Classic Browning Arms Company and the Higher Power

Classic Browning Arms Company of the 1950s and 1960s would not be in the same rankings as other firearms manufacturers of that era. But we could probably also say that some firearms companies would not be where they are if not for John Browning.

 

The Winchester Firearms, Remington Firearms, Savage Firearms and the Colt Firearms companies would not be in the positions they are today, if not for John Browning.

This would be especially so for the Winchester Arms and Colt Firearms companies. The famous Winchester lever action rifles  in the models 1886, model 1892, and model 1894 were all designs of John Browning. The Colt 45 automatic 1911 was a design of John Browning. Remington Arms would also use several designs of John Browning.

He was the gun wizard of modern firearms. His designs would influence all gun manufacturers up to and including today’s long guns and handguns .

The Classic Browning Arms Company would produce several great guns in the 1950’s. Two of the finest shotguns ever produced are the Belgium made Browning A 5 auto shotgun and a superposed O/U shotgun. Both were manufactured for Browning Firearms by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium or FN.

I will not be discussing the shotguns during much of these articles as they would require a totally separate time frame than the one I am currently speaking about. The Golden age of classic shotguns would probably cover a much broader area going back into the 1920’s and 30s and forward to the 1960s. So that would be a good subject all by its self.

They would produce a pistol in 1950s, called the Browning hi-power that was made in Belgium and we will get into more detail about it in a separate article. Also produced by the late 1950s, was a bolt action Browning high-power rifle that would become a Browning arms Company classic.

By the mid-1960s the Browning Arms Company was experiencing problems with their wood on the bolt rifles and O/U shotguns. These were called the salt guns. And we will discuss more on that issue in the individual articles on the bolt rifles.

The Classic Browning Arms company of the 1950s and 60s was primarily a commercial gun company that provided firearms to a worldwide market. They produced a lot of their hi power pistols for military and police departments all over the world and the Browning high-power handguns, were a big part of that market.

We could probably say that if Browning Arms had marketed and manufactured the guns he designed under his own name in the early days of the firearms company. They probably would be the premier gun manufacturing organization in the world.

If you are looking for information on John Browning himself. There are a lot of good articles and books written about the man and I would highly recommend that you read about him and his history and the history of the Classic Browning Arms Company. He was an extremely gifted man. To design and build in the 1800s what he did, is truly amazing. The Winchester model 94 is just one example of his design and engineering marvels. His lever action rifles are true classics.

So if you get the opportunity to read or study, the man John Browning. It would well be worth your while.

Classic Browning

The modern gun era could give much of its credit to John Browning. The Browning Firearms Genius.

I was very privileged as a gunsmith in our Pennsylvania gun shop in the 70s and 80s to be able to work on many of these Browning firearms. They were of extremely high quality, and I very much enjoyed working on those Browning firearms. The repair issues were not great, and I probably did more in the refinishing line then actually working on malfunctions of the rifles or handguns themselves.

I will speak more about each individual Browning classic firearms and the issues I did have with them in articles about those firearms or in separate gunsmithing repair articles under alterations.  We will see how this could affect the guns value.

The Browning Classic Firearms are very collectible and are one of those guns that are becoming quite hard to find in excellent condition. They did make a lot of those firearms that have survived to this day but getting them in great condition can be difficult. I would give any of these firearms an excellent rating as a collector’s gun. They will do nothing but go up in value in the future.

I recommend you read my article on rating the firearms in my  RATINGS PAGES.   LINK and LINK.   I will discuss more on the collectable aspects of these Browning Classic Firearms in the individual articles about them. Great Classic Browning Arms of the Golden Age.