John Browning was a simple man with a brilliant mind when it came to arms design. He created dozens of weapons that became legendary. Picking 5 wasn’t easy, but I managed to use some bias to help me decide. My goal was to choose 5 designs that weren’t just great guns, but guns that changed the industry and laid foundations for modern firearms design.
Thank you, John Moses Browning. A thousand times thank you.
Winchester 1897
The first slide, or what we call “pump-action”, shotgun was created in 1893 by John Browning. The model was somewhat successful, but the 1897 was created to greatly improve on the original 1893 design. The 1897 became the standard for hunters, law enforcement, and of course military forces.
Like the old school coach guns, it had an exposed hammer. When the user pumped the slide it ejected the previous round, pushed the next round forward, and cocked the hammer. The gun lacked a disconnector so if the shooter held the trigger rearward the gun would fire every time the action was manipulated. This allowed a shooter to crank off half a dozen rounds of buckshot in mere seconds.
The weapon is mostly famous these days because of its use in the trenches of World War 1. A doughboy could jump into a trench and slam-fire six rounds quite rapidly. The 1897 shotgun and its wall of buckshot allowed the Americans to dominate in the trenches. The shotgun was famously protested by the Kaiser, but he tended to protest everything. It later served in World War 2, Korea, and saw limited use in Vietnam. It was one hell of a shotgun and it paved the way for the modern pump-action shotgun.
The 1897 became America’s shotgun and Remington and Mossberg both owe Mr. Browning for the success of pump-action shotguns.
M2 Machine Gun
Mr. Browning was in high demand during World War 1. General John Pershing called for a machine gun that could fire a projectile of at least .5 inches. Its purpose would be the defeat the armored aircraft and tanks of the era. Browning started by taking his 1917 machine gun and began scaling it up for the newly created 50 Browning machine gun round.
The war was over before the gun finished development, but the United States was still interested. It wasn’t like armor wouldn’t be in future wars. The M2 50 caliber machine gun was more or less perfect in 1921. However, after Browning’s death there would be numerous improvements to the gun. These were a necessity when you consider the M2 has been serving the Armed Forces since 1921.
It’s the NATO standard heavy machine gun and is still in wide use to this day. The M2 is a powerful weapon that offers substantial range and penetration power. The M2 can engage convoys from over a mile out and place accurate hits at these ranges.
The weapon has a very low fire rate and is absurdly accurate. Carlos Hathcock famously turned one into a sniper rifle for a record-setting long-range kill. As a machine gunner, one of my favorite experiences was climbing behind an M2 and sending hate downrange. However, humping one sucks. The barrel alone weighs 25 pounds, and the complete system with the tripod is 127 pounds.
Winchester 1894
This is the lever-action that made the name Winchester synonymous with lever-action rifles. The 1894 has been called ‘the ultimate lever-action design’ by firearms historians. It was the first American rifle built for use with smokeless powder, and that fired the original 30-30 cartridge. The 1894 saw military service with the allies in World War 1, but the service was limited to mostly guard duties at home and at sea to free up proper full-powered rifles.
The 1894 was capable of chambering much larger rounds than the standard lever gun at the time. There is only so far a lever can move to eject and load a round but Browning designed the gun to allow the bottom of the receiver to slide out with it. This created more room to allow for longer cartridges. The first time you fire an 1894 it can be surprising to see the gun’s guts come out with it, but you quickly learn it’s part of the design.
The 1894 was in production long enough to create over 7 million units, and to this day reproductions are built by the Japanese and imported by the Browning corporation. The Winchester 1894 was the be-all, end-all of lever guns. The Cadillac of lever guns if you will.
Remington Model 8
John Browning didn’t create the first autoloading, semi-automatic rifle, but he did create the first successful model. The Remington Model 8 and later Model 81 were early semi-auto rifles primarily designed for hunting. However, the semi-auto design also made them popular with law enforcement. The Model 8 was used by Frank Hamer to kill Bonny and Clyde and served the FBI for quite some time.
The Model 8 used a long recoil operated design with a rotating bolt head. It’s a unique weapon and when fired the barrel and bolt remain locked together and recoil against two recoil springs. The bolt stays to the rear while the barrel is propelled forward by a recoil spring. This makes the spent round extract and eject. The bolt is then driven forward by the second spring and loads the next round into the chamber.
As the owner of one of these rifles, I’ve been impressed by its accuracy and reliability. For such an old gun it still runs like a clock. Even if some bubba spray painted and hydro dipped mine. (It’s a work in progress) If you take a peek at the safety you’ll notice even Mikhail Kalashnikov took some pointers from the gun. It’s a historical and fascinating design that very few people relate to John Browning.
The 1911
Was there any doubt this famed pistol would make the list? The M1911 in 45 ACP is one of the most favorite designs by John Browning. It made its way into gun culture like no other weapon out there. To this day people sing the praises of a massive full-sized weapon that holds only 7 to 8 rounds and whose weight is measured in pounds.
The M1911 was and remains a massively popular weapon. It featured incredible ergonomics, a reliable feeding system, easy to operate controls, and a brilliant trigger. The 1911 laid the groundwork for all modern handguns. The 1911 was the United State’s longest-serving sidearm within the United States military. It even remained a favorite of Force Recon bubbas long past the Beretta M9’s adoption.
The M1911 is still alive and kicking these days. The design has not remained unaltered. Some upgrades were made to the safety and others to ergonomics. The gun can now be found with sights of all kinds, including mini red dots. The 1911 has been chambered in every pistol caliber under the sun, and now we have models with double-stack magazines as well. The M1911 is more prominent now than ever before and it continues to be a favorite.
The Chosen One
John Browning was an incredibly innovative designer. His legacy of firearms helped shape our nation. They hunted deer and birds, protected communities, fought in wars and were occasionally found on the wrong side of the law. His guns were and still are prevalent designs. If he was around today I wonder what he would craft and create? His designs left an impact that changed the face of modern weapon design and to this day his innovations are still being used in modern weapon designs.
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