Please Tell Me About Browning's BL-22

[nero45acp]

My son and I love to shoot my CZ 452FS .22LR so much I've been thinking about getting another .22LR rifle, and it looks like Browning's BL-22 Grade I (not interested in the Grade II's golden trigger, wood checkering or scroll engraving) may be just what we're looking for. Can anyone here provide any info on this neat looking rimfire lever gun?

Specifically, how would you rate it's construction, fit/finish, and durability? How is it's accuracy? Is it reliable with most brands of .22LR ammo? Does anyone make after-market peep sights for it? How difficult is it to field strip and clean? Thanks.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=005B&cat_id=024&type_id=100


nero

 

[Silent Sam]

I love mine. Traditionalist lever guys generally don't care for them. Mine is accurate (less than minute of squirrel head) with almost any ammo and that covers everything from CB caps to LR. It will cycle any 22 rf ammo in any combination with just a flick of the fingers. With CB caps it is quieter than an air gun. Excellent adjustable sights that were dead on @ 25 yds with standard velocity ammo. Short, light and fast makes it great in heavy cover. As far as construction and fit/finish they are excellent. I don't know how many rounds I have through mine but has never balked once from the first shot, and I squirrel hunt with it every year in the beginning of the season before the leaves drop. The only cleaning I have done is a good bore snaking when it was new to clear the bore and again if I have been shooting anything shorter than LR to keep the chamber clean. (same thing as shooting 38's in a 357). I have never stripped it down and don't foresee ever having to. It will accept anything with a standard 22 tip-off mount. I scoped mine initially but now just use the sights. I don't know what is available for peep sights because the factory sights work for me. I don't shoot it off a bench - not what I bought for. It does everything I need it to in the woods and still looks pretty in the house. If you like the looks and more importantly if it "fits" you you won't be disappointed.

 

[mainmech48]

Very sweet little carbines. Light, handy and with the shortest "throw" required to work the action of any LA .22 currently made. Given even minimal care, you'd be highly unlikely to be able to wear one out in your lifetime. As with most other modern .22s, you ought to be able to find at least a couple of brands of ammo with which it will shoot better than you can.

While the ones that I've seen do not come from the factory (Miroku) drilled and tapped for a receiver sight, any gunsmith can do it for you for a nominal fee. FWIW, I much prefer a receiver sight to a 'scope on a LA carbine. It doesn't interfere with field carry at the natural balance point, and is faster and more precise to use than irons for most folks.

There are a couple of other things to consider, though. The stock rear leaf does not fold down like the one on the Marlin 39s, and may need to be removed for best sight picture with a "peep". A handy backup open to replace it with is the Marbles or Lyman folding rear. Inexpensive and inconspicuous. You might also need to have a higher front blade installed to get the best range of elevation adjustment with the new receiver sight. Many options in maker and configuration, none of which need be costly, and can be quickly and easily installed. My personal favorite right now is the Williams "Firesight" fiber optic bead.

A look around at the various gunshows could net you a very clean used specimen at a substantial saving from new retail. I sold an extremely nice example a few weeks ago for $260, which is the going rate around here for VVG-EX BL-22s. At that price you could have the sight work done exactly as you want it and still come in at or under retail for a new one.

 

[Clipper]

loved mine...

...The light weight-only 5 lbs., made a sling unnecessary, just hold it by the action, and it swings up smoothly. The lever only swings 33 degrees, so your thumb doesn't even leave the stock. The trigger stays with the lever, so no pinched fingers. The 360 degree magazine spring release button allows simple push-down locking. I mounted a set of Williams low mounts for a 4x32 1" tube scope, and a hammer side extention on mine, and it would shoot sub-MOA with CCI Stingers. Fit and finish was incredible...You couldn't fit a cigarette paper between the wood and metal anywhere on that rifle. When I bought it, I'd been looking for a squirrel & rabbit head shooter, and wanted a lever-action, so I first went to K-Mart and checked out the Marlin & Glenfields... I found them to be clunky and unrefined (life's too short to shoot ugly guns! ) I then went to the dealer and looked at the Winchester 94-22, and was unimpressed. I asked if someone made a really first-class .22 lever gun and he smiled and reached under the counter and came up with a Browning box...All I could see were dollar signs flying out the window, but when he opened the box, I took one look and told him to wrap that bad boy up. I didn't care what it would cost, that was my rifle...Imagine my surprise to find it was the same price as the Winchester! $129.00 in those days (1977 or thereabouts). I don't know why I ever allowed myself to sell that rifle :banghead:.


