Browning Medalist 22

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tayninh69

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Anyone own/have owned one of these pistols? I found a little information on the web about them but not a lot. Saw one the other day and, well, made an offer and pick it up tomorrow. Case with weights, tool, etc.

Tell me the bad first......;)
 
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Back in the early 1980's, a co-worker had one for sale, as you describe. I think he wanted $400 for it, complete and mint. I handled it, and we shot a magazine full in his back yard. Man, I wanted that gun, just didn't have the scratch at the time. When I did, it was gone. The Medalist is one of the few guns I have drooled over, but seem to never be in the right place at the right time, with $$ in my pocket when one becomes available. They never achieved the popularity in Bullseye shooting the various HS and model 41's did, so I can't really comment about their accuracy or durability, but the one I handled was beautifully fit and finished, and felt great in the hand. I would find it hard to believe it would be more accurate than my old Hamden HS Victor, but prettier - yes.

Larry
 
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tayninh69 said:
Anyone own/have owned one of these pistols? I found a little information on the web about them but not a lot. Saw one the other day and, well, made an offer and pick it up tomorrow. Case with weights, tool, etc.

Tell me the bad first......;)
Click to expand...

yes, I have one, she is a safe queen now. I have had it since the late 60's. It has the best trigger of any pistol I have shot and I have shot many. It is perfectly balanced and is capable of 1" groups at 25 yards . Mine has never had any fte or ftf ever. that is the good. The bad, don't hold your breath waiting for magazines for it I have not seen any anywhere for any price in years. I did have a guy offer to take one of mine apart and fabricate a few for $500.00 a mag. (too steep for me and no one is taking any part of my pistol apart). If the price seems reasonable and it has a mag or two, buy it.
 
I recently bought one of these. It was new in box. Probably will stay that way. I have a couple of very similar Challengers to shoot. I have tried a couple of the new Triple K magazines and they worked for me. YMMV.
 
I've had mine since new in 1973, still a sweet shooter.
Pro -
Gorgeous fit and finish.
Balance and hand position feel wonderful for my slightly small hands.
It has an adjustable trigger pull and by manipulating the safety lever, you can safely dry fire it and recock it by pressing the safety with your thumb.
It has always been a better shot than I am, has never once malfunctioned with standard velocity ammo.
Cons -
I found that without very aware handling during disassembly that it's easy, too easy, to bend the long tang over the slide that carries the rear sight. Easy to fix too, but for a while I couldn't figure out why I wasn't hitting what I aimed at.
Do not use the screwdriver that comes with it. It's worthless and doesn't fit anything properly.
Like oldfart64 above, I worry about having just the one magazine. If you can find an extra, it will be very, very dear.
With age and wood movement, the shell deflector pin falls out easily. Put a tiny drop of wood glue on it.
 
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The bad first:Do not loose the manual, the dry fire mechanism is a little tricky and also works as a safety, it easy to forget how to work it.

The good part is that when a woman was a little angry at me and tried to shoot me, she did not know how to make it go bang! I feel this outweighs the bad.

I bought mine back in the 60's, absolutely love it!! Very accurate, absolutely beautiful, supreme trigger never had a problem with it. There are manuals on line if you need to read up on it. With the right ammo it is accurate as any 22 pistol I own or owned in the past. I personally consider it one of the all time greats!

Congratulations, please show us some photos when you can.
 
I was in a gun club back in the 1980s that had a Colt OMM and an FN Medalist as rimfire club guns, both were very accurate target pistols but the Colt eventually had timing issues while the FN is still working until today and the Medalist was used to shoot a club championship and set a record of 297/300 that was never broken.

The Medalist was generally a cheaper alternative to the Hämmerli International and Walther GSP for ISSF shooters and was very popular in Europe, mostly as the International or 150 back at that time.
 
The Medalist is a sleeper. Held in high regard by many and in the same class as the Colt Woodsman, Smith 41, and older High Standards.

I have a friend that collects fine 22 pistols. He has several of each of the above mentioned guns. The Medalist is his favorite. I can shoot them any time I want as long as I bring the ammo. :cool:
 
One of the most beautiful pistols ever made.OEM magazines(same as the Challenger and Nomad) are expensive.Parts are drying up,though these are trouble free guns.I could never warm up to the grip feel and angle,in the same way that I like my 41.
 
Browning Medalist - a joy to have and to hold

I have a Medalist (6.75-inch barrel) and an International Medalist (5.9-inch bbl) that I use for bullseye. I have also used a Model 41 and a Hi Standard Victor in the past, but decided that the grip angle of the Browning works better for me. I consider the machining, fit, and finish of the Browning superior to the Smith and Hi Standard. I have sold both of those with little regret. Accuracy of the Browning is easily on a par with those guns.

Original Browning magazines are expensive ($100 and up) but can be found on several of the auction sites. Triple K makes a usable aftermarket version. Grip selection is pretty limited, too, though a few different versions are available used with a bit of searching. Those are about the only downsides to having and using a Medalist.

The trigger pull and over-travel are both easily adjustable. I have also had many fewer failures to feed or eject with the Browning (hardly any) than either the Smith or Hi Standard.

Rimfire Central is an excellent resource for information on the care and feeding of a Medalist. Several stickies and frequent posts (mostly by the members known as Chim, Camster, and a couple of others) are near invaluable.

A price of $1,000-$1,200 for a complete package in very good condition can be considered very good.
 
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Highly regarded, as both a shooter and a collectable. I most commonly see the price range in the $1200 to $1400 for a really nice one. A friend of mine mentioned recently he might sell his, but not ready to yet. His is nice, maybe 500 rounds through it at most. He has had it for years.
 
rusty37874 said:
Browning Renaissance Medalist, a scarce gun indeed with just over 300 produced. You don't see these come to market very often.

bigl1911, any chance you could share your purchase details, This item would definitely fall into the sleeper category.
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Rusty..
I paid 5500 for this new unfired perfect - I believe last year.. Everyone thought I was crazy! Dumb like a fox!
 
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Meanwhile....my plebeian example below. :) Condition as good as any new pistol I've bought. It is missing the two keys and the manual.

I'm overwhelmed by the replies so all I can say is thanks to all of you gentlemen who took the time to reply. I'll look online for a copy of the manual; will use CCI SV as in my M41; the shell deflector is tight in the wood; hopefully no one will try to shoot me with the thing :D; and it has one mag. Normally I just buy firearms that I like with a cursory glance at GB closed auction prices for reference. 1100 OTD for this one...okay price but not a steal, but that's okay, I like it......
 

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