I thought you might enjoy this recap of a very popular .22 rifle and some information on its inventor.
John
This unique autoloading .22 rifle, the design of which is now approaching 100 years, is still regarded as among the best. John Browning was noted as being extremely fond of this particular brainchild of his, and for good reason. The rifle is light, handy, accurate and reliable. It can be taken down into two major assemblies which can be stowed easily in backpacks and cases. Downward case ejection from the bottom of the receiver makes it suitable for either left or right-handed individuals. Its smooth and uncluttered lines make it a standout in any crowd – the rifle exudes quality and invariably attracts admiring attention.
As smokeless powder began to be employed in the early part of the 20th Century, Browning’s trim little blowback-operated rifle was one of the first semiautomatic .22s offered to the public. It has been variously known as the Browning 22 Semi-auto Rifle, the Semiautomatic Rifle, or the SA-22, and it has been in production since its invention in 1914. Browning sold the patent rights to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium for European distribution and to Remington for U.S. consumption. Remington’s version of the gun was known as the Model 24, and differed in only minor details from the FN product made in Liege, Belgium. The Remington 24 was manufactured in Ilion, New York from 1922 to 1935.
The first Belgian production guns had the loading port on top at the rear of the wrist of the stock, while those of later manufacture had the location moved to a point more centrally located in the butt stock on the right side. This increased the capacity of the tubular magazine from 8 to 11 rounds of .22 long rifle ammunition. When the internal magazine plunger tube is rotated and withdrawn partially from the butt, the rifle is loaded through the port on the side. The magazine feeds from a point above the breech bolt, which is still an unusual arrangement. The ejection port is at the base of the receiver, keeping ejected brass, gasses and firing debris from the shooter’s face. The bolt handle is an integral part of the bolt, and is accessed from underneath the receiver. A cross bolt push-safety locks the trigger and is located just forward of the trigger in the trigger guard. The barrel and forestock can be unscrewed from the receiver via an interrupted-thread arrangement. The tightness of the barrel-receiver junction can be adjusted by an innovative threaded ring at the rear of the barrel. Barrel lengths have varied over the years, but have been standardized recently at 19.25 inches. At 5.2 pounds, the rifle is easily carried and has excellent balance. With no ejection port on either side, the receiver is a natural for engraving, and all FN rifles made in Belgium have featured hand-cut engraving on each side. Hand-checkering of the grip and forestock is another hallmark of the Belgian guns. The Browning is made from the finest materials: machined steel and walnut. It’s been produced in six grades by FN. These grades vary in the engraving, the quality of the wood and the metal finish. The highest grades receive plating, gold inlays, more elaborate engraving and highly figured wood. Fitted leather cases have been factory-made to store, display and carry the taken-down rifle.
When Remington’s U.S. patent rights expired, FN began importation of their rifles from Belgium to the U.S. in 1956. These Belgian imports continued to be received here until 1974. In 1976, production of the .22 automatics was handed off to Miroku in Japan, where they are still made. Although the Japanese quality is high, engraving and checkering are machine-initiated. This has helped to drive up collector demand and pricing on the original Belgian guns.
All rifles made since FN began importation are grooved for scope mounting. FN has made rifles chambered in either .22 Long Rifle or .22 Short. I remember shooting Browning gallery rifles in the latter caliber at our state fair as a kid, using frangible “lead dust” bullets. Those rifles were used a lot and seldom cleaned, but were very reliable. Serial numbers marked on the imported rifles were prefaced “T” for .22 LR, and “A” for .22 Short. This latter designation was changed to “E” in 1961, and the serial numbers also then had a number prefix in front of the letter, indicating the year of manufacture, “1” for 1961, and so on. In the late 1960s, to make things even more confusing, 2 digits were used for the year code, and sometimes this prefix was reversed, making “74” come out as “47,” for example. The .22 LR and 22 Short guns had separate serial number blocks, each beginning with the number 1. Serial numbers have been stamped variously on the magazine tube dash plate in butt of the stock, on the receiver, or both. The FN-manufactured rifle illustrated was made in 1959. It’s a Grade I example and has a serial number in the 65,000 range. While now over half a century old, it still functions flawlessly and shoots quite accurately. Early imported Browning rifles had a rear sight with distinctive knobbed wheel adjustments, and these are in higher demand by collectors. In more recent years, barrels have been available with a cantilever scope sight mounting rail that extends back over the receiver. This insures that the alignment of the barrel and scope remain constant, but the arrangement looks a bit odd.
