Was the 6" ever called a Challenger 150?

 

Never owned the 6.75” model. I get a lot of the 4.5” in Nomad & Challenger series. I could never figure that out. Especially in Browning models because they look out of per portion and you would think 6” would be the favorite shooter in quasi target pistol. Isn’t kind of pistol that field carry or range would make any difference in carrying an
extra 1-2” barrel.

 

tuckerd1,
What you call the 6" barrel is actually 150 mm or 5.9". This made primarily for the European market to comply with International Shooting Union (ISU) requirements. Barrel address on most with this barrel is as you state. There may be a few that have Browning Arms Copany (BAC) address as you show on the other two Challengers.
I note the left side barrel address on your 4.5-inch barrel has two lines. As far as I know this two-line address was only for the years 1962 and 1963. After that there was a one-line address as on your 6.75 inch until about late 1973 when a three-line address was used until end of production in 1976. Barrells are easy to swap so not a problem. Thus, it appears the barrel was changed at some point along the way.
Yes, the 5.9" barrel was at times called the 150. Perhaps more for the Medalist than the Challenger. From a FN owner's manual, [PISTOLET AUTOMATIQUE BROWNING .22LR, "STANDARD" & "DE TIR"]. I think standard is for Nomad and De Tir is for Challenger. De Tir in French may translate "to shoot". SO

 

Interesting..
I have a 4.5 inch barrel that has Made in Belgium
22 Long Rifle
on one side and the other side is: Browning Arms Company..
I believe that is consistent with TUCKERD1's post. Thank You for that info..

Al

 

Thanks SO for the info. I knew the barrel was slightly less than 6", but got lazy. I also should have remembered that 150mm and 5.9" are approximately the same since I do have a Medalist 150.

I bought the 5.9" pistol in a box that would hold a 6.75" barreled pistol and a space for an extra 4.5" barrel. Someone had made a cutout in the box to hold the 5.9" barreled pistol. The 4.5" barrel was included.

It doesn't really surprise me that the barrels and frames may not match for the year.

 

The extra 4.5" barrel has the 3 line address.

 

At one time, I had the same trio of barrels for mine. If memory serves, I bought the 5.9 from WGP of Canada.

 

I always had the understanding that the 5.9" / 150 barrel was a heavy barrel with a four post vent rib (regular Medalist has five posts).

My 1973 Challenger has this heavy, ribbed 150mm barrel and is marked:
Left side
BROWNING ARMS COMPANY
MORGAN, UTAH & MONTREAL P.Q.
Right Side
.22 L.R. BROWNING PATENTS
MADE IN BELGIUM

One more for the database.

 

The International Medalist, Type one, has a barrel length and barrel address as you describe. The Challenger also has a 150 mm barrel; however, it has a "pencil" barrel like the 6. 75" and 4.5" barrels. Your 1973 Challenger likely had a barrel swap some ware along the line. If you bought it new in that configuration It would be unusual. If so, I would like to know. SO

 

I am not the original owner so don’t know if this configuration is factory or not. I actually bought it on GB advertised as an International Medalist. When received, the serial number gave it away as a Challenger. I originally thought, as you, that it had received a barrel and grip swap. Since then I’ve seen several other Challengers with this barrel leading me to think it might be factory. Or maybe this is a popular swap?

 

Numrich has the IM 5.9” barrel in stock, NIB. Not cheap.