Semi-auto shotguns have come a long way since they were introduced in 1903.
September 23, 2010
By Layne Simpson
The first truly successful semiautomatic shotgun was designed by John Browning. His recoil-operated gun was first manufactured by the Belgium firm of Fabrique Nationale in 1903 and sold in America as the Browning Auto-5. In 1905 Remington Arms Company purchased the United States manufacturing rights for the design from Browning and introduced it as the Model 11.
Those two shotguns became so successful, they virtually owned the autoloading shotgun market during the entire first half of the 20th century. More than 850,000 Model 11 shotguns had been built by 1948, the year Remington dropped it from...
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