The guns of John Moses Browning, including the Model 1894
Robert Morgan continues his series on the trailblazing firearms John Moses Browning designed for Winchester including the Model 1894, probably the most important lever-action rifle produced
The introduction of Browning designs to the Winchester line-up was game-changing. Within a short period of time Winchester became the dominant force on the civilian rifle market within the USA, and worldwide sales were not to be sniffed at either.
All this did not go unnoticed by other US arms manufacturers and Colt, who had a gentleman’s agreement with Winchester not to manufacture lever-action rifles as long as Winchester stayed out of the handgun market, sidestepped the deal and launched a pump-action rifle known as the Lightning. It was available in all manner of centrefire calibres, from pistol size right up to big .50 calibre varieties, but one particular calibre, .22 rimfire, sold exceptionally well.
Again, John Moses Browning came to the rescue for Winchester and designed the diminutive little pump-action rifle known as the Model 1890. It was an instant success, not least because it cost less than half the price of the Lightning. Colt knew it was beaten and the last Lightnings rolled off the production line in 1904, whereas the Model 1890 Winchester is still produced by certain companies today.
New market
By the early 1890s the rifle market was changing rapidly, mainly due to the introduction of smokeless powders. While all the Browning-designed Winchesters were more than capable of handling these new powders, the bullets and cartridges themselves were changing, with rifle bullets in particular becoming thinner and longer, often with a pronounced bottleneck shape. It would have been quite easy to modify the existing Model 1886 to these new rounds but Browning had other ideas. Rather than making a huge, clunky rifle by rechambering the 1886 he designed probably the most important lever-action rifle ever produced, the Model 1894. Lightweight and immensely strong, the 1894 took the US by storm and it is said that more deer (and, of
course, I am including American Whitetail in this equation) have fallen to its most popular chambering, the .30-30, than any other calibre in history. By 1927, more than a million 1894 rifles had been produced and the five million mark was passed in 1984. This rifle is still in production today, the only significant design change being the addition of a safety catch that was dictated by the American market in the 1980s. Only some military arms can rival its production figures.
Smokeless cartridges became ever more powerful and new hunting grounds continued to open up, with Africa being the continent of choice for the well-heeled thrillseeker. Like it or not, trophy hunting for dangerous game became a must-do sport amongst the gentry, with the ‘big five’ – elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo (not to be confused with the American bison) and leopard – being top of the most-wanted list. This was really the preserve of the big, double-barrelled express rifles but, again, Browning had the answer.
His next model, the 1895, was the first lever-action repeating rifle to utilise a box magazine and therefore was capable of handling high velocity pointed bullets. In its largest chambering, .405 Winchester, it was the ballistic equivalent of a .375 H&H Magnum and its sales were given an enormous boost when Theodore Roosevelt (not yet President) pronounced it “the best medicine for lion” after returning from a prolonged safari. Sadly, this rifle was also to cause significant problems for Winchester. It finally broke into the lucrative military market when it received orders from Russia for around 294,000 rifles. The order was initially music to Winchester’s ears as its own government had trial ordered 10,000 but then constantly rejected them for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, the Russians failed to make full payment and were it not for the other successful arms in Winchester’s line-up it could well have been bankrupted by the affair.
Experiment
By this point, Browning was starting to experiment with gas blowback and other self-loading designs, mainly on the pistol front. Colt was quick to take up his designs, and the ones the firm didn’t want he took to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium.
In the early part of the new century, Browning took what he considered to be his best invention to Winchester – the semiautomatic shotgun. He was horrified when they rejected it, stating no one could afford to run a gun like that. Eventually, it was taken up by his friends at Fabrique Nationale and was named the Auto-5. It went on to be the bestselling shotgun of all time, but the damage was done. Browning never darkened Winchester’s door again. Subsequently, only a handful of new-design lever-action rifles have been launched. Browning had done the best job needed and it was hard to improve on perfection. Winchester has had success with various bolt-action rifles since, but now the majority of its sales are nostalgia-driven by its name and every year it releases new ‘commemorative’ lever actions, all based on the Model ’94.
Sadly, we shall never return to the inventiveness and sheer proliferation of arms that the late-Victorian period produced. However, enough Winchester rifles have been manufactured, and at a reasonable price, for everyone who is interested to own and enjoy a true piece of history.
“By the early 1890s the rifle market was changing rapidly, mainly due to the introduction of smokeless powders”