Honestly Im surprised Gaston Glock did not make the cut.
These are the gun designers whose works shaped American firearms as we know them today.
Who were among the best of the best when it came to American gun designers?
- John M. Browning
- Samuel Colt
- Benjamin Tyler Henry
- Eugene Stoner
- John Garand
- Dr. Richard Gatling
- David Marshall Williams
- John Thompson
- Christian Sharps
- Christopher Spencer
Barrel, ignition, propellant, projectile. What makes a gun a gun has remained incredibly consistent since that first Chinese gentleman set match to touch hole nearly 900 years ago. Yet, today’s firearms are a world away from the ancient gonnes and fire lances that started it all.
From frizzens to rifling to cold hard steel, improvement has been the standard when it comes to guns. And the modern shooter has reaped the benefits of man being man and never leaving well enough alone. Consider today’s simple budget rifle; the jaw of a marksman from a century ago would sweep the floor given its shot-to-shot accuracy.
While many of the great leaps have come about from nameless blacksmiths and unheard-of basement tinkers, there are gun designers that tower over the firearms world. With that in mind, we’re going to look at 10 of the greatest gun designers from America. In one way or another, these men made guns faster, more accurate, easier to operate and just plain better. Not to mention, they cranked out some of the all-time classics shooters still relish today.
John M. Browning
This list has no particular order. That said, John Browning still deserves to lead. Regardless of field or endeavor, few people can boast the impact of this prolific, self-taught firearms genius.
Had his only contribution been the 1911, he would have been considered one of the top gun designers. Throw in the 1919 light machine gun and the M2, perhaps among the greatest to ever come down the pike. But with more than 120 firearms and firearms parts patents, Browning is far and away the most influential man to ever tinker with guns.
From his humble roots in the Utah foothills, he touched nearly every corner of gun design. Winchester Model 1894, Browning Auto-5, Browning Hi-Power, Browning Superposed, Colt Woodsman — the list goes on and on.
Even today, creeping up on a century after his death, he still casts his shadow over the entire gun world. And in all likelihood will for generations to come.
Samuel Colt
Contrary to popular legend, Samuel Colt did not invent the revolver. He did, however, modernize the concept to make it a practical handgun, one that dominated the 19th Century and beyond.
Despite mechanical difficulties, the Colt Paterson, introduced in 1836, popularized the revolver with Americans. Extricating U.S. soldiers from sticky situations in the Mexican-American War and saving outgunned Texas Rangers a number of times, the handgun proved the advantage of superior firepower. Won over, the nation flocked to Colt’s next-generation revolvers, especially the iconic Single Action Army.
Less recognized, but perhaps more important was Colt’s contribution to firearms manufacturing overall. At the forefront of modern manufacturing, maybe his biggest impact was the use of interchangeable parts. Hard to imagine otherwise today, but the simple idea revolutionized gun production, not to mention made for a heck of a lot more reliable firearm.
Benjamin Tyler Henry
The lever-action, as we know it today, was not the sole handiwork of Benjamin Henry. His is an improvement on Walter Hunt’s mechanism used in his 1848 Volition Repeating Rifle. But arguably, Henry’s refinement of Hunt’s concept —the 1860 Henry Rifle — not only made the lever-action commercially viable, but also a better gun. It also formed the bedrock of nearly all lever-actions to come.
Reliable ammunition — the .44 Henry Rimfire — was one part of the equation. The other was a self-cocking mechanism that acted in concert with the lever-action. A rifle ready to fire the moment the lever loaded another round was dang near like when peanut butter met jelly. And it was put to good use.
A Henry Rifle was a cherished possession by Union soldiers in the American Civil War. And could be used to devastating effect, as the Sioux and Cheyenne more than demonstrated at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Eugene Stoner
The cards were stacked against Eugene Stoner and his little plastic rifle from the start. But the AR-15’s elegantly simple design would come to dominate modern firearms like no other.
America’s most popular rifle presently, the AR has carved an enduring niche into a majority of the gun world’s hearts. And its military variations — the M16 and M4 — have been decisive tools in protecting peace here and abroad.
As far as American gun designs are concerned, at least circa the 1950s, the AR-15 was a radical departure. Plastic, aluminum, small caliber — it seemed to run counter to all intuition that this rifle would eventually take the place of the wood and steel of the past.
Stoner had a way with materials and ergonomics, redefining how a rifle looked, felt, weighed and fit. And he didn’t relegate his ingenuity to semi-automatics. Equally as clever was the AR-5 — a hardscrabble survival rifle designed to keep downed bomber crews alive.
John Garand
As one of 12 children — six of them boys, all with the first name…