S&W 41 vs Browning Medalist

S

sailor723

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
47   0   0
Location
New Brunswick
I've been thinking about getting a "better" quality .22 target pistol for a while now. I've been looking at Browning Medalists but as a lefty the grips are obviously an issue. I know LH grips exist for the Medalist but they appear to be made of powdered unicorn horn. As an other option, I'm wondering how the S&W 41 stacks up against the Medalist?
 
I did own multiple examples of each and the 41 is more accurate by a slight margin. When time came to choose, the medalists went and I kept the 41's
 
I have seen Walther GSP's come up in the same price range occasionally. If you get the chance, grab one, then you'll know what a real target pistol is like. That said, I wouldn't turn my nose up at either of those, or a high standard Victor either
 
+1 for the 41. Love mine, although the Medalists are pretty. High Standards are great as well, but the 41 is still in production and parts are more readily available.
 
You can't beat the 41. One of the finest target pistols made especially if your able to get you hands on one from the 50s/early 60s. I own a PC 41 which is excellent but they're hard to find these days.
 
46 over a 41 any day :)

Between a 41 and a Medalist is tough. But the 41/46 will balance better in the hand and the Smith trigger is better then the Medalist.

Pardini Sp and Walther GSP are excellent as well but it is like comparing an Koenigsegg Agera to a Corvette ZR1.

Neither choice is wrong. But if you jump on the Medalist, be aware that a set of LH Rink grips will be costly.
 
One big advantage the Medalist has over the S&W is it's dry fire capability. Just slide the safety forward and you can dry fire practice all day by just pushing the safety lever down after each shot. No racking the slide or snap caps required. Makes practice a breeze. As far as the 41 having a better trigger that's debatable,my Medalist is easily adjustable by a screw on the backstrap. I like it's trigger almost as much as my Pardini. Grips from a Challenger/Nomad will fit and work for a lefty.
 
Back in the day, in the 1970s, I shot targets extensively at an indoor range with a Browning Medallist.
The other guys used S&W 41's and High Standard Supermatic Citations, and such.
My Medallist was a fine pistol with a finely adjustable trigger pull that did not take a second place to any pistol.
Highly accurate, very reliable, and consistent.
But then all of this could equally be said of the 41's and the High Standards.
They were all made to standards of quality lost today.
The quality of manufacture of the 41s back then was excellent, and the guys who owned them seemed to outshoot the rest of us consistently.
Buying a Medalist today as a shooter doesn't seem like a good idea, since parts availability just isn't there should you need it.
Also, finding one that hasn't been used much could be a problem, if you are looking for top accuracy.
Considering the dismal state of target pistol availability these days, a good S&W 41 seems your best bet.
 
Cannot comment on the Browning but S&W's 41 is a great pistol. Unfortunately, the 41 grips kinda suck for superior left hand shooters. S&W mistakenly engineered their grips for the right hand crowd & added some bolsters to "accommodate" us. The result is terrible of course. Even new production grips blow!
Took a wood file to my 41 grips to shave down that mountain range to make them work. On both sides! Ugh! There are some 41 grip makers out there but you will pay upwards of $100.00.
Great target 22, bad grips......
 
Seems to me that there have been a fair number of Medallists in decent shape through EE. If I wanted an occasional target pistol but more of an interesting collector, I'd get the medallist (assuming I could find a complete set in good shape). If I planned on doing a fair amount of shooting, I'd get the 41. You shouldn't have a problem finding left handed grips for the 41.
 
:redface: Seems I have more difficulty than most making a choice. At present I have available;
- Top left, a S&W model 41
- Top right, a Browning Medallist
- Bottem left, a High Standard Supermatic Citation
- Bottem right, a Colt Match Target.



My 'present' order of preference, S&W, Colt, Browning & High Standard. Before too long, I'll have to start giving some consideration to thinning the ranks out a little. ;) But not just yet :) .
 
I have owned a few .22lr pistolas (though no medalist ). I presently own and shoot regularly a newly manufactured Smith 41. It is extremely accurate, well balanced and a pure joy to shoot. One of my favorites.

Gilbert
 
Last edited:
Consider a old browning challenger. They have the adjustable trigger and you can use the medalist barrels.
I have, H S Victor, SW 41s,Medalists and Challengers. The challenger grips are nice for left hand shooters.
Being able to change to various length browning barrels is also a plus.
 
The Medalist certainly has it in the looks department,but one thing to remember, barrel length is 171 mm which calculates to 6.7323 inches. If you ever get into ISSF Bullseye, the max barrel length allowed is 6".
 
gdawg said:
Seems to me that there have been a fair number of Medallists in decent shape through EE. If I wanted an occasional target pistol but more of an interesting collector, I'd get the medallist (assuming I could find a complete set in good shape). If I planned on doing a fair amount of shooting, I'd get the 41. You shouldn't have a problem finding left handed grips for the 41.
Click to expand...

The interesting thing about the Medallist is that it came with a wooden loading block, 3 barrel weights, a barrel weight adapter that slid into a dovetail under the barrel if you removed the wooden fore end, and a screwdriver combination tool for field stripping.

The barrel weights were all unnecessary since the bull barrel was heavy enough.
The loading block was never used.
and
The combination tool was useless.

I ended up filing a screwdriver to match the rounded "coin slot" profile of the barrel removal screw.
 
Brewster20 said:
The Medalist certainly has it in the looks department,but one thing to remember, barrel length is 171 mm which calculates to 6.7323 inches. If you ever get into ISSF Bullseye, the max barrel length allowed is 6".
Click to expand...

Quite true.

Browning also produced an "International" Medallist for that reason.

It had the shorter barrel and abbreviated grip required.

The looks of the Medallist came from the premium European Circassian Walnut that they were stocked in, including that schnabel fore end.

Underneath, it was essentially the same as the Challenger model. The Challenger had a more compact checkered wooden grip, a tapered barrel, and more simple adjustable sights.

The Nomad was a simplified Challenger with an aluminum grip frame and a holster-friendly plastic grip.
 
Last edited:
Just be aware that the Browning pistols are all orphans, no longer being made, not for something over twenty years in the case of the medalist. Ok if you want to go with antiques.
 
T&G said:
Just be aware that the Browning pistols are all orphans, no longer being made, not for something over twenty years in the case of the medalist. Ok if you want to go with antiques.
Click to expand...

I'll place money on my '80s antique Ruger MKII pistols against current Ruger 3's or 4's in terms of accuracy. Or my 80's Buckmarks. Or the '58 Model 46. Perhaps even my 4 digit s/n Contender. (Really old)

Todays modern guns are assembled with more precision made parts. That is true. With that said, more care was taken by the producers way back when to insure the firearms leaving the factory were accurate. Today it's all about volume, and quality, even accuracy has been sacrificed because of that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom