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I didn’t realize just how many designs this man was involved with. John M. Browning Firearm Designs – 1885 to 1926. His major firearms designs included:
Single-Shot Rifle:
Winchester 1885
Bolt-Action Rifle:
Winchester 1900
Lever-Action Rifles:
Winchester 1886
Winchester 1892
Winchester 1894
Winchester 1895
Slide-Action Rifles:
Winchester 1890
Recoil-Operated Semi-Automatic Rifles:
Remington Model 8 and 81
Blowback-Operated Semi-Automatic Rifles:
Browning 22 Semi-auto
Double-Barrel Shotgun:
Browning Superposed
Lever-Action Shotgun:
Winchester 1887
Slide-Action Shotguns:
Winchester 1897
Remington Model 17 (later the Ithaca 37)
Stevens 520
Recoil-Operated Semi-Automatic Shotguns:
Browning Auto 5 / Remington Model 11
Blowback-Operated Semi-Automatic Pistols:
FN M1900
Colt 1903/1908 Pocket Hammerless
FN 1906 Vest Pocket/Colt 1908 Vest Pocket
FN 1910
Colt Woodsman .22
Recoil-Operated Semi-Automatic Pistols:
Colt 1902
Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer
U.S. M1911
FN G.P. 35 Hi Power
Gas-Operated Machine Guns:
Colt M1895
U.S. M1918 BAR
Recoil-Operated Machine Guns:
U.S. M1917/M1919
U.S. M2 Heavy Machine Gun
Automatic Machine Cannon:
Colt Browning 37mm
November 7, 2015
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That doesn’t begin to take into account the firearms that use some features that he invented or the ones influenced by his designs. I’ve often said I have no idea what my gun safe would look like if not for JMB’s work.
Mike
Good many more are mentioned in John Browning, American Gunmaker, by John Browning. However, in the work he did for Win, he had an important collaborator in the person of William Mason, who refined many of his designs to make them suitable for mass production, a side of the story that appears in Campbell’s Vol 2 on the SS.
TXGunNut said
That doesn’t begin to take into account the firearms that use some features that he invented or the ones influenced by his designs. I’ve often said I have no idea what my gun safe would look like if not for JMB’s work.
Mike
Very true indeed Mike.
November 7, 2015
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clarence said
Good many more are mentioned in John Browning, American Gunmaker, by John Browning. However, in the work he did for Win, he had an important collaborator in the person of William Mason, who refined many of his designs to make them suitable for mass production, a side of the story that appears in Campbell’s Vol 2 on the SS.
Very good point. Many of Browning’s designs had to be refined by the talented designers at Winchester. They were the unsung heroes of Winchester’s success. JMB would build the guns and they had to reverse-engineer the design, modify it for production and create the drawings.
Mike
clarence said
Good many more are mentioned in John Browning, American Gunmaker, by John Browning. However, in the work he did for Win, he had an important collaborator in the person of William Mason, who refined many of his designs to make them suitable for mass production, a side of the story that appears in Campbell’s Vol 2 on the SS.
Yes that’s right Clarence. Mason was just as much responsible for those with the Winchester name on them.
Rick, nice list but not complete. Off the top of my head I see the Win 1893 shotgun is missing and the Colt 1900 semi auto pistol is too. The Colt 1900, 1902’s, 1903’s, 1905, 1908’s basically work the same way. I’m not a FN expert but some of these where just like a Colt or a Browning.
I agree Chuck many more could be added to the list.
Chuck said
Rick, nice list but not complete. Off the top of my head I see the Win 1893 shotgun is missing and the Colt 1900 semi auto pistol is too. The Colt 1900, 1902’s, 1903’s, 1905, 1908’s basically work the same way. I’m not a FN expert but some of these where just like a Colt or a Browning.
These are models that went into production; Browning sold Winchester many designs that were never produced because they competed with other Winchester products, market wasn’t large enough, etc. But Winchester was taking no chances of them falling into other hands! That is, until they made the stupid mistake of letting the Auto 5 get away!
RickC said
Yes that’s right Clarence. Mason was just as much responsible for those with the Winchester name on them.
Mason’s name does not appear in the index of the bio I referred to above! But then it was written by his eldest son who probably knew little of what went on in New Haven.
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