed by John Browning and his brother Matthew, and was produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from May 1893 to June 1897. It w ...
pump-action repeating shotgun *
Winchester Model 1897 The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, Riot Gun, or Trench Gun, is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of th ...
pump-action repeating shotgun *
Winchester Model 1912 The Winchester Model 1912, also commonly known as the Winchester 1912, Model 12, or M12, is an internal-hammer pump-action shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly named the ''Perfect Repeater'' at its introduction, it largely set the s ...
pump-action repeating shotgun *
Browning Auto-5 The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotg ...
long-recoil semi-automatic shotgun, also produced as Savage Model 720 *
Browning Superposed Belgian-produced over-and-under shotgun introduced to the United States two years after the Great Depression, in 1931. Despite its original high cost, it was regarded as a fine and valuable weapon by both shooting competitors and hunters. The Super ...
over/under shotgun *
Remington Model 17 In 1915 John Browning patented a pump-action shotgun with the following features: hammerless, under-loading, tubular-magazine, bottom-ejecting, and take-down. This design would eventually become the Remington Model 17. Manufacturing rights we ...
pump-action repeating shotgun ; Rifles: *
Winchester Model 1885 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. History In 1878, the 23-year-old Browning designed a falling-b ...
falling-block single-shot rifle *
Winchester Model 1886 The Winchester Model 1886 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning to handle some of the more powerful cartridges of the period. Originally chambered in .45-70 Government, .45-90 Sharps, and .40-82 Winchester, it was late ...
lever-action repeating rifle * Winchester Model 1890 slide-action repeating rifle ( .22 LR) *
Winchester Model 1892 The Winchester Model 1892 is 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 pistol-caliber rounds such as ...
lever-action repeating rifle *
Winchester Model 1894 The Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally ...
lever-action repeating rifle *
Winchester Model 1895 The Winchester Model 1895 is an American 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 ...
lever-action repeating rifle * Winchester Model 1900 bolt-action single-shot rifle (.22 LR) *
Remington Model 8 The Remington Model 8 is a semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms, introduced as the ''Remington Autoloading Rifle'' in 1905, though the name was changed to the ''Remington Model 8'' in 1911. History On Octo ...
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 19 ...
(.22 LR) *
Remington Model 24 Based on a John Browning design and manufactured from 1922 to 1935, the Remington model 24 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in either .22 Short or .22 long rifle. It is very closely related to the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle (the Browning SA ...
semi-auto rifle (.22 LR) *
FN Trombone The FN Browning Trombone is a pump-action long takedown rifle designed by John M. Browning in 1919. It was produced by FN Herstal, who made a total of 150,000 from 1922 to 1974. It was imported into the U.S. by Browning Arms. Models manufactured ...
pump-action rifle (.22 LR) * M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) ; Machine guns: *
M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of 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. Based on an 1889 desi ...
air-cooled gas-operated machine gun *
M1917 Browning machine gun The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled ...
water-cooled recoil-operated machine gun *
M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30-06 Springfield, .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial weap ...
air-cooled recoil-operated machine gun *
M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
machine gun .50-caliber heavy machine gun *
M4 cannon The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm (1.46 in) recoil-operated autocannon designed by John Browning, Browning Arms Company and entered service in 1942. The M4 and its variants would primaril ...
37mm Automatic Gun, work lapsed on death and not restarted until 1934


Selected patents


See also

*
Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and M ...
* John Moses Browning House *
Charles Petter Charles Gabriel Petter (26 March 1880 – 7 July 1953) was a Swiss firearms designer. He is best known as the designer of the ''Pistolet automatique modèle 1935A'' (also known as the Modèle 1935A, French Model 1935A, or M1935A). He also designe ...
*
Sig Holding SIG Group AG is a Swiss multinational corporation and one of the biggest manufacturers in the packaging industry. Originally founded 1853 as a railway car producer named ''Schweizerische Waggonfabrik'' ("Swiss Wagon Factory"), it was renamed ...
*
SIG Sauer SIG Sauer is since the 1970s a combined brand name of several Firearms manufacturing companies, with SIG referring to ''Swiss Industry Group'' originally founded 1853, while the latter part comes from Sauer & Sohn, founded in 1751 in Germany a ...


References


General sources

* Browning, John, and Curt Gentry (1964)
''John M. Browning, American Gunmaker''"> ''John M. Browning, American Gunmaker''
New York: Doubleday. .


External links


The Ogden Union Station Browning Museum



1911 Pistol Photo Reference Site Past Items Sold at Auction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, John 1855 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors Ammunition designers Gunsmiths Firearm designers Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States 19th-century Mormon missionaries Latter Day Saints from Utah Weapon designers