John Moses Browning...

[GoBrush]

John Moses Browning is often quoted on The Highroad but how many of you have actually read his book "John M Browning American Gunmaker" Very interesting reading.

"His accomplishments are remarkable whether they are measured by their innovations, their number, their duration, or their popularity. During those forty seven inventive years, John M. Browning was issued 128 different patents, to cover a total of some eighty complete and distinct firearm models. They include practically every caliber from the 22 short cartridge throught the 37mm projectile; they embrace automatic actions, semi-automatic actions, lever actions, and pump actions; they include guns that operate by gas pressure, by both the short and long recoil principle, and the blowback principle; they include models utilizing sliding locks, rotating locks and vertical locks.........It is estimated that well over thirty million Browning designed guns have been produced to date, by Browning, Winchester, Colt, Fabrique Nationale, Remington, Savage, and others."
John M Browning American Gunmaker Page #219

A worthy read if you can find one!

Oh and mine is not for sale

 

[BigG]

I had a copy back in the 60s. It's a good book and well worth reading.

 

[Rembrandt]

Of JMB's 128 patents, only 80 were ever produced.....I'm still waiting for the other 48 to see what else I need to buy....

 

[Trebor]

The book is a very good read. I checked it out of the library and now I need to buy a copy. I believ it's available through the Browning Museum in Utah.

Don't hold your breath waiting for his other 48 designs to come to market. Won't happen. Since he sold complete designs to Winchester, he'd often make two or more variations on the same idea. Winchester would buy them all, put the best in production, and sit in the rest to keep any other company from buying them to keep the competition down.

For a firearms designer, it might be worthwhile to sit down and sift through all his old patents to see if there are any unexploited good ideas in there, but don't count on any of the old designs being manufactured "as is."