J M Browning

[Xringshooter]

It's his birthday today (or Saturday, no one is exactly sure if he was born 1/21/1855 or 1/23/1855).

From Wikipedia:
Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design. He invented or made significant improvements to single-shot rifles, lever action rifles, and slide action firearms. His most significant contributions were in the area of autoloading firearms. He developed the autoloading pistol by inventing the slide design found on nearly every modern automatic handgun. He also developed the first gas-operated machine gun, the Colt-Browning Model 1895—a system that would surpass recoil operation in popularity. Other successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the Browning .50 caliber machine gun, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and a ground-breaking semi-automatic shotgun, the Browning Auto-5.

The Colt 1911, Browning 1917/19, and the BAR saw action with US forces in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, with the 1911 going on to serve as the U.S.'s standard military side arm until 1986; a variant is still used by special operations units of the United States Marine Corps and the design remains very popular amongst civilian shooters.(my emphasis) The Browning Hi-Power would have a similarly lengthy period of service outside the United States, and remains the standard side arm of the Australian, British, and Canadian armed forces. The M2 Browning machine gun, which was developed in the late 1910s, remains in service with armed forces across the world in a variety of roles.

[Solo]

Happy 155th Birthday Mr. Browning. I was looking at the Browning website and they are offering a 75th anniversary Hi-Power. On a side note, Indiana Jones used a Browning Hi-Power in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

[bortle]

Not too many people design things that lasted as long as some of his. Things today are obsolete in 5-10 years. 8-tracks,cassettes,car phones are a thing of the past. The 1911 pistol is still going strong. The army is still using the .50 cal. machine gun. Browning Hi-Powers are still being made. We'll see if some of the plastic pistols last that long. I guess my grandchidren will see. I don't think I'm going to live till 2080.

[culpepermm]

happy birthday indeed. many famous gun designers can claim one or two revolutionary advances or designs but john browning has a library of them and so many are still in use. pistols, rifles, military arms, the guy did it all.

and don't forget about the winchester model 94! or the 1887 lever action shotgun (made famous recently by terminator) or the....on and on and on....

[Warpt762x39]

I myself share a birthday with one of his more famous designs. The 1911 was adopted by the US military on March 29, 1911. I was born the same day but 73 years later.

The 1911 will turn 100 on my 27th birthday and I plan on buying myself a 1911 for myself on that date.

[PA Rifleman]

1 In the beginning was the 1911, and the 1911 was THE pistol, and it was good. And behold the Lord said, "Thou shalt not muck with my disciple John's design for it is good and it workith. For John made the 1911, and lo all of his weapons, from the designs which I, the Lord, gave him upon the mountain."

2 "And shouldst thou muck with it, and hang all manner of foul implements upon it, and profane its internal parts, thou shalt surely have malfunctions, and in the midst of battle thou shalt surely come to harm."

3 And as the ages passed men in their ignorance and arrogance didst forget the word of the Lord and began to profane the 1911. The tribe of the gamesman did place recoil spring guides and extended slide releases upon the 1911 and their metal smiths didst tighten the tolerances and alter parts to their liking, their clearness of mind being clouded by lust.

4 Their artisans did hang all manner of foul implements upon the 1911 and did so alter it that it became impractical to purchase. For lo, the artisans didst charge a great tax upon the purchasers of the 1911 so that the lowly field worker could not afford one. And the profaning of the internal parts didst render it unworkable when the dust of the land fell upon it.

5 And lo, they didst install adjustable sights, which are an abomination unto the Lord. For they doth break and lose their zero when thou dost need true aim. And those who have done so will be slain in great numbers by their enemies in the great battle. a

6 And it came to pass that the Lord didst see the abomination wrought by man and didst cause, as he had warned, fearful malfunctions to come upon the abominations and upon the artisans who thought they could do no wrong.

7 Seeing the malfunctions and the confusion of men, the lord of the underworld did see an opportunity to further ensnare man and didst bring forth pistols made of plastic, whose form was such that they looked and felt like a brick, yet the eyes of man being clouded, they were consumed by the plastic pistol and did buy vast quantities of them.

8 And being a deceitful spirit the lord of the underworld did make these plastic pistols unamenable to the artisans of earth and they were unable to muck much with the design, and lo these pistols did appear to function.

9 And the evil one also brought forth pistols in which the trigger didst both cock and fire them and which require a "dingus" to make them appear safe.

10 But man being stupid did not understand these new pistols and didst proceed to shoot themselves with the plastic pistol and with the trigger cocking pistols for lo their manual of arms required great intelligence which man had long since forsaken. Yet man continue to gloat over these new pistols blaming evil forces for the negligent discharges which they themselves had committed.

11 And when man had been totally ensnared with the plastic pistol, the lord of the underworld didst cause a plague of the terrible Ka-Boom to descend upon man and the plastic pistols delivered their retribution upon men. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land.

12 Then seeing that the eyes of man were slowly being opened and that man was truly sorrowful for his sinful misdeeds, the Lord did send his messengers in the form of artisans who did hear and obey the teachings of the prophet and who didst restore the profaned 1911s to their proper configuration, and lo, to the amazement of men they didst begin to work as the prophet had intended.

13 And the men of the land didst drive out the charlatans and profaners from the land, and there was joy and peace in the land, except for the evil sprits which tried occasionally to prey on the men and women of the land and who were sent to the place of eternal damnation b by the followers of John.

a Several old manuscripts add the following text. "And they [also rendered as "these men"] didst chamber it for cartridges who's calibers startith with numbers less than the Holy Number 4. And lo the Lord did cause great grief amongst these men when their enemies who were struck in battle with these lesser numbers didst not fall but did continue to cause great harm."

b or Hell

Source

[Shawn.L]

good thing I was shooting my 1911 in tribute this weekend

[vic2367]

Happy Birthday Mr. Browning