John M. Browning and the Auto-5 Shotgun

The brilliant gun designer, John M. Browning, invented the Winchester 30/30, the pump shotgun, the Colt 45 automatic, the U.S. Army WW I and WW II machine guns, the Browning automatic shotgun and more than one hundred other guns, many of which are still manufactured today. John's father was also a gun maker.

A hallmark of Browning's gun designs is their rugged reliability, their simplicity, and their flawless performance. They work without failure under the worst conditions.

Each new Browning Auto-5 Shotgun was fired five times for function testing and two more times to check the shot pattern before being released for sale.

John M. Browning produced works of genius in all firearms fields: in pistols, the 1911 Colt; in rifles, the 1894 Winchester. In shotguns, the Browning Auto-5 was his masterpiece. - COL W. R. Betz

Click on pictures to see larger images.

The Browning Gold Classic Auto-5 (limited edition) shotgun was featured on the cover of the August 1986 issue of American Rifleman, official publication of the National Rifle Association. Only 500 of these shotguns were made - each gun is numbered as part of a limited set (xxx of 500). The cover story honors this shotgun, and described much of the life of John M. Browning and his inventions.
(Click on cover picture to see a larger image - 294K)

Last update: May 7, 1998
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