Jonathon Browning Mountain rifle

[bigted]

just won one of these rifles after lusting for one for many years. spose to be a direct reproduction of an original Hawkins rifle ... or this is what was touted when they came out some years ago.

would like to ask about your experiences with this rifle in good, bad or indifferent. im looking for suggestions pertaining to this particular model of rifle.

after desiring one for so long ... I now have opportunity to own and shoot one after a couple repairs are concluded ... namely it needs a main spring and both barrel wedges ... any ideas where to begin looking for these parts?

thanks all for the info. I will read all reports with interest as I will want this to turn out in a positive and fun endeavor.

 

[stantdm]

Track of the Wolf sells barrel wedges. You will have to file them to fit but it is very easy.

The spring is an item I don't know enough about to tell you anything.

 

[Zonie]

Congratulations on your Browning.

These rifles may have been described by some writers as a copy of a Hawken but the Browning company never made such a claim.

In fact, they called it a "Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle" on purpose to differentiate it from the Hawken.

Jonathan Browning (1805-1879) was a blacksmith and gunsmith. Whether he actually made a rifle similar to the Mountain Rifle is unknown but he was a working gunsmith in the "Mountain Man" era.

He was John Moses Browning's (yes, that John M. Browning's) father.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Browning's Mountain Rifle is a good, strong rifle that will digest rally big loads. They are a bit bulky and got a bit of a bad rap because of their weight. Never worried about it, the one I had may be weighty but when you drop the hammer on a few 150 grain loads, you'll be g;ad for the extra shock absorber! :wink: :thumbsup:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Any good gunsmith can easily make you a mainspring.
I have made many hickory rods with a table saw and a radius shaped scraper for any caliber.
You do not need fancy tools, just a little patience.
These rod work very well and won't break if used with common sense.
On any of my guns I much prefer a hand made ram rod. It does express to the concerning observer, that the owner of this gun does care that his whole character is made with perseverance.

 

[don hepler]

Those rifles had a single set trigger. You have to push it forward to set it. I have the same set-up on one of my rifles, and it works good.

I would think L&R or Davis could match up a spring for that lock. Might even been made by one of them.

 

[Grenadier1758]

One factor that made the Browning Mountain rifle very strong is that the breech plug was permanently attached to the barrel. As i recall, it was silver soldered in place. These guns can take a substantial powder charge. The rifling is deep with a slow twist for round ball. My 50 caliber liked a 0.498 ball with a 0.015 linen or drill patch lubed with spit or water soluble mixed 1 part oil to 6 parts water. My version of "Moose Milk".

Its a great gun.

 

[Vaino]

Sometime back I bought a new .50 cal. BMR for $250 at a clear out sale....wanted a .54 but none were available. Hunted elk w/ it for 2 yrs and found the excessive weight to be bothersome and the balance and fit to be lousy. Gave it to my son who didn't like it either and peddled it 2 yrs later.

Too bad....because the fit, finish and accuracy were outstanding, but it was just too "clunky".

Wedges can be made or bought and fitted but the mainspring would be hard to get and if a gunsmith were to make one, that might be expensive. Forgot whether the mainspring was a "stirrup" type... in which case, a link might also have to be bought or made which adds to the cost....Good luck.....Fred

 

[Vaino]

This might have been a "parts gun" and someone wanted a spare mainspring and wedges...wedges can be lost if not captured and possibly the mainspring is a "weak spot" in the rifle.....Fred

 

[BrownBear]

... possibly the mainspring is a "weak spot" in the rifle....

Huh.... Been around lots of them and shot them for a long time, even if I've never actually owned one. But I've never heard anything like that. Good to keep an eye on, if that's the case.

 

[bigted]

thanks for the comments. I look forward to getting me mits on this one. the added weight will not be a bother im thinkin as I been foolin with hiwalls and sharps for a while and THEY do weigh excessive lbs.

