Famous Utahn: Browning Family

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Episode 209 for our Famous Utahn of May, we decided to do a deep dive into the Browning Family. Yep, that Browning! If you didn’t know the history behind the Browning Gun co. it was started in little old Ogden, Utah.

The Browning Gun Co. doesn’t even start with John Moses Browning, but with his father. His father Jonathan was also a gunsmith who took his training in the Midwest/East and created his first gun in 1831. The Brownings lived in Illinois and were members of The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints. After the assassination of Joseph Smith, the Browning family moved their family west. When they settled in Ogden, Utah Jonathan had a gun shop which is where young John learned the trade.

The Browning Brothers Gun Shop in Utah Territory (circa 1882). In the photo are (left to right): Thomas Samuel Browning, George Emmett Browning, John Moses Browning, Matthew Sandefur Browning, Jonathan Edmund Browning, and Frank Rushton. Public Domain

There is a story that John was 11 and fiddling with gun parts and his dad walked in and told him that he could do better. He was another one of Utah’s very young prodigy’s. *see Martha Hughes Cannon and Philo T Farnsworth for other young Utah prodigy’s we’ve talked about*. Browning developed his first firearm in his father’s gun shop when he was 13 years old, and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents by age 24, a rifle that Winchester would manufacture as the Single Shot Model 1885. Not only was Browning a gunsmith by trade, he also invented firing mechanisms, cartridges, military and civilian firearms that would be used by firearm companies like Winchester and Colt. Browning.com family history timeline says, on November 26, 1926 – John M. Browning suffers a fatal heart attack while working on his latest shotgun design, the over and under Superposed at the Fabrique Nationale factory in Liege, Belgium. The master had finally laid down his tools.

According to Ammo.com, many of Browning’s firearms that are still favorites of the gun-buying public today, including:

  • The single-shot Winchester 1885: Still manufactured today, it can be found in various calibers, including .17 Remington, .243, .30-06, and .45-70 Govt, among others.
  • The lever-action Winchester 1894: One of the most popular hunting rifles in the U.S., it was originally chambered to fire .32-40 Win and .38-55 Win. It was also the first long gun to use the smokeless powder .30-30 round (originally called the .30 WCF). Other caliber variations include: .32 Win Special, .444 Marlin, .45 Long Colt, .450 Marlin, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, and .410 bore, as well as other less-known cartridges.
  • The lever-action Winchester 1895: A popular military and hunting rifle, it was chambered for full-size ammo like 7.62x54mmR, .30-30, .30-06, and .405 Winchester.
  • The pump-action Winchester 1897: Also known as a Trench Gun, this shotgun was offered in various barrel lengths and grades, and came chambered in either 12 or 16 gauge. It was manufactured from 1897 through 1957, and over one million were made.
  • The bolt-action Winchester 1900: A single-shot rifle, the 1900 was designed for the .22LR, but could also fire .22 Short and .22 Long cartridges
Some of Browning’s most popular firearms

There is so much that we could write but you can check out some of the resources we used below. Check out the Browning Museum in Ogden, Utah if you are ever in town.

Some of the great resources we used for this episode were: Range365/ Ammoland/ Ammo/ Browning

Music By: Folk Hogan; Bootleggers Dance