Browning .22 Semi-Auto rifle, Grade III
Official wording
Browning, cal. .22, semiautomatic rifles, Grade III, mfd. by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “mfd. by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1956–1976.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
BelgiumBasis: no citation - Manufacturer
- Fabrique NationaleBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- RifleBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Semi-autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- .22Basis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1956–1976production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ¹
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 3 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): production began 1914, in Belgium through 1973 (first exported for the American market in 1956); 1956–1976 matches the Grade II ATF line
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Browning 22 disassembled.jpg” by Hmaag, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle, also known as the semi automatic 22 or SA-22, is a takedown rifle produced by FN Herstal based on a John Browning patent. The rifle is currently produced by Browning as the Semi-Auto 22. Production began in 1914 and continued through 1973 in Belgium and production continued in 1974 in Japan by Miroku. It was first exported by FN for the American market in 1956. Remington manufactured a lighter weight version under license from 1919 to 1935 as the Remington Model 24 and then replaced it with the Remington Model 241 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 and imported into the US by Interarms as the Model ATD.