Gun Hero of the Day: Browning Firearms

March 31, 2015

“When the people around Bogalusa and St. Tammany Parish learned that 16-year-old Leyton Page had lost his new shotgun while rescuing two boys in turbulent water Saturday they wanted to help. They raised $1,500 for Page,” nola.com reports. “Page refused to take a dollar of it, St. Tammany Fire District Chief Scott Brewer said. Instead, Page insisted all the money should go to the boys and their 5-year-old sister, the three survivors of a boating accident that claimed their mother’s and her boyfriend’s lives. So Brewer took the next step . . .

he called Browning, the gun manufacturer.

When the company heard how Page had clung to the two boys in the Pearl River Navigational Canal while a ripping current tore the clothes off the boys and eventually pulled their mother under, it had one question: Where should we send the check?

Browning is picking up the full cost of Page’s repair bill and, if the gun is beyond repair, the company is giving Page a new gun, Brewer said.

For that generous act, for recognizing and rewarding true valor, Browning Firearms gets our Gun Hero of the Day nod. More than that, they make me proud to be working in this industry.

36 COMMENTS

Former Water Walker March 31, 2015 At 12:01

Good on them.
- TheBear March 31, 2015 At 16:37
  
  +10000
  
  The cynic in me thinks this is great PR, but it’s the right thing to do regardless.
Pascal March 31, 2015 At 12:02

Those evil, evil, evil gun manufactures without a heart. /sarc
Ilya March 31, 2015 At 12:03

This makes me want to go and buy a browning shotgun.
- soccerdad March 31, 2015 At 12:05
  
  aaand that’s their point. NOT that it was their only point, it’s a GREAT thing to do.
vv ind March 31, 2015 At 12:09

Refused the money, insisted that it go to the newly orphaned kids…..wow, that kid has a big heart and good parenting.
- Dev March 31, 2015 At 12:23
  
  The young man is even more amazing than that: http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2015/03/bogalusas_teenage_hero.html
  - Rokurota March 31, 2015 At 12:54
    
    I really feel for him. But his late father and grandfather left him the best gift they could give him — they made him a man.
    - Geoff PR March 31, 2015 At 18:05
      
      Bingo.
      
      Although those kids lost a mother, they gained a brother…
- outwardhound March 31, 2015 At 12:23
  
  Yup. I’m a little less cynical of today’s youth now.
  - Curtis in IL March 31, 2015 At 13:10
    
    The world is full of awesome kids. They just don’t grab headlines like the bad ones.
    
    They’re all a product of the home they grew up in, but if you’re involved with CASA then you already knew that.
    - JWM March 31, 2015 At 15:00
      
      True. Unfortunately the truth isn’t in the msm’s capability. Kids that grow up strong and able to fend for themselves and those around them is the exact opposite of what the msm wants.
- rhampton March 31, 2015 At 12:35
  
  Should be used in a feel-good PR campaign.
- DisThunder March 31, 2015 At 14:33
  
  Wow. What an incredible young man.
Jarrod March 31, 2015 At 12:19

“boating accident”
- Geoff PR March 31, 2015 At 18:14
  
  That kind of ‘accident’ only applies if their were no witnesses…
Ed Rogers March 31, 2015 At 12:21

Outstanding courage and generosity!
Another Robert March 31, 2015 At 12:39

Kudos to Mr. Brewer, too, for following up.
Buster March 31, 2015 At 12:47

A young man raised right…..kudos to his parents as well.
Tom in Oregon March 31, 2015 At 12:50

Wow
Grindstone March 31, 2015 At 13:02

I’d say the Gun Hero of the Day should be the boy.
James69 March 31, 2015 At 13:34

Fine example of a good redneck boy. By saying redneck I mean a young southern outdoorsman willing to help anyone in dire need and spends more time outdoors than pushing buttons in the dark and eating 3 pizzas. Not the redneck sterotype. It’s a shame that people died enjoying the outdoors.
33AD March 31, 2015 At 13:44

Good kid. Very selfless.
Hannibal March 31, 2015 At 13:49

It’s nice that Browning raised money and all, but if we’re going to use the word hero, I think Leyton Page deserves it more.
uncommon_sense March 31, 2015 At 14:06

I don’t believe this story for an instant. We all know that firearms manufacturers are evil, greedy corporations whose only concern is profit … and writing a check for young Mr. Page would cut into their profits. /end_sarcasm
Paul March 31, 2015 At 14:43

What a selfless, courageous young man.
I have a feeling that Browning will find the gun beyond repair and replace it with an even better model.
- Geoff PR March 31, 2015 At 18:10
  
  The actual gun is far more valuable to Page than any new one.
  
  Browning has the resources to completely restore that shotgun.
Retired LEO March 31, 2015 At 15:14

This kid was raised right. I know a lot of so-called grown adults that could learn from him.
Another thing off topic but why is it Browning (FN Herstal), Walther & Sig actually care about customers where Smith & Colt could care less. Based on recent dealings.
SentMKG March 31, 2015 At 15:18

You know what. I feel like one doesn’t even have to use a gun to be a Gun Hero of the Day. That young man is the Gun Hero of the Day by being such a selfless person and certainly going above and beyond the call of duty.

Bravo Zulu Page. Well done.
JTwig March 31, 2015 At 15:29

An impressive young man!
Ralph March 31, 2015 At 15:33

Kipling would have loved that kid.

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
Silver March 31, 2015 At 16:28

A gun company with this one act has done more good than every leftist combined.
ChuckN March 31, 2015 At 17:47

This makes me proud to say that I own many of Browning’s firearms and will be acquiring more in the future.
Ryan March 31, 2015 At 19:31

Guess that narrows the field for my next over-and-under, now doesn’t it? Good on you, Browning.
Spooks94 March 31, 2015 At 22:04

I was at the smallest “waterfall” near Lock 1 on Sunday with my husband and son. It’s dangerous near those bigger dams and people die every few years either being pulled by the current or trying to go over them when the water is high. I’m guessing it happened up at Lock 3. Brave boy for jumping in, smart boy for having a rope to keep him tethered to his boat.
jdb March 31, 2015 At 22:42

Sounds like one act of bravery and self-sacrifice inspired many others. Bravo, Leyton Page. Bravo. Keep it up – our kind of example is what this country needs.