Over half a million Browning .22 auto rifles have been made since 1914. Their enduring popularity is a tribute to John Browning’s genius. One of the first .22 autoloaders is still around, highly regarded, and very much sought after as a collectible classic. Never cheap, these rifles reflect nostalgia, manufacturing quality and design excellence. Their owners treasure them as small game rifles and enjoyable plinkers. It’s rare to find a used one for sale!
John Moses Browning has to be considered as the greatest firearms inventor of all time, and his creations have become legendary. He was born in Ogden, Utah on January 23, 1855, the son of Jonathan Browning, a Mormon gunsmith, and Elizabeth Clark, one of Jonathan’s three wives. Growing up in a gun shop, young John took to design work early, building a single shot rifle for his brother Matt at the age of 14. In 1879, following the death of his father, John and his brothers started their own gunmaking business, where John converted foot-powered machinery to steam energy. He also married and received his first patent for an underlever single-shot rifle in that year.
Demand for John’s rifle far exceeded the Browning Gun Factory’s ability to produce it. A Winchester salesman picked up one of the rifles and recommended it enthusiastically to his management. Soon Winchester bought the rights to manufacture it. The money from this first transaction enabled John to concentrate on inventing rather than production.
Subsequently, John sold quite a number of his firearms designs to Winchester. Some best sellers were the Model 1886 lever action rifle, the Model 1887 lever action shotgun, the Model 1897 pump shotgun, and the Models 1892, 1894 and 1895 lever action rifles.
Noticing that the expanding gas from one of his rifles blew grass in front of it, John got the idea to use that energy to power self-loading arms. After some experimentation, the result was two machine guns, both of which were sold to the U.S. military. His Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was put into production too late for widespread use in WWI, but was used extensively throughout WWII and the Korean War. The magnificent .50 caliber machine gun, the M2HB (affectionately known as the Ma Deuce), is still in global service with U.S. forces. John was not successful in negotiating the royalty rights to a recoil-operated semiauto shotgun design with Winchester or Remington, so he traveled to Belgium, where Fabrique Nationale de Armes de Guerre (FN) accepted his terms and production began there. It was famously known as the Browning Auto-5. Remington later got on board and produced the gun as its Model 11. Variants were subsequently made by many other companies as patents expired. Browning’s .22 automatic rifle is still being made nearly 100 years after its first production in 1914. The Superposed Shotgun was invented in 1922 and started manufacture in 1931. It’s another timeless classic.
Browning originated the principle of a reciprocating slide that encloses the barrel of self-loading pistols, and from 1900 on, invented a number of classic pistols in calibers ranging from .25 to .45. Perhaps the most famous was his Model 1911 semiauto, first manufactured by Colt and which is still in limited service with the U.S. armed forces after 100 years. Versions of this gun are now made by countless manufacturers. It continues to be a proven standard and enormously popular. His initial design for the Browning High Power pistol was subsequently perfected by his understudy Dieudonné Saive following Browning’s unfortunate death of a heart attack at his FN workbench in Liege, Belgium on November 26, 1926. Browning’s son Val continued in his father’s footsteps and he himself was awarded 48 patents over his lifetime.
The Browning legacy continues to this day in the many firearms throughout the world that utilize solid principles stemming from John’s ideas. The state of Utah made the 1911 pistol its state firearm and celebrated January 24, 2011 as John Browning day, honoring his great-grandson Christopher with a formal presentation of the resolution at the state capitol. John Browning had few peers in the firearms world, and his incredible body of work will probably never be equaled.
