Thursday, September 29, 2011

John Moses Browning and a new blog meme


Blogbuddy and meatspace friend DaddyBear put up an interesting article today.

I want to shoot every weapon that John Moses Browning ever designed and that went into mass production, preferably in the original caliber. If it's legal to own without an additional tax stamp, I want to own it.

. . .

I highlighted the ones I've already pulled a trigger on. I've got a good start, but still have a long way to go.


I figured I'd play too. Here's the list of firearms DaddyBear posted. I've underlined the ones I've fired (either originals, or reproductions, or the same weapon manufactured under license or updated by another company, like the Baby Browning, which is an updated version of the Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket pistol in .25 ACP).

  • U.S. M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
  • FN Browning M1899/M1900
  • Colt Model 1900
  • Colt Model 1902
  • Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer (.38 ACP)
  • Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless (.32 ACP)
  • Colt Model 1905
  • Remington Model 8 (1906), a long recoil semi-automatic rifle
  • Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket (.25 ACP)
  • Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless (.380 ACP)
  • FN Model 1910
  • U.S. M1911 pistol (.45 ACP)
  • Colt Woodsman pistol
  • Winchester Model 1885 falling-block single shot rifle
  • Winchester Model 1886 lever-action repeating rifle
  • Winchester Model 1887 lever-action repeating shotgun
  • Winchester Model 1890 slide-action repeating rifle (.22)
  • Winchester Model 1892 lever-action repeating rifle
  • Winchester Model 1894 lever-action repeating rifle
  • Winchester Model 1895 lever-action repeating rifle
  • Winchester Model 1897 pump-action repeating shotgun
  • Browning Auto-5 long recoil semi-automatic shotgun
  • U.S. M1917 water-cooled machine gun
  • U.S. M1919 air-cooled machine gun
  • U.S. M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
  • U.S. M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun of 1921 (the famed "Ma-Deuce" weapon)
  • Remington Model 24 semi-auto rifle (.22) - also produced by Browning Firearms as the SA-22, and several others
  • Browning Hi-Power (Grand Puissance or GP), the standard sidearm of many military and police forces
  • The Browning Superposed over/under shotgun was designed by John Browning in 1922 and entered production in 1931
  • Ithaca Model 37 pump-action repeating shotgun


I seem to have shot quite a few of them! If you want to learn more about any of them, you'll find each one linked to a reference in DaddyBear's article.

So, how about it, gunbloggers? How many of the weapons on DaddyBear's list have you fired? Copy it to your own blog and let us know.

Peter

9 comments:

MrGarabaldi said...

Hi Peter,

I cut and pasted the same thing you and Daddybear did, I gave you and DB Props and links for the idea.

Thanks

Angus McThag said...

Baby Browning is not a JMB design. People get it confused with the FN 1905 Depose all the time.

The 1905 is essentially the same gun as the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket.

Peter said...

Actually, McThag, the Baby Browning is an update of the FN 1905 design, which was itself a European version of the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket pistol. Dieudonné Saive updated the design, dropping the grip safety, incorporating a magazine safety, and making other changes: but the Baby Browning internal design, and the basic size, etc., are still derived from the Colt 1908. I maintain that if you put them side-by-side, the differences aren't all that great. I've fired both.

(Still wish I could have brought my father's Baby Browning with me from South Africa. It has absolutely no value as a defensive firearm, thanks to its utterly anemic caliber - but it was his, and I don't have any mementos of him. *Sigh* . . . )

WV: blype - a Continental version of 'hype'?

:-)

Sebastian said...

Peter, what prevented you from bringing it? Unlicensed back in South Africa and thus unexportable, or did it fail to meet the "sporting" requirements to be importable?

Peter said...

@Sebastian: I came in on a work visa at first - hence, no firearms allowed. When I upgraded to a green card, I tried to get it, but the cost to do so was prohibitive on a clergyman's salary at the time. Unfortunately, when my father died, his licenses lapsed (in South Africa, they're issued per weapon, not per owner), and it had to be handed in.

DaddyBear said...

Peter, that's a damned shame.

Looks like you've got a big lead on me, but I will complete the list before I leave this mortal plain.

Angus McThag said...

Agreed, it's derived from the Depose, but it's no more Browning than a SIG 232 is a Walther. From what I've been able to find Saive was handed the notes and told to get to work without any direct involvement from Browning.

Saive gets short shrift because he worked under JMB, I think.

Tam said...

McThag right, Peter wrong.

Also, we did this meme years ago. ;)

Sebastian said...

Shame to hear that, Peter. Same system here in Sweden. Every weapon requires a separate license.