Quite a number of years ago, I acquired a nice little Grade I Browning .22 semiauto rifle, made in Belgium in 1959. It makes a great plinker, and being a takedown design, packs easily in a suitcase if you want to. Here's a picture of it:
Last weekend at a gun show, I happened by a table that had a Remington Model 241 on display for sale. As many of you might know, Remington made Browning-patent .22 semiauto rifles for sale here in the U.S. from the mid-30s until 1959. Originally, these were known as the model 24 (the first ones were actually made in Belgium); the later ones were called the Model 241 "Speedmaster." After Remington quit making them, Browning started importing their version from Belgium, and now from Japan. The price was right on the gun, and I brought it home. My references indicate it was made in 1940. Here's a pic:
The Belgium Browning and the Remington 241 are similar, but slightly different. The Remington has what I think is a neater takedown system, with a pushbutton on the left side of the frame. Pull back on the pushbutton, retract the bolt a bit, and with a twist of the barrel, it comes off of the receiver via an interrupted-thread. Unlike the Browning, the adjustment system is very simple - a screw on the barrel assembly can move in and out to take up any slack against the receiver.
The bolt and trigger assembly is easily pushed out of the frame, and I made the mistake of releasing the bolt from the trigger assembly. Two rather long springs came out, and one of them took a lot of cussing to get back into place; I had to figure out a method to do it which unfortunately seemed to require three hands. I guarantee I won't try it again, although I suppose I could. It took a Jim Manhattan to settle me down after this unfortunate experiment.
Both guns are easy to clean the proper way, doing the barrel from the breech. John Browning was a genius, and whether his little .22 autos are made by Browning or Remington, they're both quality guns.
John
Last weekend at a gun show, I happened by a table that had a Remington Model 241 on display for sale. As many of you might know, Remington made Browning-patent .22 semiauto rifles for sale here in the U.S. from the mid-30s until 1959. Originally, these were known as the model 24 (the first ones were actually made in Belgium); the later ones were called the Model 241 "Speedmaster." After Remington quit making them, Browning started importing their version from Belgium, and now from Japan. The price was right on the gun, and I brought it home. My references indicate it was made in 1940. Here's a pic:
The Belgium Browning and the Remington 241 are similar, but slightly different. The Remington has what I think is a neater takedown system, with a pushbutton on the left side of the frame. Pull back on the pushbutton, retract the bolt a bit, and with a twist of the barrel, it comes off of the receiver via an interrupted-thread. Unlike the Browning, the adjustment system is very simple - a screw on the barrel assembly can move in and out to take up any slack against the receiver.
The bolt and trigger assembly is easily pushed out of the frame, and I made the mistake of releasing the bolt from the trigger assembly. Two rather long springs came out, and one of them took a lot of cussing to get back into place; I had to figure out a method to do it which unfortunately seemed to require three hands. I guarantee I won't try it again, although I suppose I could. It took a Jim Manhattan to settle me down after this unfortunate experiment.
Both guns are easy to clean the proper way, doing the barrel from the breech. John Browning was a genius, and whether his little .22 autos are made by Browning or Remington, they're both quality guns.
John
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