John
This unique autoloading .22 rifle, the design of which is now approaching 100 years, is still regarded as among the best. John Browning was noted as being extremely fond of this particular brainchild of his, and for good reason. The rifle is light, handy, accurate and reliable. It can be taken down into two major assemblies which can be stowed easily in backpacks and cases. Downward case ejection from the bottom of the receiver makes it suitable for either left or right-handed individuals. Its smooth and uncluttered lines make it a standout in any crowd – the rifle exudes quality and invariably attracts admiring attention.
As smokeless powder began to be employed in the early part of the 20th Century, Browning’s trim little blowback-operated rifle was one of the first semiautomatic .22s offered to the public. It has been variously known as the Browning 22 Semi-auto Rifle, the Semiautomatic Rifle, or the SA-22, and it has been in production since its invention in 1914. Browning sold the patent rights to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium for European distribution and to Remington for U.S. consumption. Remington’s version of the gun was known as the Model 24, and differed in only minor details from the FN product made in Liege, Belgium. The Remington 24 was manufactured in Ilion, New York from 1922 to 1935.
The first Belgian production guns had the loading port on top at the rear of the wrist of the stock, while those of later manufacture had the location moved to a point more centrally located in the butt stock on the right side. This increased the capacity of the tubular magazine from 8 to 11 rounds of .22 long rifle ammunition. When the internal magazine plunger tube is rotated and withdrawn partially from the butt, the rifle is loaded through the port on the side. The magazine feeds from a point above the breech bolt, which is still an unusual arrangement. The ejection port is at the base of the receiver, keeping ejected brass, gasses and firing debris from the shooter’s face. The bolt handle is an integral part of the bolt, and is accessed from underneath the receiver. A cross bolt push-safety locks the trigger and is located just forward of the trigger in the trigger guard. The barrel and forestock can be unscrewed from the receiver via an interrupted-thread arrangement. The tightness of the barrel-receiver junction can be adjusted by an innovative threaded ring at the rear of the barrel. Barrel lengths have varied over the years, but have been standardized recently at 19.25 inches. At 5.2 pounds, the rifle is easily carried and has excellent balance. With no ejection port on either side, the receiver is a natural for engraving, and all FN rifles made in Belgium have featured hand-cut engraving on each side. Hand-checkering of the grip and forestock is another hallmark of the Belgian guns. The Browning is made from the finest materials: machined steel and walnut. It’s been produced in six grades by FN. These grades vary in the engraving, the quality of the wood and the metal finish. The highest grades receive plating, gold inlays, more elaborate engraving and highly figured wood. Fitted leather cases have been factory-made to store, display and carry the taken-down rifle.
When Remington’s U.S. patent rights expired, FN began importation of their rifles from Belgium to the U.S. in 1956. These Belgian imports continued to be received here until 1974. In 1976, production of the .22 automatics was handed off to Miroku in Japan, where they are still made. Although the Japanese quality is high, engraving and checkering are machine-initiated. This has helped to drive up collector demand and pricing on the original Belgian guns.
All rifles made since FN began importation are grooved for scope mounting. FN has made rifles chambered in either .22 Long Rifle or .22 Short. I remember shooting Browning gallery rifles in the latter caliber at our state fair as a kid, using frangible “lead dust” bullets. Those rifles were used a lot and seldom cleaned, but were very reliable. Serial numbers marked on the imported rifles were prefaced “T” for .22 LR, and “A” for .22 Short. This latter designation was changed to “E” in 1961, and the serial numbers also then had a number prefix in front of the letter, indicating the year of manufacture, “1” for 1961, and so on. In the late 1960s, to make things even more confusing, 2 digits were used for the year code, and sometimes this prefix was reversed, making “74” come out as “47,” for example. The .22 LR and 22 Short guns had separate serial number blocks, each beginning with the number 1. Serial numbers have been stamped variously on the magazine tube dash plate in butt of the stock, on the receiver, or both. The FN-manufactured rifle illustrated was made in 1959. It’s a Grade I example and has a serial number in the 65,000 range. While now over half a century old, it still functions flawlessly and shoots quite accurately. Early imported Browning rifles had a rear sight with distinctive knobbed wheel adjustments, and these are in higher demand by collectors. In more recent years, barrels have been available with a cantilever scope sight mounting rail that extends back over the receiver. This insures that the alignment of the barrel and scope remain constant, but the arrangement looks a bit odd.
