The Browning Buckmark
It is no secret that my 22 pistol of choice is the Ruger MKII. A major contender for the MKII's place of prominence though, is the Browning Buckmark. 
The Buckmark is preferred by many people because it feels more like a "real" pistol. The frame is CNC machined 7075-T6 aluminum. The controls are where one would expect, and the Buckmark's trigger is uniformly crisp.
Like the Ruger, a wide variety of sights, grips and barrels are available for the Buckmark. Unlike the Ruger, the serial number of the Browning 22 pistol is on the lower portion of the gun, the grip frame. This is fortunate, as it allows a variety of barrels to be mail ordered without going through a FFL holder. The design of the pistol is deceptively simple. When the grips are removed, most of the action can be disassembled by hand. Detail stripping the Buckmark is a cinch.
The Browning Buckmark is a boringly reliable shooter. It is as accurate as the shooter firing it, a no excuses gun.
It will digest a wide variety of ammunition without a hiccup.
Little features like the recessed crown make for a slick package on the Browning. There are only two things that I do not care for on the Buckmark. The first is the scallops on the bolt that contain the grasping serrations used to open the chamber. The scallops make the bolt more difficult to lock back than it has to be. The other is the wire ejector. The ejector works well enough, but I just wish there was a more substantial part for that role.
My buddy QJ purchased this pistol used for $219. I passed up a first generation Buckmark priced at $175 a couple of years ago. I still kick myself.
A Buckmark Review/Range Report
Browning Buckmark Manual (pdf file)
The Buckmark is preferred by many people because it feels more like a "real" pistol. The frame is CNC machined 7075-T6 aluminum. The controls are where one would expect, and the Buckmark's trigger is uniformly crisp. Like the Ruger, a wide variety of sights, grips and barrels are available for the Buckmark. Unlike the Ruger, the serial number of the Browning 22 pistol is on the lower portion of the gun, the grip frame. This is fortunate, as it allows a variety of barrels to be mail ordered without going through a FFL holder. The design of the pistol is deceptively simple. When the grips are removed, most of the action can be disassembled by hand. Detail stripping the Buckmark is a cinch.
The Browning Buckmark is a boringly reliable shooter. It is as accurate as the shooter firing it, a no excuses gun.
It will digest a wide variety of ammunition without a hiccup. Little features like the recessed crown make for a slick package on the Browning. There are only two things that I do not care for on the Buckmark. The first is the scallops on the bolt that contain the grasping serrations used to open the chamber. The scallops make the bolt more difficult to lock back than it has to be. The other is the wire ejector. The ejector works well enough, but I just wish there was a more substantial part for that role.
My buddy QJ purchased this pistol used for $219. I passed up a first generation Buckmark priced at $175 a couple of years ago. I still kick myself.
A Buckmark Review/Range Report
Browning Buckmark Manual (pdf file)
Labels: 22 Caliber Handguns
posted by Xavier at 7:54 PM
7 Comments:
QJ will like it... I'm still a Ruger MkII fan though, since I can no longer afford an bull barrel Woodsman. Sigh...
you can't touch one for less then $250 in my neck of the woods i am jealous of your gun prices down there.
Same here Owen -- Oregon. Jealous too.
when I was choosing at .22, I vexed over the mkii and the buckmark, liking them both. Now i have a mark ii of my own, and will prolly get the browning, too, sooner or later. They are so much fun to shoot.
such a great blog i wish you all the best some how i found you when i was looking for stuff on our sons birth defect esophageal atresia, i wish you all the best.
I think I'm going to "pull the trigger" as Jimmy Cramer says on a Buckmark. Thank so much for your insight and appraisal of the gun. I owned a tricked out Mark I 27 yrs back. I to am a codependent nurse with a bunch of chickens (with 1st and last names) and a bird dog. I am a psych nurse in Southern Ca. who has mainly evaluated people in crisis in ED settings after walk in or BIB Law Enforcement. I have 30 guns I probably don't need (but that I love)and a few clocks I do carry concealed. Sounds like we have a lot in common. My wife is an X cop that I met at church.( A Hindu church) Anyway I'm teaching a screamingly liberal nurse at work to shoot defensive pistol+ got out to shoot precision rifle from bench yesterday with same. Our local gun requires NRA membership and I'm converting this guy. Thanks for your blog and hope the wind is at your back.
You said serial number is on the lower frame, i guess that's the grip strap?
Browning's manual says it's on flat spot left side above trigger guard. That's where it is on one of my Buckmarks,
but i have another (1990) with serial number where you describe.
I wonder when they changed, or do you and i have the only "two of a kind" ?
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