I was tickled to find a copy of "John M Browning, American Gunmaker" on Amazon several weeks back and of course I hit the "buy" button. I've been a fan of JMB for quite some time but quite honestly this book, by John Browning and Curt Gentry, was quite an eye-opener. Several years ago I remarked that I had no idea what the contents of my safe would look like without the contributions of JMB. That is even more true today.
I finally settled in with it a few days ago, hope I didn't miss much around here.I was only a little surprised that my latest darling, the Browning Citori shotgun, is closely derived from his last design; the Superposed. Another favorite of mine is the 92, one of his earlier designs. The timing of my encounter with this book is quite remarkable. I honestly didn't know the Remington Models 8 and 81 were JMB designs. I didn't know that the "humpbacked" Browning shotgun was the first successful automatic shotgun. I also didn't know JMB was a pretty salty trap shooter. I'm somewhat familiar with the Winchester rifles & shotguns, Colt and Browning pistols but I've learned quite a bit in recent days.
I won't spoil the book for you. I will say that if you enjoy shooting JMB's designs and would like a peek into the mind of the genius that created them you'll enjoy this book. The authors don't delve into the details of gun design as much as I would have liked but that was probably a wise decision on their part. I remember reading years ago that JMB designed dozens of guns that never saw production, in some cases the models were lost and I wonder if even a complete list of all his designs can be assembled today.
Suffice it to say I'm in awe of the man, his genius and his legacy.