Over half a million Browning .22 auto rifles have been made since 1914. Their enduring popularity is a tribute to John Browning’s genius. One of the first .22 autoloaders is still around, highly regarded, and very much sought after as a collectible classic. Never cheap, these rifles reflect nostalgia, manufacturing quality and design excellence. Their owners treasure them as small game rifles and enjoyable plinkers. It’s rare to find a used one for sale!
John Moses Browning has to be considered as the greatest firearms inventor of all time, and his creations have become legendary. He was born in Ogden, Utah on January 23, 1855, the son of Jonathan Browning, a Mormon gunsmith, and Elizabeth Clark, one of Jonathan’s three wives. Growing up in a gun shop, young John took to design work early, building a single shot rifle for his brother Matt at the age of 14. In 1879, following the death of his father, John and his brothers started their own gunmaking business, where John converted foot-powered machinery to steam energy. He also married and received his first patent for an underlever single-shot rifle in that year.
Demand for John’s rifle far exceeded the Browning Gun Factory’s ability to produce it. A Winchester salesman picked up one of the rifles and recommended it enthusiastically to his management. Soon Winchester bought the rights to manufacture it. The money from this first transaction enabled John to concentrate on inventing rather than production.
Subsequently, John sold quite a number of his firearms designs to Winchester. Some best sellers were the Model 1886 lever action rifle, the Model 1887 lever action shotgun, the Model 1897 pump shotgun, and the Models 1892, 1894 and 1895 lever action rifles.
Noticing that the expanding gas from one of his rifles blew grass in front of it, John got the idea to use that energy to power self-loading arms. After some experimentation, the result was two machine guns, both of which were sold to the U.S. military. His Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was put into production too late for widespread use in WWI, but was used extensively throughout WWII and the Korean War. The magnificent .50 caliber machine gun, the M2HB (affectionately known as the Ma Deuce), is still in global service with U.S. forces. John was not successful in negotiating the royalty rights to a recoil-operated semiauto shotgun design with Winchester or Remington, so he traveled to Belgium, where Fabrique Nationale de Armes de Guerre (FN) accepted his terms and production began there. It was famously known as the Browning Auto-5. Remington later got on board and produced the gun as its Model 11. Variants were subsequently made by many other companies as patents expired. Browning’s .22 automatic rifle is still being made nearly 100 years after its first production in 1914. The Superposed Shotgun was invented in 1922 and started manufacture in 1931. It’s another timeless classic.
Browning originated the principle of a reciprocating slide that encloses the barrel of self-loading pistols, and from 1900 on, invented a number of classic pistols in calibers ranging from .25 to .45. Perhaps the most famous was his Model 1911 semiauto, first manufactured by Colt and which is still in limited service with the U.S. armed forces after 100 years. Versions of this gun are now made by countless manufacturers. It continues to be a proven standard and enormously popular. His initial design for the Browning High Power pistol was subsequently perfected by his understudy Dieudonné Saive following Browning’s unfortunate death of a heart attack at his FN workbench in Liege, Belgium on November 26, 1926. Browning’s son Val continued in his father’s footsteps and he himself was awarded 48 patents over his lifetime.
The Browning legacy continues to this day in the many firearms throughout the world that utilize solid principles stemming from John’s ideas. The state of Utah made the 1911 pistol its state firearm and celebrated January 24, 2011 as John Browning day, honoring his great-grandson Christopher with a formal presentation of the resolution at the state capitol. John Browning had few peers in the firearms world, and his incredible body of work will probably never be equaled.
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