John Moses Browning: America’s Gunmaker
The hand of John Moses Browning is evident across firearms — everything from semi-automatic pistols, to shotguns, Winchester lever-action rifles, even military weapons such as the “Ma Deuce” .50 caliber machine gun that Browning designed — from the late 19th century into today. Browning’s designs took firearms from the single-shot rolling block rifle to the machine gun, and influenced almost all types of firearm design, particularly autoloading ammunition. His inventions included significant improvements to single-shot, lever-action, and pump-action rifles and shotguns, and he developed some of the first reliable autoloading pistols by inventing a telescoping bolt and integrating this bolt and barrel shroud into a slide.