Browning Firearms is one legacy of the great inventor John Browning. John Moses Browning was the most talented and prolific inventor ever to work in the field of firearms design.
Browning Firearms was founded in 1880. Throughout most of the companies history, Browning Firearms has focused on firearms design and allowed other companies to focus on firearms manufacturing.
John Browning designed an incredible number of firearms, including:
- Winchester Model 1885 Single-Shot Rifle
- Winchester Model 1886 Lever-Action Repeating Rifle
- Winchester Model 1887 Lever-Action Repeating Shotgun
- Winchester Model 1890 Pump-Action .22 Caliber Rifle
- Winchester Model 1898 Pump-Action Repeating Shotgun
- Winchester Model 1897 Take-Down Pump-Action Repeating Shotgun
- Colt 1895 Automatic Machine Gun
- Winchester Model 1894 Lever-Action Repeating Rifle
- Winchester Model 1895 Lever-Action Repeating Rifle
- Winchester Model 1900 Single-Shot Rifle
- Remington Model 8 Autoloading Rifle
- Stevens Model 520 Pump-Action Shotgun
- Colt 1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol
- Remington Model 17 Pump-Action Shotgun
- Remington Model 24 Semi-Automatic .22 Caliber Rifle
The Browning firearms company currently designs and markets firearms under their own name. Those firearms are often manufactured by FN (Fabrique Nationale) in Belgium, Portugal and Italy, or by Miroku in Japan.
Browning is a division of the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, along with Fabrique Nationale (FN) and Winchester.
The U.S. Repeating Arms Company is owned by GIAT, a major French defense contractor.
Some of the most popular models of Browning firearms are:
Articles on Browning Shotguns
The Many Faces of the Browning Superposed
The Superposed was the world’s first over and under shotgun — at least the first to be blessed with resounding success.
Browning hits target with autoloader for women
The Browning Gold series of shotguns is immensely popular with men and women shooters. The Gold Ladies Sporting Clays shows Browning really listened to women shooters and gave them what they wanted.
Browning’s new shotgun designed for women
The WSSF Sporting Clays Shotgun may be based on the Browning 425, but it is not simply a chopped-down version. Great efforts were made to alter the stock dimensions so that it would be more comfortable for women to shoot and would fit a woman’s body. The over-and-under shotgun currently comes in 12 gauge only, with a 28-inch barrel and weighs in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces.
Striking shotgun designs for the 21st Century
If at times you have felt that the shotgun world is a bit too conservative, wait until you see and handle the new models being fielded by Browning and Benelli. Browning’s “Cynergy” O/U and Benelli’s “Super Black Eagle II” autoloader are brilliant breakthroughs in mechanical design and their racy lines simply shout “21st Century” hi-tech.
Articles on Browning Rifles
Browning BLR: A better lever rifle
The BLR .358 is light, compact, fast handling, powerful, reliable and accurate. It’s a very useful rifle for a lot of hunting situations. Currently the BLR is offered in both short and long actions and in 14 cartridges, including .450 Marlin, all the WSM cartridges (22″ barrels), even 7mm Rem and .300 Win Magnums (24″ barrels).
Articles on Browning Pistols
The Browning Hi-Power today: dominant high-capacity pistol no longer, the Hi-Power offers other virtues
Classics endure. The Browning Hi-Power is a classic. The ones made today by FN are better than ever. Throated to feed hollowpoints, “drop-safe” thanks to the Mark HI passive firing pin safety, and still with those graceful lines and that perfect fit in the hand, they are proof in steel that quality is timeless.
Double Action Hi-Power
Inarguably, the Browning Hi-Power, or P-35, is one of the most successful pistols in the world. As double-action auto pistols increased in popularity among U.S. shooters in the ’70s, speculation ran rampant that a double-action variant of the Hi-Power would be introduced. At long last, they are here.
