Good morning VIM. What kind of info would you like? I shoot and do some wrenching on them. The old Brownings are fascinating for me so I'll take the opportunity to either bore you or raise your interest in them. All three Medalist models have a dry-fire system activated by the safety lever. All Belgian pistols except the Nomad have a great overtravel adjustment and a weight of pull adjustment. All ribs are secured via a full length dovetail in the top of the barrel. There's a small dowel pin under the front sight that locks them in place.
Original mags can be quite expensive. I was lucky to buy two at $26 each several years ago, but have seen nice ones go for over $150 on auctions. Until very recently, no aftermarket mags worked 100% - most would fail to hold the slide back after the last round. On another board a shooter came up with a method of modding Colt mags that works OK.
Two of my Belgian pistols were giving me light hits. Since everything else was in order, I replaced the mainsprings. No problems since then. I made the mainsprings from coil spring stock available from Brownells. The mainsprings in these pistols are a coaxial setup - one inside another. The coil stock pack had both sizes needed.
As much as I like the Buck Marks, the Challengers and Medalists are really a step up. The Medalist / Challenger / Nomad pistols were made in Belguim. Challenger II, Challenger III and Buck Mark are all US pistols.
There were three versions of the Medalist. The one most people picture when the hear Medalist is this model. To be accurate, that's correct because this model is the only "Medalist" without a further description in the name:
Next is the first model of the International Medalist. Pretty much the same pistol, but with a shorter barrel, slightly smaller grip and no forearm. It was reduced in size so it would qualify for international matches.
Then we have the second model International Medalist. The rib was changed from vented to solid on this model. Grips were changed to factory adjustable. The barrel was made with slabbed sides, a rounded top and a flat bottom. The flat bottom has a lengthwise dovetail for positioning a weight. Finish is a bead-blasted black sort of bluing. These are my favorites of the old Belguim pistols.
And they clean up nicely. The one with the worst finish in the above pic was sent out for a hard chrome job. I was tickled to death with the outcome.
Here's a Challenger. The grips varied. I believe they came as shown in the picture below, as well as the brown "tortoise shell" grips on the IM above, black and different shades of wood. Browning called the plastic "Novadur".
A cheap (and abused) barrel was refinished and drilled and tapped for an optic mount. The mount is one piece of a two-piece rifle base and is held by two blue-Loctited screws. Works well even with a tube type dot.
Here's what was the budget model of the Belgian pistols. The Nomad lacked the last shot hold open and adjustable trigger. It is still built better than most currently manufactured pistols.
