John Moses Browning and Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal – The Greatest Partnership In Firearms History

[ED: John Moses Browning was born on this day in 1865. How many Browning designs do you own?] Mention the name “John Moses Browning” to knowledgeable American gun owners and their usual reaction is profound respect and great appreciation. This is for good reason: though he died over 90 years ago, John Browning either created … Read more

SHOT Show: The Winchester 1895 125th Anniversary Model

Earlier this year, Winchester Repeating Arms announced the return of the Winchester 1895 to production, and I made a bee-line to their SHOT Show booth to get a look. Unfortunately, they didn’t bring the standard 1895 and I had to settle for handling and checking out their 125th Anniversary model, a SHOT Show special edition. … Read more

‘The Single Best Handgun Ever Made’

OK, this is possibly the mother of all flame-worthy post topics. And for that very reason, we’d never presume to designate one handgun as the best ever. Or would we? The choices are daunting, to say the least. Revolvers, semi-automatics, single-action, double-action, DA/SA. Stainless steel or polymer frame. American, German (Austrian?). And then there are … Read more

The Browning Hi-Power – A Gun Ahead of Its Time

Reader Ben T. Jimenez writes: The Browning Hi-Power — also known as BHP or GP-35 — was the last project firearms design genius John Moses Browning worked on. He didn’t live to see the project completed, but he laid the groundwork for the pistol that addressed many of the shortcomings of his classic 1911. The … Read more

The Making of John Moses Browning


When I wrote Ode to Browning, I wondered aloud how a Mormon kid from Ogden, Utah, could become the world’s most influential gun designer. That muse was not an idle thought. Last week I visited the Nauvoo, Illinois home and shop of John Moses’ father, Jonathan, and the story became clear. In Illinois I delved into an ugly period of American history that many people would rather forget. A history of renegade militias and mob justice, human rights violations and unlawful detentions, slavery and prejudice, abuse of governmental power and government sanctioned murder. And guns.

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Ode to Browning

By William C Montgomery on April 13, 2010

John Moses Browning was the most influential gun designer. Ever. John C. Garand, Mikhail Kalashnikov, Hiram Maxim, Georg Luger, Dr. Richard J. Gatling, Benjamin Henry, Christian Sharps, General John T. Thompson, and Samuel Colt were one hit wonders by comparison to Browning’s legacy. Browning regarded John Pedersen as the world’s greatest gun designer, but his own work greatly eclipses that of the prolific Remington Arms designer. Browning’s firearms helped conquer the Wild West, accompanied Teddy Roosevelt up San Juan Hill against the Spanish, sparked off the chain of events that led to World War I and later helped to tip the balance of power against the Kaiser’s forces, ended Nazism (literally) and Imperialist Japan, and fought communist expansionism in Korea and Vietnam. To this day, his gun designs endure as favorites of police and military forces around the world, as well as sportsmen.  Not bad for a gentle Mormon kid from Ogden.

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Utah Senator: Combine Browning Day with Martin Luther King Day

From the Salt Lake Tribune: Senate leaders say they like the idea of honoring the late Utah gun inventor John Moses Browning with a state holiday, but aren’t set on having it share a day with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain , is proposing the holiday for the Ogden … Read more