Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Which Semi-Auto Pistol?

Looking at getting a .22 LR semi-auto pistol. Has to be s/s. For plinking, small game and camp varmints.

Looking at these three:

* Browning Buck Mark Plus
* Ruger MK IV
* S&W SW22

Any recommendation.? The Ruger is the most expensive and I've shot these before.

I know which way I lean.....

This is a fun Gun. The wife enjoys it as much as I do.

I like the Rugers...

I bought the Victory just before the Mk IV came out. Have it tricked out like Don’s, save for the can and fancy handles. Great pistol thus far. The Ruger would probably suit me as well, but IIRC it’s a good bit spendier, even with the extra parts on the Smith.

I'd buy an older MK2.

While not in the same league as your choices, I’ve had a lot of enjoyment from my Glock 44.

I have 2 Rugers, a MKII and a MKIV Hunter. I love them both.

I prefer my Rugers but honestly all 3 mentioned are good guns. Have you handled all 3? I'd go that route first see which feels best .

I've had a Ruger since the 60 s.

S&W 2206.

Ruger mark II is me favorite. I also have a Mark III but the Mark II is better. I have heard some bad issues with the Mark IV. We have several people in our gun club with the S&W Victory, some have dependability problems. Brownings can be very finicky also.

I have had Rugers. I have a Buckmark now. I like it better.

ruger slab side

MuskegMan: I own and shoot all of the three pistols you are interested in and, by a couple of whiskers, I would recommend the stainless Ruger MK-IV Hunter with 5 1/2" barrel or the Ruger MK-IV Target with 5 1/2" barrel.
I have red dot sights on my MK-IV Hunter and my MK-IV Target and their accuracy and function afield leaves NOTHING to be desired!
Best of luck to you with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It looks like you put on a flat trigger - what possessed you to do that?

Muskegman,

Don's trigger looks to be a TK trigger... can't speak for the S&W model, but the Ruger version is adjustable for pre & post travel. And I prefer the flat trigger.

I've been carrying one of the Ruger Marks for the last forty years. I agree the Mark 2 is better than the Mark 3, But I'm a fan of the Mark 4... due to the easy take-down and the ambidextrous safety (I shoot left handed, so there's a good reason for the bias).


My son, daughter and I all have Ruger Mark IV's, the only problem is the factory trigger IMO sucks, just checked them all tonight and my daughter's which is factory, is 4 1/2 pounds. I put VQ trigger kits in my son's and mine, which gives it a 2 1/2 pound trigger pull... but you're talking another ~$120 for the kit.

I believe Don has all three(?), if so maybe he'll expound on why he thinks the S&W victory is the best of the lot.

Jerry

I said Victory because MM said it had to be SS. I prefer the Buckmark, of his choices, but the UDX don't have many options in stainless. Not a fan of the rugers even tho they're good stuff.

Have only handled the S&W and shot a friend's at the range a little bit, it's a good pistol with a decent trigger but a bit heavy.

The Mark IV Rugers are getting a reputation for crappy triggers. Mine was horrible - heavy, long and gritty. It needed a Volquartsen accurizing kit to clean it up which added a hundred bucks or more to the price, but now that the trigger is good it's a great pistol; reliable, accurate and easy to clean. As a plus, if you ever wanted to get a different model you can find different uppers for sale at a lot lower price than a new pistol and switch back and forth in a few seconds.

Had a total of one Buck Mark but can't find anything negative to say about it - it was accurate and had a good trigger. It never had reliability issues but it was only fed good CCI ammo, no bulk junk, and again, sample of one.

As much as I like my Rugers the Browning will probably check the most boxes right out of the box.

I would slap a Marvel unit 1 on the 1911 that you already have and call it a day. Taylor tactical for mag followers to give you 15 round mags.