Browning Arms Company

Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and Matthew Sandefur Browning (1859–1923). The company offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, and pistols. Other products include fishing rods and reels, gun safes, sport bows, knives and bicycles.[1]

Browning Arms Company
TypeSubsidiary
Industry
Founded1878 (1878) in Ogden, Utah, United States
Headquarters
Morgan, Utah
,
United States
Products
  • Firearms
  • Sports equipment
ParentGroupe Herstal S.A.
Websitebrowning.com
Browning Brothers gun shop, Ogden, Utah Territory, 1882. From left to right: Thomas Samuel Browning, George Emmett Browning, John Moses Browning, Matthew Sandefur Browning, Jonathan Edmund Browning, and Frank Rushton

Initially, the company marketed the sporting (non-military) designs of John Browning, one of the world's most influential and prolific firearms inventors. Nearly all of John Browning's innovative designs have been manufactured under license by other companies, including Winchester, Colt, Remington, FN Herstal, and Miroku. Browning is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of FN Herstal.

Browning Arms Company is best known for the A-Bolt and X-Bolt bolt-action rifles, the BAR semi-automatic rifle, the BPR pump-action rifle, the BPS pump-action shotgun, the Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun, and the Hi-Power pistol. Browning also manufactures a set of trap shotguns such as the 725 Pro Trap, Citori CX series, and the Cynergy series.

Archives

The company's factory collection is owned by the Browning Firearms Museum at Union Station in Ogden, Utah.[2]

Products

Firearms
Browning BDA 45
Browning 1911-22 A1
Browning Safari model made in Belgium in .270 Winchester
Browning Auto-5 20g Mag

Pistols

Rifles

Shotguns

Footwear

Browning introduced a line of hunting boots in 1968 and continued to design and manufacture footwear through outside vendors until 2001. In that year, Browning reached a license agreement with Connecticut-based H.H. Brown Shoe Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, to manufacture Browning Footwear.

The product line included the John M. Browning collection, Field and Game series, and sporting and waterfowl lines. The line has grown to include kangaroo leather boots, rubber boots and waders, and upland game boots.[7]

Knives

In 1968, Browning introduced a line of cutlery in the form of three fixed-blade hunting knives and a folding knife designed by the custom knifemaker Gil Hibben. Over the years, the lineup has grown, and Browning has teamed up with other knifemakers such as Jerry Fisk, Bailey Bradshaw, John Fitch, Joseph Keeslar, and James Crowell of the American Bladesmith Society.[8] In 2004 Browning partnered with several custom knifemakers to produce a series of "Living History Knives" honoring famous American generals and battles. The lineup included a Liberty Tree Knife made by Larry Harley; a Robert E. Lee Knife and an Alamo Knife honoring Jim Bowie designed by Jerry Fisk; an Ike Knife honoring Dwight David Eisenhower designed by Jim Crowell; and a Crazy Horse Knife by Brent Evans.[9] Browning has recently partnered with big-game hunter, Russ Kommer as their knife designer.[10]

Browning was the make of pistol initially depicted in the Nazi propaganda play Schlageter, from which the quote "when I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun", often associated with Nazi leaders, originates. The actual line from the play is slightly different: "Wenn ich Kultur höre ... entsichere ich meinen Browning!" "Whenever I hear of culture... I unlock my Browning!" (Act 1, Scene 1).

Browning is the sponsor of the hunting show Goin' Country hosted by Kristy Lee Cook, which the Versus channel aired before it became the NBC Sports Network. The relationship between Cook and Browning started after she wore a Browning hat on American Idol.[11]

A Browning shotgun appears in the Turnpike Troubadours song "The Housefire"[12] and "The Bird Hunters".[13] The latter specifies that the gun was manufactured in Belgium.

See also

References
  1. Browning Product lines Archived 13 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Nicholson, Ben. "21. John M. Browning Firearms Museum, Ogden, UT". Ben Nicholson. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. "Browning BDA 380" (JPG). Flickr. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. A.E. Hartink, Encyklopedia pistoletów i rewolwerów, DEBIT 2002. ISBN 83-7167-181-4
  5. Ian Hogg & Rob Adam, Jane's Guns Recognition Guide, HarperCollins, 1996 ed., 512 p. (ISBN 978-0-00-470979-6)
  6. New Left-Hand Browning T-Bolt Rimfires - Rifle Shooter
  7. "Browningfootwear.com". Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  8. "Browning Introduces Master Knifemaker Series Collection for 2006" (Press release). 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  9. Miller, David (2008). The History of Browning Firearms. Globe Pequot. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-1-59228-910-3.
  10. "Russ Kommer Builds a Custom Knife for Browning TV Show Host, Stephen LeBlanc" (Press release). 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  11. Freeman, Mark (26 August 2010). "Kristy Lee Cook is on the Hunt". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  12. Turnpike Troubadours – The Housefire, retrieved 13 April 2021
  13. Turnpike Troubadours – The Bird Hunters, retrieved 13 April 2021
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