Hey Mainmech...When did they stop mounting a folding-leaf rear sight? Mine had one...Had to fold it down to clear the scope tube, which actually dropped between the adjusting screw heads.

 

[nero45acp]

Silent Sam and Mainmech48, thank you both for your helpful/informative replies. I think I pick one up and try it with the factory iron sights first (see how my middle-aged eyes do with them) and if I have problems them, then I'll look for some kind of alternative sight set-up. Again, thanks.



nero

 

[nero45acp]

Thanks, Clipper.


nero

 

[nero45acp]

What do you'll think of Marble's universal rear (peep-style) sight? Can that be made to work on the BL-22?


http://www.marblearms.com/sights/universal.html


nero

 

[Onmilo]

New England Custom Gun produces an excellent all steel fully adjustable apeture sight that mounts directly to the scope dovetail grooves on .22 rifles.
They aren't cheap at about $85.00 but is the very best general purpose .22 apeture sight I have ever used.
You can buy these direct from N.E.C.G. or from Brownells.

The BL-22 is an excellent lever .22 and would benefit from this sight.

 

[spooney]

I couldn't be happier with mine, great shooting .22. My BL-22 is what I clean all the targets that haven't been knocked down yet at the end of a shooting session with. I have a Tasco 4X32 scope on mine that was mounted the day my dad bought it for me 11 years ago, the gun has performed faithfully any time I asked it to since then.

Mine also has the folding rear sight, although mine is the only one I have ever seen so YMMV.

 

[Silent Sam]

My sight folds down. I haven't seen one that doesn't. I would definitely try using the sights before spending any money on any aftermarket stuff. I too have "old eyes" and the gun just points so well I haven't needed anything else. I guess it depends on how you use it. Like I said I did scope mine initially to see what it would do and it shot well with everything I stuffed into it. I now use Win Dynapoints mostly for hunting & plinking but any standard ammo hits close enough to the same point to consistently drop squirrels. I never shot any match stuff through it, but I never considered it a "range" gun. It's just a natural off-hand shooter for "targets of opportunity", I think a scope would slow me down with it. If you are just going to shoot off a bench there are better options, but if you are going to use it for "walkabouts" it's hard to beat.

 

[mainmech48]

Clipper: The one on mine did not fold. I have no idea when it was made, as I bought it at a show sans box and never was curious enough about it to run the number for DOB. As it didn't show any signs of having been messed with, I assume that the unit was stock. It had the elevation adjustment via the two tiny screws and insert, but did not fold. It is possible that it wasn't OEM, but I can't imagine why anyone would make such a virtually useless change.

The NEG or Marble's units that attach to the scope dovetail will almost certainly need a correspondingly higher front sight to work properly at normal ranges. When you raise the line-of-sight at the rear, you've in effect also lowered the front by the same amount. Very seldom will you be able to get POA and POI to coincide, even with the rear at its lowest point. There're formulae for measuring and calculating the additional height needed to compensate in the Brownell's catalog.

If the open irons work well for you, by all means use them. Having reached the age of bifocals myself, I've found that I personally do much better with a receiver sight. Since this was also true before I got the bifocals, point may be moot. It may be as much the extra sight radius as it is the better focus on the front, but it works for me. I can get better, faster hits with them than open irons, so that's what I go with.

 

[Onmilo]

Here is a picture of the NECG sight mounted on my Winchester Model 63.
You may indeed need a higher front sight but with the Browning barrel length anything from .350" to .500" from barrel to top of blade should work just fine.

 

[Starter52]

The sights on my Japanese BL-22 fold down. That's helpful when mounting a scope.

The BL-22 is just about the finest .22 rifle in the world, IMO. It's the most popular rifle with the beginning shooters at our Hunter Education courses.

You bought a great gun. Enjoy it.