ISO a nice .22 pistol. Ruger .22 or Browning Buckmark?

T

twoblink

New member
Yep, need a gun that I can learn good shooting habits on, and one that my gf can handle. So I'm looking at the Ruger .22's with the bull barrel, or a Browning buckmark. I hear nightmares about the Ruger .22's in terms of cleaning... Both seem to be great guns, any suggestions? Personal stories?

Albert
 
I love my Ruger. Once you master the reassembly operation, which involves tilting the gun on it's back while you compress a spring on the backstrap, cleaning is really a breeze with a toothbrush, q-tips, patches, some bamboo barbeque skewers and your favorite cleaner. I recommend a stainless model.

You will hear lots of opinions either way and this one's mine. Good shooting.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by twoblink:
Yep, need a gun that I can learn good shooting habits on, and one that my gf can handle. So I'm looking at the Ruger .22's with the bull barrel, or a Browning buckmark. I hear nightmares about the Ruger .22's in terms of cleaning... Both seem to be great guns, any suggestions? Personal stories?

Albert[/quote]

I use a blued Ruger 22/45 with a 4.5" bull barrel, its very accurate and well balanced in the hand, costed me about $205 new. Rugers aren't hard to put back together once you learn how to. Its tricky at first I must admit.
Robb
 
I had a Mk II that was a sweet shooter. Wish I hadn't sold it. :(

Buckmarks are, IMNSHO, easier to strip and reassemble, but the Mk II can be mastered with practice. Getting that hammer strut into the little divot... sheesh.
 
I have some recommendations.

If you are planning to put a scope on it like i did mine (simmons holo-scope) get the slabside target model MKII. Its pre-drilled for easy scope mounting and its grips can be changed. With the 22/45 polymer model (the model i bought) the grips are not changeable and you have to buy all kinds of stuff to mount a scope on it. If I would have known that when i bought it, i would have spent the extra money and got the target model. Also, with the 22/45 polymer, hi cap magazines are not available and will not be available. Dont get me wrong, I love my 22/45 but the older series MKII has alot more options than the newer 22/45. Both models have a ton of options available for both (trigger mods,slide extenders,barrels,compensators,etc.) by diffrent manufacturers. If you dont plan on doing any modifications either choice is a good one. Cleaning is not a problem once u get the process down. I shoot mine more than any other gun i own. Its cheap, fun and can be even more fun if you compete with it. I dont know how much you planned on spending, but i got mine for $220. Ive seen them cheaper in diffrent states but not locally(im in balto MD) If you have any questions please feel free to email me. I have several resources for parts,supplies mods etc. Good luck !


Tim :)

------------------
Why dont you get rid of that nickel plated sissy pistol and get yourself a glock. :::Tommy Lee Jones:::
 
The Ruger 22/45 is a keeper. had one and loved it. Not too hard to clean.

But I'm eyeing a .22 conversion kit for the Glocks made by Advantage Arms out of California. Great workmanship and only $250 and I get factory sights, etc. If you've got a G17/19, something to consider.

Ciener's kits look terible on the Glock with target sights.

------------------
The Seattle SharpShooter
 
I've shot the Colt .22, the Ruger .22 MKII (never shot the 22/45), the Browning Buckmark, and the S&W 22S. Quite frankly, they are all good guns and shoot very similarly. You can't really go with any of them.

I bought the S&W only because of the cosmetics, the way it felt in my hand, the magazine release, and the ease of mounting a scope (it already had the mount; I added a ProPoint 3). I've been very happy with it. Cost me about 250, plus another 80 for the scope.
 
I have a Ruger Mark II and a Ruger 22/45. My wife has a Buckmatk Micro, and I have a Buckmark Camper.
The Rugers eject spent cases at an upward angle, allowing them to bounce off the side of the wall that seperates the lanes at the range. The Buckmarks throw the cases at a lower angle.

What possible difference does this make??????

I let my wife shoot my 22/45. Branded boobie bought sums it up.

She sticks with her Buckmark, wears a cap to deflect any wayward spent brass, and usually a high collar top. I noticed you want something your GF can shoot also, and figured it was worth mentioning.

[This message has been edited by RAE (edited May 15, 2000).]
 
RAE, my gf the first time shooting the Ruger 22, brass fell down the bra and she got a "branded boobie" as well. So I know ALL about it!

Looks like both are good guns.

We'll see what deals are available at the gun store.

Albert
 
i've shot both and was in your position about a month ago. i decided to go with the buckmark because it felt a lot better in my hands, didn't hear any horror stories about dissembling it, and liked the controls on it a little better. my girlfriend loves it and so do i. i also think it looks better than the ruger.
 
Not directly on topic, but is there a Browning - FN - Clinton money for 'smart gun' connection? A local dealer in my area refuses to sell Brownings because of who owns the company (but sells S&W; go figure).

------------------
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein
 
Personal opinion, I like the buckmark, I've got one, and I've shot the heck out of it. I shoot it twice as much as all of my other guns together. It is accurate, and fun.

Disassembly is easier, but be carefull that you don't damage the allen screws on top. Also if you don't tighten it up enough, the top will loosen under recoil, and you will start to get light primer strikes. That is the only problem that I have ever had with mine. But once you figure out how much to tighten it, no problem.
 
