SERIAL NUMBERS FOR BELIGUM BROWNING .22 L. R. PISTOLS
My first Belgium Browning Challenger was a used 1963 model I bought in 1968 for $30. That Challenger was my collection of one for several years. Life's priorities of a new job, house, and car payments, etc. kept me away from sporting goods stores gun shows for several years. In early 1997 a local paper advertised a Browning Medalist and Challenger with a $100 discount to purchase both. I took the discount. With this purchase came an application to join the Browning Collectors Association. I joined. At that time there were many questions and answers concerning the variations of the Belgium Browning .22 LR pistols. An article about collecting suggested collect what you like and have an objective or goal for the collection. The first part was easy, I liked them all. Practically set in and I realized I couldn't afford the early Winchesters or Colts. A collection of long guns would take a lot of space. This left me with the Medalist or Challenger. I went with the less expensive Challenger with the goal to obtain as many of the variations as I could. With the collection maturing I wanted to find when the different variations occurred. This led to watching serial numbers to see just when the variations changed. The September/October 2000 Browning Collectors Association Newsletter had an article where then Browning Historian, Glen Jensen searched his records and found the last 1961 Nomad serial number was 139 and first 1962 number was 140. Since I was watching serial numbers to find when there was a change from one variation to another why not watch for change from one year to another. The following is what I have so far:
SUMMARY OF KNOWN BEGINNING AND ENDING SERIAL NUMBERS, BY YEAR, FOR BELGIUM BROWNING .22 LONG RIFLE PISTOLS
(Letter to designate model intentionally left off) (year of manufacture left off except for 1969)
First known serial number is 17. Prior numbers are assumed to be pre-production models.
* Note that the last number for 1969 is larger than the first number for 1970. The change from 1969 to 1970 appears to have occurred over a range of serial numbers as there are several serial numbers in 1970 that are lower than the last numbers for 1969. There are several numbers in late 1969 that are in mid-1970 range.
** There are several Renaissance 1974 models with serial numbers in the late 1973 range.
*** Serial numbers for 1975 shown above extends to the last known Challenger or standard Medalist with a BAC barrel address. Production in 1975 continued from the last serial number in the above chart to at least serial number 83889I75 with production of International Type II Medalist.
For some years there is a small gap between the ending number of one year and the beginning number on the next year. In others there is a larger gap. Because of these large gaps the approximate number per year could vary considerably. It is hoped that these gaps can be narrowed as research continues. Accurate input from others is appreciated.
All known serial numbers after 76030 are for type II International Medalist except for 76138P75 and 78456U75 which have a FN barrel address and a 150 mm length barrel. We cannot verify if there are any more Challengers or Medalist after 76030. It is also reported there were ten Medalist made in 1976 that had a BAC barrel address.
Using the serial numbers cited above, approximate total production of all Belgium Browning .22 Long Rifle pistols can be calculated as follows:
Last known single digit 9 known for 1969 production - 135,951
Last known serial number for 1975 - 76,030
Medalist made in 1976 10
Estimated total production of Belgium Browning .22LR pistols 211,991
SO
.
My first Belgium Browning Challenger was a used 1963 model I bought in 1968 for $30. That Challenger was my collection of one for several years. Life's priorities of a new job, house, and car payments, etc. kept me away from sporting goods stores gun shows for several years. In early 1997 a local paper advertised a Browning Medalist and Challenger with a $100 discount to purchase both. I took the discount. With this purchase came an application to join the Browning Collectors Association. I joined. At that time there were many questions and answers concerning the variations of the Belgium Browning .22 LR pistols. An article about collecting suggested collect what you like and have an objective or goal for the collection. The first part was easy, I liked them all. Practically set in and I realized I couldn't afford the early Winchesters or Colts. A collection of long guns would take a lot of space. This left me with the Medalist or Challenger. I went with the less expensive Challenger with the goal to obtain as many of the variations as I could. With the collection maturing I wanted to find when the different variations occurred. This led to watching serial numbers to see just when the variations changed. The September/October 2000 Browning Collectors Association Newsletter had an article where then Browning Historian, Glen Jensen searched his records and found the last 1961 Nomad serial number was 139 and first 1962 number was 140. Since I was watching serial numbers to find when there was a change from one variation to another why not watch for change from one year to another. The following is what I have so far:
SUMMARY OF KNOWN BEGINNING AND ENDING SERIAL NUMBERS, BY YEAR, FOR BELGIUM BROWNING .22 LONG RIFLE PISTOLS
(Letter to designate model intentionally left off) (year of manufacture left off except for 1969)
First known serial number is 17. Prior numbers are assumed to be pre-production models.
| Year | Beginning # | Ending # |
| 1961 | 17 | 139 |
| 1962 | 140 | 23295 |
| 1963 | 23429 | 35949 |
| 1964 | 35973 | 45790 |
| 1965 | 46305 | 55448 |
| 1966 | 55677 | 69189 |
| 1967 | 69256 | 94812 |
| 1968 | 94989 | 121111 |
| 1969 | 121229_9 | 135951_9 |
| 1969 | 128_69 | 25956_69 |
| 1970 | 25368 | 38871 |
| 1971 | 39489 | 44376 |
| 1972 | 44795 | 49613 |
| 1973 | 50038 | 60290 |
| 1974 | 60357** | 70894 |
| 1975 | 70932 | 76030*** |
** There are several Renaissance 1974 models with serial numbers in the late 1973 range.
*** Serial numbers for 1975 shown above extends to the last known Challenger or standard Medalist with a BAC barrel address. Production in 1975 continued from the last serial number in the above chart to at least serial number 83889I75 with production of International Type II Medalist.
For some years there is a small gap between the ending number of one year and the beginning number on the next year. In others there is a larger gap. Because of these large gaps the approximate number per year could vary considerably. It is hoped that these gaps can be narrowed as research continues. Accurate input from others is appreciated.
All known serial numbers after 76030 are for type II International Medalist except for 76138P75 and 78456U75 which have a FN barrel address and a 150 mm length barrel. We cannot verify if there are any more Challengers or Medalist after 76030. It is also reported there were ten Medalist made in 1976 that had a BAC barrel address.
Using the serial numbers cited above, approximate total production of all Belgium Browning .22 Long Rifle pistols can be calculated as follows:
Last known single digit 9 known for 1969 production - 135,951
Last known serial number for 1975 - 76,030
Medalist made in 1976 10
Estimated total production of Belgium Browning .22LR pistols 211,991
SO
.
