Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The Browning Buckmark

about 15 minutes ago...

There you go again - SONOFABITCH!

Best freakin' field rig I own.




Travis

Are you liking the Browning more than the Ruger? Or still a tossup?




Travis

Have always liked Browning more.

And that should say something to those who are afraid of what might happen to a FO on a defense handgun.

I've wanted a Buck Mark for a long time. Specifically the kinda rare Contour 5.5" I've never seen one in person. I had one on order for almost a year. I pulled the plug a few years ago when the Ruger 22/45 Lite came out. Bought the Ruger. I've always been disappointed with it. I've missed so many grouse and ground squirrels with it.

Swung into a pawn shop in Spokane yesterday. Contour under the counter for $299......we started the paperwork immediately.

Ran: Blazers, 525 Winchesters, Green Tag and some bulk Federals. The plated Winchester 525 box ammo stacked right on top of each other on steel at 32 yards. But the action was sooo gummed up and slow. Was pretty much a single shot.

After a youtube video I grew some balls and removed the 3 screws on my top rail. I don't know what all the fuss is over re: break down for cleaning. Yes, the guide rod and spring are a pain in the balls to reassemble. But nothing I would never do again.

Scraped out some lead and fouling and applied some Kroil in key locations and some lithium grease on a few more. Runs like a raped Ape now.

Shot it Head to Head with the Ruger last night. No contest.....Buck Mark by a mile.

You got a good deal on that one Jesse.

Was it dirty when you got it or did you just put that many rounds through it on the first go?

I just scrubbed mine up for the first time. I only shoot it suppressed and it was getting pretty bad but was still without malfunction.



Travis

Was dirty and gummed as [bleep] when I bought it. I can see where someone had a $32 red dot on it. And the former owner had a yellow sticker plastered to the front sight. For sure a Douche.

Sounds like a rescue more than a purchase.



Dave

People with addiction-prone personalities should stay the hale away from Buck Marks, just sayin'.

Either that, or pick up the Silhouette adjustable-overtravel trigger and sear spring. About $15 for the combo, which beats heck out of sending spare organs to Volquartsen for parts to make a Ruger suck less.

There's no need to pull the barrel screw with any frequency, but it is a good idea to remove it once and check the frame surfaces. I've found a machining burr that wasn't properly removed from the aluminum and affected the seating of the barrel. Can't say it affected accuracy, but a bedding defect is a bedding defect.

Check the linkage for smooth edges on all the stamped parts, making sure there are no burrs dragging.

Set the firing pin length. A couple threads on this over on RFC. The tolerances between the slide and firing pin vary, and if the firing pin is too long, it will peen the breech with varying degrees of severity when dry fired. Do it one time, and you're safe until you wear out the firing pin. BMs that will peen the breech generally show a witness mark when taken out of the box for the first time, as they are dry fired for function check at the factory. It's not a sign of abuse at the gun counter.

Loctite the rail screws. Can't tighten them enough to stay tight without it. Make sure you have the conical lock washers in there, as their thickness is required for the screw head geometry to seat properly.

CDNN generally has the best prices on magazines ($20 when they're on sale). They also have Herrett thumb rest grips for cheap. They only fit the standard frame, not the URX or UDX, but they are great if you have big hands.

Can't remember whether this was one or two magazines at 7 yards my last time out. The dot is an inch. I still suck, but might figure it out someday.



Whatever you do, don't get into the historical Challenger models, they will cost you money. And they make Buck Marks seem rough and cobbled together. You'll hate them.

I was going to buy a Ruger but went to the local store and handled the Ruger and the Buckmark. For fit in the hand, I chose the Buckmark. It was pretty cheap too. I shoot Steel Challenge with it and it rips along pretty well. Nothing fancy.
I bought a threaded one and it really did not work well for me with the suppressor. It went away. Go figure.

Academy has a special slightly decontented version they normally sell for $329.99. Like the one above this, but without the FO front sight. A few times a year, it goes on sale for $299.99. If it ever does that while Browning is having a rebate, I'll get one just because. Didn't happen last month, sadly.