Posted on 03/22/2011 5:26:59 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
The 100th anniversary of John Moses Browning's work of brilliance is March 29th. The gun which won WWI, WWII, Korea, was in Vietnam, and is still to this day one of the most popular platforms for guns.
Curious what things, if any, people were doing to celebrate this work of brilliance/art.
I am putting time aside that day to get out to shoot mine.
I was planning on heading out west next year. I guess I’ll have to add one more stop to my list.
If the snow clears up a bit, since I need the brass collected for reloading, I just might bring out my standard MK4 Series 70 for a few mags worth.
It was bought while I played army so that I could carry a pistol (I was a medic) in normal exercises. Anything that looked serious I selected an M16/203.
Still, it has been replaced by a USPc in .40, and hasn’t been fired in years, so it may be time for a celebration...
If you make it there, please post pics;-)
I'm planning a trip up to the Frazier Arms Museum (I think it's now known as the Frazier International History Museum) up in Louisville in the next couple of weeks. I'll have to post pics from there as well. They have a rifle owned by George Washington, one of the rifles used by Teddy Roosevelt on his Africa Safari, and hundreds of other fascinating firearms and weapons.
I went there a few years ago, but my camera malfunctioned and erased all of my pics...after I got home.
You won’t go wrong. For many years I wanted a Colt Combat Commander in .38 Super. Most I saw that were in acceptable condition were in the $1500 to $2000 range. Then I found a Kimber Pro Carry HD II that was everything the Commander was - and then some. Stainless steel to boot. It is really a great handgun.
Semper Fi,
I’ve been wanting that Gold Cup for many years. This anniversary sounds like a perfect time.
Lucky stiff ;-). I’m jealous.
By youself?
500 rounds of ball would just be too much in one "sitting"...
They sure do look sweet, but I have no idea which model I would get.
I don’t have any hundred year old tin cans to blast, but I’ll make do.
In the book “John M. Browning, American Gunmaker” there is a picture of the Browning Brothers sporting goods store in Ogden.
It is pointed out that the word Ammunition is spelled with only one “M” on the storefront advertisement. The Brownings didn’t catch it until a salesman pointed it out to them. He had to show them a box of ammo before they believed him.
I’ll go shoot a round of trap with my 16 gauge Browning A-5 shotgun that was one of the last 200 made before the Germans captured the FN plant in Belgium in 1914.
Like the 1911, the A-5 is timeless.
Doing? ... Yeah, buying one to replace the one I sold. Then I’ll take it to the range and tune it in. By the 29th it should be ready for the SHTF future America is rushing toward.
I’ve got a 1963 Lightweight Commander in Super .38, retrofitted with a Bar-Sto barel, night sights, and moose stag grips. Polished it until it feeds Cor-Bon DPX’s like butter.
Very sweet... keep looking, it’s worth the search.
When my Father’s outfit passed through Liege, he said the FN factory was already taking orders from the GIs.
He said they had not yet got back into production but guaranteed they would ship the guns directly to their home address in the U.S.
I can’t recall if he said the FN plant had been destroyed but I do remember him saying Liege and presumably Herstal, was badly damaged.
**500 rounds of ball would just be too much in one “sitting”...**
I guess I’ll put my COLT .22 conversion on my AMT Hardballer and have a 500 round blast. It won’t fit my new Colt but will also fit my old Colt 1911.
No...I’m celebrating the 31st, it’s my birthday.
The FN workers labored away after being liberated, even under German attack (V1 buzz bombs).
There were a ton of A-5’s shipped back. Into the 50’s PX marked guns were common.
The head of FN built a gun for the Colonel who liberated the plant. It ended up in private hands, and the new owner searched out the story and donated it back to the family and a Army museum.
Go to the “I love my Browning” Forum at Shotgunworld.com and search under “Boudinot” for a great detective and patriot story.
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