I stopped by the local Bass Pro shop today, hoping to scope it out for targets of opportunity. I wasn't actively looking for one, but when I saw they had a Browning Auto .22, I jumped on it. Here it is, in all it's understated elegance, next to the Colt M4 .22, which is being transformed to match my "real" M-faux.
The Browning has two tapped holes on the barrel near the rear sight. I always thought the receiver was grooved for a scope mount, but I must have been wrong. I'll have to find something equally classic to go with the rifle.
It's made in Japan by Miroku, and the quality is as good as the Belgian ones, which were last made probably 40 years ago. I've seen the chicom copies, and they're trash.
The only downside is that the stock has several dings at the butt where this rifle, or others, were taken in and out of the rack. This gives me the incentive to some day strip the polyurethane finish, and redo the wood in a traditional oil finish.
The Colt .22 shows the Navy-type rear sight swapped out for a M4 carry handle, and a Magpul stock. Those were trivial.
The Magpul pistol grip and trigger guard were not trivial, and will take up quite a bit of my Sunday supplement. Still to come are the fold-down front sight, the Magpul three-color rail covers, and a cheap-ass chicom scope that looks like the Leupold CQT that will go on my "real" M-faux.