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Browning Firearms
Browning Firearms have produced some of the famous and well loved firearms in the history of the industry. The man behind the name, John Moses Browning, was the son of a highly qualified gunsmith. Born on January 23, 1855, in Ogden, Utah, Browning learned the secrets, as well as the art, of making guns within his father’s shop.
It did not take young Browning long, however, to realize that he would rather be building and designing new firearms instead of putting broken ones back together. In fact, around 1869, at the age of fourteen, he made his first firearm, a single shot rifle for his brother. After the death of his father in 1879, John Browning, along with his brothers, opened their own gun making shop.
Using foot powered tools that had been converted to steam power by John Browning, the fledgling shop saw success with its production of the first gun patented by Browning firearms, the Breech-Loading Single Shot Rifle. The shop, located in Ogden, Utah, was soon overwhelmed with customer demand for the rifle that exceeded the capabilities of the shop. Browning Firearms did not have the capital needed to fund an expansion to the gun building shop.
As the founder, and creative head, of Browning Firearms, John was pleased by the success of his first foray into mass gun making. He was, however, less than pleased with the time it took to produce such a large quantity of Browning firearms on a daily basis. It left the creative and inventive genius with little time to design new types of guns.
Partnership With Winchester
A Winchester Firearms salesman stumbled upon a Single Shot rifle from Browning Firearms in 1883. He bought it immediately and sent it to the vice president of Winchester. Fully intrigued after inspecting the Browning firearm, the Winchester vice president, T. G. Bennet, traveled to Utah where he and John Browning quickly struck a deal. He paid Browning firearms $8,000 in order to option the production rights for the gun. This freed John Browning from manufacturing chores and he was able to work on his inventions.
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A number of innovative Browning firearms were designed by John Browning and successfully manufactured by Winchester. These include Repeating Shotguns and Pump Action Shotguns made between the years of 1883 and 1902. The invention that was probably his most important, however, was the utilization of the gases that were emitted after the firing of the gun to recock the gun and ready it for another shot.
Break From Winchester
Winchester’s refusal to produce the repeating shotgun that utilized this hallmark of ingenuity, ultimately lead to Browning firearms splitting from Winchester. After traveling to Belgium to negotiate with Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal, also known simply as FN, Browning firearms’ newest offering in the rifle industry was met with great enthusiasm by the hunting market. Eventually, other companies, such as Remington, Franchi, Savage, and Breda also produced versions of the Browning firearms greatest invention, the repeating shotgun.
Although John Browning died in Belgium in 1925, the founder and prolific designer of Browning firearms, lives on in history as the man who invented the most firearms.
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