I will go to tow for the wedges as soon as I can measure the requirements for them and order a bit larger so I can file em to fit. also would like to fashion em to be captured for a no loss system.

as for the spring ... I will contact Siler and L&R as well as other lock makers to find one already made that will fit.

thankyou all again for your reply's and keep em coming. appreciate the info.

 

[bigted]

so there she is I hope. don't ever know when the bucket will work and not. if not I will re-try another time.

 

[slumlord44]

Looks great. They sure are beautiful guns. No idea when I will get to try mine out. Weather is getting cold and deer season coming up. Not planning on using the .45 this year. Will use my old .54 CVA Hawken or the .54 CVA Mountain Rifle that I recently got and also have not had time to shoot. Re built deer stand last week.

 

[bigted]

slumlord ... what would it take to get you to take your lock off and snap a couple photo's of the inside for me and post em?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Not slumlord, but still I hope that these pictures will help you to get your rifle shooting.

The rifle

The wedge Removed. Even though they have the slot in the wedge, it is not captured.

The measurements of the wedge. The CVA shotgun wedge may be close enough. Its slightly wider.

[url]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/Mike/Browning%20MR/PB081347_zpsb3212389.jpg[/url]
The inside of the lock.

The long arm of the spring. The greatest thickness is 0.140".

Good luck in finding a spring.

 

[wattlebuster]

Nice rifle :thumbsup: I had one an like a fool sold it back in the mid/late 80s. If you dont find a mainspring then send it to Earl Kathan an he can make you one. Just google his name for his web site and contact info :hatsoff:

 

[Grenadier1758]

What I didn't measure was the distance of the protrusion off the spring that locates the spring on the lock plate. I'll have to remove the spring to do that.

You can click on the link to the photo for the measurement of the short arm of the mainspring.

 

[Grenadier1758]

One more point to make. Be sure to get a mainspring vise to compress the new mainspring when you install it. Probably the original spring was broken due to an attempt to remove thesspring with vise grips.

 

[bigted]

thanks so much for the photo's. and yes I do have a spring vise for these flat springs. that photo of the inside of the lock will surely help me in locating the spring. I ordered a couple springs from TOW to fool with and see if I cant make em work. also have wedges coming from same that I will be able to file to fit and then polish.

thanks again for the photo's. Ted

 

[bigted]

well finally got the hummer off the ground. I fiddled with a couple springs from TOW that looked close and after messing up the first one I got the second to fit and function very well.

got the wedges the same time and carved em to fit nice n snug. will capture em later with small wood screws.

the ramrod was very tight and after chucking it up in a 1/2 inch drill and using some sand paper to act as a shadetree handheld lathe I turned it down some to fit the thimbles just snugly enough to be of use.

took it out and shot around 30 balls thru it today ... whewww its been hot here ... shoots nice and if you don't get that nice curved crescent rite it will bark yer shoulder some.

got some what group at 25 yds [round 2 inch for now] and I really do not like the front sight so am going to find a blade for it and replace that hoop affair. really like the rear tho as it is the full buckhorn that I fell in love with as a pup.

she is a dandy for sure and that single set trigger is just the shis nits. I really like it and the single trigger aint bad either unset for a fast hurry shot.

others please chime in on your JBMR. I would like to hear what works in yours load wise and shouldering wise.

my barrel was caked with some such junk [took me some elbo grease to get it cleaned im tellin you ... took some Tetris stuff that smelled just terrible and finished up with pure gum turpentine to get a shiny clean barrel] ... and now with it clean I see dings and pits inside so if I don't get the accuracy out of it I desire ... I will prolly cast about for a good blackpowder smith to open it up to 54 cal for a fresh clean bore. I always have liked the 54 cal anyway so along with getting MY caliber I want ... it will lighten it up some as well.

oh and another thing ... my barrel plug unscrewed with just a little special help so I guess it aint [er wernt] silver soldered.