House of Browning

US patent No. 428887 is a unique rifle that adapts variations of previous Browning designs to use an internal box magazine. It is complex but the arrangement is efficient and relatively compact. The combined features suggest the rifle was developed to meet specifications for military trials. However, no evidence exists that it was ever tested, either formally or informally, by any branch of the US military or ordnance department.

This unusual rifle features an action in which the breech-block, magazine, lever, and complete fire control group are integrated within a single component. In this arrangement the cartridges are held vertically when the action is closed.

Inventor: John Browning, Matthew Browning

Patent Attorney: Earle & Seymour

Assigned: Winchester, November 1889