28 American Shooting Journal // August 2019
cash-strapped company were. Despite
their countless hours of hard work,
the partners couldn’t always meet
all their company expenses or even
afford to pay themselves adequately,
so they needed side jobs. Brothers Iver
and Harold were both musicians and
had night jobs playing in an orchestra.
But since they only had one tuxedo
between them, they could never both
perform at the same time.AFTER BUSINESS STABILIZED IN the
1920s, O.F. Mossberg & Sons was able
to add long guns to their single pistol
product line. They remained focused
on delivering affordable quality to
their customers, which put them in
a position to thrive during the Great
Depression. When larger, high-end
gun makers saw their sales plummet,
Mossberg expanded by making .22
rifles and bolt-action shotguns that
average working-class people could
afford to buy and shoot. Those guns
put food on many a family’s table and
introduced many others to the fun of
shooting sports.
The Brownie pistol was O.F.
Mossberg & Sons’ first official
product, but it was not the first
complete firearm designed by Oscar,
nor his first to see production.
Reviewing his patents, it’s clear
he had several handgun designs,
including an autoloading pistol.
Though they are over a century
old, the pistols appear remarkably
modern in form and illustrate his
ingenious, innovative thinking.
Oscar Mossberg actually designed
and manufactured his first complete
pistol in 1907, 12 years before he
formed O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The
weapon was an imaginative and very
compact double-action, .22-caliber,
four-barrel palm pistol. It was fired
with the barrels gripped in the web
of the thumb and forefinger while
the trigger was pulled with the index
finger. In this manner the weapon
could be discharged four times in rapid
succession from inside the trouser
pocket while standing, and presumably
facing, a threatening ruffian. It was
patented by Mossberg in 1906 as the
Novelty Pistol but later marketed Mossberg ads over the years have included actor-sportsman Robert Stack and the guys from Duck
Dynasty, along with the company’s many rifle, AR-style, shotgun and handgun offerings.