The Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle, also known as the Semi Automatic 22 or SA-22, is a

takedown rifle A takedown gun (typically a takedown rifle or takedown shotgun) is a long gun designed to be taken apart significantly reducing its length, making it easier to store, pack, transport and conceal. A variety of barrel, stock, and receiver de ...

produced by

FN Herstal Fabrique Nationale Herstal (), trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium. It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. F ...

based on a

John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...

patent. The rifle is currently produced by Browning as the Semi-Auto 22. Production began in 1914 and continued through 1973 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and production continued in 1974 in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

by Miroku. It was first exported by FN for the American market in 1956. Remington manufactured a lighter weight version under license from 1919-1935 as the

Remington Model 24 Based on a John Browning design and manufactured from 1922–1935, the Remington model 24 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in either .22 Short or .22 long rifle. It is very closely related to the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle (the Browning SA-22) ...

and then replaced it with the

Remington Model 241 The Remington Arms Model 241 Speedmaster, an autoloading rimfire rifle, was manufactured from 1935 to 1951 from a John Browning design. Remington reports that 107,345 rifles were manufactured in .22 Short or .22 Long Rifle. A similar rifle is cu ...

in 1935. Except for the barrel locking mechanism the Remington Model 241 is very similar to the Browning SA-22. A close copy of the SA-22 was made by the Chinese company

Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...

and imported into the US by Interarms as the Model ATD. The SA-22 was the first production semi-automatic rifle chambered in .22 LR caliber,Shideler, Dan. ''Gun Digest 64''. Krause Publications, 2010. and is regarded as a classic firearm. It has been offered in several "grades" of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

and gold inlay, and is a widely collected gun, especially those manufactured in Belgium. The Semi-auto .22 is a made from blued steel and walnut, and ejects spent cases downward. This feature was intended by the designer to keep the user's face "protected from gasses and flying particles while firing", at which it succeeds especially for smaller people. Downward-ejected hot spent cases can become trapped in a shirt sleeve, so care should be taken to avoid this with proper hand placement on the forend. The rifle was intended for a wide age range, and period advertisements recommend the rifle both for adult usage as well as appropriate for youth shooters. The lack of a side-mounted ejection port also leaves a large "canvas" for engraving. Factory engraving was done by hand at FN Herstal, and is done by

laser engraving Laser engraving is the practice of using lasers to engrave an object. Laser marking, on the other hand, is a broader category of methods to leave marks on an object, which in some cases, also includes color change due to chemical/molecular alte ...

with hand finishing at Miroku. It has occasionally been sold with a factory fitted hard case, or with scope mounting grooves on the receiver. Initial production models had a small loading port located on the top of the stock in contrast to later models which had the loading port located on the right side of the buttstock. Over half a million SA-22 rifles have been sold since 1914.

References

External links

Browning SA-22 owner's manual (2021, color)
* {{Commons category, Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle

Takedown gun A takedown gun (typically a takedown rifle or takedown shotgun) is a long gun designed to be taken apart significantly reducing its length, making it easier to store, pack, transport and conceal. A variety of barrel, stock, and receiver de ...

.22 LR semi-automatic rifles