Browning Firearms Patents
Over-and-under shotgun apparatus and method
Firing mechanism for fire arms
Compound archery bow
Compound archery bow
Convertible ballistic optimizing system
Compound archery bow
Ballistic optimizing system for rifles
Compound archery bow
Fire arm
Firing mechanism for fire arms
High-efficiency high-speed control unit for chain shifter
Fire arm with mobile loader and loader for such an arm
Method and system for computer-controlled bicycle gear shifting
Bicycle transmission
Hold-back system for bowstring
Bicycle transmission
Compound archery bow
Compound archery bow
Ejector for hunting weapons
Arrow rest for archery bows
Cable guard assembly for compound bows
Dual anchor cable separator for compound bows
Overdraw system for archery bows
Adjustable shotgun rib
Compound archery bows
Bolt assembly
Compound archery bows
Anti-twist forearm mounting system
Electronic set trigger
Box magazine follower system
Trigger system for black powder rifle
Magazine isolator for pump shotguns
Composite breech plug for black powder guns
Detachable barrel for hand guns
Mining machine having rectangular thrust transmitting conveyor column
Piston and obturator assembly for autoloading firearms
Apparatus and method for cleaning mining cars
Pack frame length adjusting coupling
Tube cleaning device
Browning Firearms Manuals
Browning Shotgun Manuals
Cynergy
BPS
BPS (Older models)
BT-99
Citori
Gold Fusion
Gold 12 & 20 ga.
Gold 12 & 20 ga. (Older models)
BPS
Gold 10 ga.
Gold 3 1/2″ 12 ga.
Superposed B-25 and B-125, Continental Superposed Shotguns and Express Rifles
2000 Automatic
A-500
A-500G
A-Bolt
Auto-5 Light
Auto-5 Magnum
B-80 & B-80 Plus
BSS
BT-99 Plus
BT-100
Citori Plus
Recoilless Trap Single Barrel
Browning Rifle Manuals
BAR ShortTrac/LongTrac
BLR
Lightning BLR
The BOSS
The BOSS (Older models)
BAR
BAR(pre-1993 models)
BAR Mark II
A-Bolt
A-Bolt(pre-1993 models)
Buck Mark Rifle
22 Semi-Auto
BL-22
BPR
Model 1885
Model 92
Browning Pistol Manuals
BDA 380
Buck Mark .22
Hi-Power
Challenger II
.25 Automatic Pistol, “Baby Browning”
Books on Browning Firearms
The History of Browning Firearms
John M. Browning was born in Ogden, Utah, in 1855, into a world of gunsmithing. His father was a gunsmith who was already well known for a number of innovations in the field. As a young boy, John spent hours in his father’s shop and allegedly knew the name of every part of a gun before he could read. Hardly surprising that at age twenty-three, he was filing his first patent for the “J. M. Browning Single-Shot Rifle.”
He inherited his father’s business, and with funds of less than a thousand dollars turned it into a thriving gun-making workshop with seven employees. One of Browning’s guns was chanced upon by a representative of Winchester, who admired the design so well that the Winchester managing director made the six-day journey to Utah to conclude several lucrative commercial deals that would endure for the next few years. Browning’s designs for Colt and the manufacture of many familiar Colt guns also helped boost his company’s reputation as a premier gun-maker.
Complete with more than 250 full-color photographs of the guns, this stunning book describes the Browning history, and covers its full range of inventions and designs, from frontier weapons such as the Colt Peacemaker to military arms, shotguns, and hunting rifles. Also shown are various gun-making artifacts, copies of designers’ drawings, and interesting photographs of the weapons in the hands of users. The History of Browning Firearms makes a perfect addition to the libraries of Wild West buffs, amateur historians, and firearms enthusiasts.
Browning Superposed: John M. Browning’s Last Legacy
North America’s top-selling over and under gun is honored in more than 600 detailed photos, including 100 stunning color images, in the paperback version of the best selling The Browning Superposed. Browning fans will discover sections about Browning family business history, information about the engraving process, charts with sales data and total number of guns sold, and serial numbers for every gun produced. The Browning Superposed is a book rich in company history and sales information, that also is a photographic feast sure to inspire any collector of double-barrel firearms.
FN Browning Armorer to the World
Browning Sporting Arms of Distinction: 1903-1992
Generally considered to be the book on Browning firearms. Eastman’s account contains John Browning’s inventions, serial numbers, proof marks, and engravings. In addition, all models of the famous Browning line of fine guns are covered, including over-and-under shotguns, semi-automatic shotguns & rifles, double-barreled shotguns, pump shotguns, single-barreled shotguns, lever actions, bolt actions, .22 rimfire rifles, center-fire and .22 pistols, special edition and collector’s models, and much, much more. Finally, the history of the Browning family, the inventions, the company, and Browning’s association with Colt, Winchester, Savage, and others is detailed in this all-inclusive book, which is profusely illustrated with hundreds of pictures and charts.