My wife gave me a Ruger MKII three weeks ago as a birthday gift. I love it!

At the range two weeks ago, a shell casing went down MY shirt and burned me.

Last week, a casing went down my wife's blouse and got trapped. Ditto. Another round descended from on high and dropped between my glasses and my face. Special.

We'll be wearing T-shirts and hats from now on.
 
I'd say go with the Buckmark. Ruger sold us out with his support of the 1994 AWB (and other travesties) so IMHO he doesn't deserve any of my money.

I have a Ruger 22/45 which I bought before I found out about Billy Ruger's treachery -- it's a nice gun, don't get me wrong. I just have serious problems with the company who makes it. The only problem I've had with it is that the front sight keeps shooting itself loose. A bit of Loctite should fix that pronto.

No idea of a smart gun connection with Browning. But the Browning Buckmark, from all reports, is a nice little gun. I know my next .22 LR handgun will be a Browning Buckmark, as there will be no more new Rugers, Colts or S&Ws for me.

Justin

------------------
Justin T. Huang, Esq.
late of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
 
Seems like branded boobies are a common thing with the Rugers. There's a sale at BnB for the Buckmark... hmmm, if I can make it down there this week, that might be it.

Note to self, Rugers aren't boobie friendly...

The great thing is that with .22's they are so inherently accurate it's usually not an issue with any gun.

Albert
 
I shot my Buckmark last night and also swapped with a neighbor for a Ruger Mk2 hull barrel 5". Both shot about the same, Ruger had black sights (more contrasty than dark gray) and less recoil and muzzle flip (it was also much heavier, an issue if you teach kids). Buckmark was much easier to maintain, lighter, better trigger (IMO). We both shot about equally well with both guns. Buckmark is also a good deal cheaper ($240 with two mags vs. $360 with two mags locally). Mk2 is supposed to be more tolerant of cheap ammo, but my Buckmark has digested everything I fed is thus far, incl. some pretty dirty loads.
 
I own a Buckmark Standard Plus and my son in law has a 22/45, so I can say I have experience with both.

It seems to me the Browning is more accurate, has less misfeed problems, and handles better.

Yes the field strip for the Ruger is a bear, he still hasn't the hang of it. The Browning is very easy to work on.

Having shot both over the past six months I feel strongly that the Buckmark is the one to go with.
 
I've got two things to say:
First, boycotting the gun companies that are pissing us off is stupid.
What? You want them to go out of business as some sort of punishment for lousy politics?
That's exactly what Klinton wants!
Yes, there are a few companies that haven't "sold out" but they are the smaller companies, often foriegn, and with questionable quality and/or customer service.

S&W, Colt's, Ruger & possibly Browning have all done shameful things with the gov't.
They are also this countries largest, and best, makers of handguns.
It's no surprise that the gov't is going after them, instead of Lorcin, HiPoint, Jennings, Rossi......

As a huge fan of S&W, I'm probably more upset by the past months' happenings than many of you here, but I'm not going to help Klinton put them out of business by strangling them financially.
If I see a new S&W that I want, I'll buy it and I won't feel bad.


Okay, second thing: My gunsmith says he gets at least 5 Buckmarks in per month for repair. Most often, it's a broken firing pin or light hits causing misfires. Usually about $30 to fix.
He also says that the only time he sees Ruger .22's is for drilling & tapping, sight replacement, and other "light customizations" rather than repair work.

So, it sounds like the Buckmarks may have a few problems, but nothing too expensive.
And, the Ruger's seldom have problems.
Another thing is that there are many, many more aftermarket accessories and grips available for the Ruger.
I think they are both good guns, and Ruger is a bit better.
But, if the Buckmark balances well for you, or fits the hand better than the Ruger, than you probably should buy that one and just keep in mind that you may need to bring it to the doctor in a while if it starts acting 'sick'.

Just my $.02, -Kframe
 
As I've said before, it's your choice to boycott or not. Nobody's twisting your arm. Hell, there are 60 million gun owners and only 3-4 million are in the NRA (not counting GOA, etc.) -- apathy is par for the course these days when it comes to gun owners, it seems.

Klinton wants them to go out of business? So do I! My feverent hope that S&W and Colt and all the other traitors do go out of business, due to a boycott by firearms owners. It will be a testament to the clout of the American gun owner -- try to sell us out and we will BURY you.

I say again, appeasement doesn't work. History has taught us that numerous times. Need I bring up Neville Chamberlain again? Bill Ruger pushes for a 15 round limit, he gets a 10 round limit. S&W settles with HUD, Philadelphia and Newark sue S&W. Those who do not remember the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them.

I'm sure the original poster didn't expect this detour from his/her original thread, so to save bandwidth, feel free to e-mail me (jthuang@rssm.com).

Justin


------------------
Justin T. Huang, Esq.
late of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania


[This message has been edited by jthuang (edited May 16, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by jthuang (edited May 16, 2000).]
 
I've been happy with my MKII. My advice is to take the time to try both guns and buy the one that best fits you. Every shooter is different and what is great for one shooter may not be the best selection for another. Consider buying used as some great deals can be found.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top