C&R · IV · 035
Colt Model 1895 machine gun
Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 82 ↗
Colt, Machinegun, Model 1895, any cal.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1895–1916.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: no citation - Manufacturer
- Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.Basis: the ATF wording
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- Any caliberBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1895–1916production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ¹
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 82 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): 'Colt ceased production of the M1895 and variants in 1916' (end sourced); design 1889–1895, so the 1895 start is the model year.
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passYears: 1895–1917 → 1895–1916. Wikipedia (M1895 Colt–Browning) says Colt ceased M1895 production in 1916
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Colt Potato Digger.JPG” by Hmaag, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. Based on an 1889 design by John Browning and his brother Matthew S. Browning, it was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service.