I look at firearms purchases as indulgences (for the stuff I plan to use, once the basics are covered) and don't give a flying flip what is popular among the interweb crowd at the moment. Pick the rifle that feels best in your hands and never look back, because there isn't anyone on the forum offering a money-back guarantee on the rife of your choice. Browning gets very little love around here, which is fine by me. I can pick up nice rifles at great prices, which suits me fine. Guess I should probably push the theory that Browning rifles are junk to create more opportunities for myself, but that's not how I see it. They are both good rifles.
