Perhaps no other single person in history has done more to advance firearms technology than John Moses Browning. His innovations laid the groundwork for almost all hunting firearms in use today, and many military firearms as well. On this episode I talk about his patriotic contribution to the world of hunting.

Before there were semi-auto rifles and shotguns, before there were pump actions, lever actions, and so on, John Moses Browning invented the comprehensive mechanism breech loading single shot rifle. No one had seen anything like it, it earned him a visit from the top brass at Winchester who came to buy the patent rights for an astronomical sum of money in those days and started a long and fruitful relationship.

Not only did John invent a masterful way to operate a single shot rifle, but he also pioneered the repeating rifle, invented the pump action shotgun, went on to invent the automatic shotgun, created the automatic pistol from thin air, and would go on to invent the machine gun.

Almost every hunter does or has carried a gun into the field that John Moses Browning invented or influenced, even though almost none of his firearms were sold under his name. He invented guns like Winchester Model 94 in 30-30, the Browning Auto-5, the Colt 1911, the BAR, the M1 and M2 Machine guns, so much more. Some 120 patents were credited to his name, many of which were built into innovative firearms that changed the course of hunting, and the world.

Listen to the episode to hear more.

To learn more, this book is an excellent read: