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In any event, I’d love to spend an hour or ten in the company of George Kellgren, who I consider a firearms inventing genius with few peers, in the realm of Browning. Even his “misses” are all refreshingly blank sheet of paper. If he wrote a book, I’d buy it. If I met him, I’d have a million questions.

Concur. His *shrink* rework of the k'pist M45b into the KG 9 [KellGren] was neat and tidy, and was among the designs considered during the JSSAP program during the search for a 9mm smg- the USAF favoured a 9mm CAR-15, the Navy SPECWAR types liked the H&K MP5 and the Army guys wanted the .45 Ingram MAC 10, [compatability with the M1911A1 pistols still then in use by tank crews being a major consideration- the M9 Beretta didn't see adoption until 1985]

But I had the good fortune to meet John Garand [one HELL of a checkers player!] as well as Max Atchisson and Gordon Ingram. They were all geniuses to varying degrees, but maybe more to the point, mechanical problemsolvers.

So far as meeting any designer, of any time? I'd love to spend that hour or ten with John M. Browning, but it'd be a close tossup with Aimo Lahti, the Finnish designer and engineer who passed away in 1970.