BROWNING O/U SHOTGUNS – THEN & NOW
In the world of firearms design and development, John Moses Browning (1855-1926) must rightly be regarded as one of the most innovative and progressive thinkers. Most of his designs, intended either for peaceful or more warlike purposes, are still with us, and some, like the 1911 Colt .45 ACP pistol, has achieved legendary status. His last design, for an over/under shotgun, is partly the focus of this article.
GENESIS OF THE B25 SUPERPOSED
The prototype of what would become the B25 Superposed Over/Under shotgun was completed in 1923. At the time, there was concern from conservationists in the US that semiautomatic shotguns made it too easy for hunters to overshoot their bags of gamebirds and the idea of an affordable twin-barrel gun was supported in an attempt to win over both conservationists as well as serious competition shooters as the way of the future.
Browning initially offered his design to numerous American manufacturers (including Winchester), but they all refused the radical new design, something they must have cried over in later years, as things turned out. As Fabrique Nationale, located in the Belgian city of Herstal, was already engaged in producing some of Browning’s earlier designs, notably the Auto-5 repeating shotgun, it was perhaps inevitable that he would approach them as well with a view to producing the new gun. The resourceful Belgians, after some deliberation, eventually turned
