I know there are a few others on here who are fascinated with the old Belgian pistols. There's another thread that morphed into some discussion on variations found on these pistols.
I checked the older Browning pistols to see which pistols had plastic or metal used for the tabs on the safety and slide release levers. Of the pistols made in Belgium, none of mine has metal tabs on the safety or slide release. Only one has a metal magazine catch - a 1964 Medalist. Examples of various models from the years 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1975
As a side, I didn't expect it, but my 1977 Challenger II and 1982 Challenger III have all metal tabs and metal mag catches.
The last pistol that found a new home here is what was billed as an "FN International Medalist". I thought I heard that FN had marketed some pistols like they made for Browning under their own name. This pistol came in a plastic FN case. Under the ratty-looking eggcrate foam the lined the interior of the box I found this owner's manual. Note how it describes the pistol as a Browning .22 International. No mention of the word "Medalist":
A far cry from the manuals of today (there's a 35 page Ruger MKII manual on the desk as I type this). The old manual is a simple tri-folded sheet of paper. All instructions are on one side of the paper. It is interesting that the manual doesn't mention the dry firing capability of the International. The dry fire mechanism functions exactly the same as on the "regular" Medalists. The other side of the paper is the title page in the first picture, a parts list and an exploded view:
They have a tendency to throw curve balls on occasion. The FN I drilled and tapped for the dot last week felt pretty good. Along came what I thought was a twin. Even had the same (1975) year of production. However, the two pistols felt good but very different. Both had excellent triggers, but the grips felt strange when switching back and forth between the two. Then came the "DUH". The palm shelves are different. The curvature at the back of the grips are different and the area for the trigger finger is dished out differently. In this photo the frames are wearing the "wrong" barrels:
When possible I gather spare parts to guarantee the kids will be able to keep these pistols running after I'm gone. There are two mag catches here below the plastic Nomad grip- one metal(L) and one plastic(R):
I checked the older Browning pistols to see which pistols had plastic or metal used for the tabs on the safety and slide release levers. Of the pistols made in Belgium, none of mine has metal tabs on the safety or slide release. Only one has a metal magazine catch - a 1964 Medalist. Examples of various models from the years 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1975
As a side, I didn't expect it, but my 1977 Challenger II and 1982 Challenger III have all metal tabs and metal mag catches.
The last pistol that found a new home here is what was billed as an "FN International Medalist". I thought I heard that FN had marketed some pistols like they made for Browning under their own name. This pistol came in a plastic FN case. Under the ratty-looking eggcrate foam the lined the interior of the box I found this owner's manual. Note how it describes the pistol as a Browning .22 International. No mention of the word "Medalist":
A far cry from the manuals of today (there's a 35 page Ruger MKII manual on the desk as I type this). The old manual is a simple tri-folded sheet of paper. All instructions are on one side of the paper. It is interesting that the manual doesn't mention the dry firing capability of the International. The dry fire mechanism functions exactly the same as on the "regular" Medalists. The other side of the paper is the title page in the first picture, a parts list and an exploded view:
They have a tendency to throw curve balls on occasion. The FN I drilled and tapped for the dot last week felt pretty good. Along came what I thought was a twin. Even had the same (1975) year of production. However, the two pistols felt good but very different. Both had excellent triggers, but the grips felt strange when switching back and forth between the two. Then came the "DUH". The palm shelves are different. The curvature at the back of the grips are different and the area for the trigger finger is dished out differently. In this photo the frames are wearing the "wrong" barrels:
When possible I gather spare parts to guarantee the kids will be able to keep these pistols running after I'm gone. There are two mag catches here below the plastic Nomad grip- one metal(L) and one plastic(R):