[Jack19]

Help me decide....

Must be reliable, assume all have 5 to 5.5 inch barrels, must be accurate.

Which is best for plinking inside, roughly 50 yards.

[Soap]

P22- You said reliable...these are hit or miss in that area. Grip is tiny...and I have small hands.

Buckmark- As anyone who reads anything I ever say about the Buckmark knows, I don't like them. Simply for the fact that the sight rail is what holds the gun together, which becomes loose frequently unless you use Loctite. The triggers are generally better than a stock Ruger.

22/45- Great gun for the money. Works good, built well, accurate for plinking, 1911 controls, decent enough trigger.

Out of all of them I would go for the 22/45.

[Ikari]

Buckmark is that I'm gonna be picking up this summer, so it gets my vote.

[Dorrin79]

is there a reason you didn't list the MKII as a choice? I prefer it to the 22/45, although I've heard their performance in terms of reliability and accuracy is comparable.

[Croyance]

Not to discount the experience of others, but the sight rail on my Buckmark has never come loose, and I have done nothing special to it.
It has always field stripped easily, and is easy to reassemble.

[firestar]

Even though I won't buy one, I think the Buckmark is better for plinking. I have a 22/45 and a MKII and either of them will blow away the Buckmark at the bench but my brother's Buckmark is great for me offhand. I can hit just as well with less concentration with Buckmark as with the Rugers. Maybe it just fits my hand better or the trigger or the sights are better. The Walther is a joke! I haven't seen a good one yet, they jam and there ain't no way they will outshoot either a 22/45 or a Buckmark.

My brother's Buckmark does come loose but the pin on the rear sight on the 22/45 drifts also. BTW, the MKII and the 22/45 are equel in accuracy.

[firestar]

The Buckmark is somehow funner to shoot offhand but the mags are more expensive and there are fewer after market do-dads for it. You can really customize a Ruger with aftermarket parts.

[Zenon]

I replaced my P22 with a Buckmark :p . I was tired of sending it back to Walther beacuse the safety would flip on and off when shooting. :cuss:

Of course there was the shell casings hitting me in the face, the jamming and the unburned, hot powder spraying me too, but I understand they ALL do that! :fire:

Like a good German manufacturer, they say it is PERFECT... So were some self-propelled Audis a few years ago- it was the the drivers who were incompetent - the car was perfect. :evil:

[Bowlcut]

Well Darrin has a p22 and ive shot it a few times. Its very sensative to ammo and load of ammo. Its a very very fun gun to shoot tho. Looks cool, feels good, and does well enough. For accuracy I wouldnt really say much good or bad. He shot a tighter group than a friends 22/45 but thats two different people.

For accuracy and reliablity Id go with a 22/45 or mkII type pistol. Its pretty accurate out of the box, but put a reddot on it and you got a fun accurate plinker. Pretty good at target shooting too, very good Id say.

If it was me, and Im thinking about the same thing right now, Id probaly buy the 22/45. It just isnt as picky as the p22, shoots better. Hard to clean tho...and well...just doesnt look as cool

[tbotts]

I have a P22 and a Buckmark. They are both accurate, reliable, and fun to shoot. I have a reddot scope on the Buckmark and use it sometimes for smallgame hunting. The P22 does fit my hand better which is why I chose it in the poll.

[cratz2]

Voted for the 22/45. Had the MKII been an option, I'd have picked that. I think that the 5.5" bull barrel MKII is the choice target pistol on a reasonable budget. I've been shooting 1911s for... well, pretty much ever and I still prefer the MKII to the 22/45.

The Buckmarks are nice, know a gal that uses the silhouette model for said shooting and other than some polishing, the gun is completely stock. I have experience with the heavy barrel model with plastic grips and the one with a bit longer (not 12") and heavier fluted barrel, whatever that model is called. Both are decent, solid guns but the Ruger still gets my vote.

The P22 is a bit of a joke. For a very informal plinker, it's fine but it's not on par in any way with the others mentioned.

If you have a 1911, have you considered a conversion unit? The Marvel is... well... Marvelous. Bullseye accurate, excellent sights, comfey, and all the controls are in exactly the right place. ;) If you have a nice tweaked 1911, you can't beat it.

http://photos.imageevent.com/cratz2/guns//DCP_2440a.jpg

[9x19]

I prefer the BuckMarks, and own four.

None have the problem of the sight rail coming loose. {shrug} I wonder if the star washers are missing on the other one mentioned as having that problem?

[Handy]

I'd go along with the Marvel advice. The thing is amazing.

I don't think you could really choose wrong between the Buckmark and Ruger. The Ruger is more solid, the Buckmark has a better trigger. Both accurate and reliable. When my brother and I chose our first firearm, it came down to those two and we went Ruger.

Don't reward Walther for producing something as contemtible as the P22. If you want a compact DA .22, find an old PP, or a FEG or Bersa clone of the same.

[surfinUSA]

The Buckmark and Ruger are both outstanding and very common. You should have a fairly easy time of finding one to try before you buy. Those of us that have one but not the other usually know someone that does. You probably do to, ask around.

[9x19]

Just an addendum.

I also have the Walther P22 in the 3.4 bbl version and have been utterly pleased with its performance and accuracy.

Will it out-shoot my Browning BuckMark Target? Of course not, but it doesn't pretend it can. What it can do is be alot more comfortable to carry around, than even my Buckmark Micro! :D

[HadEmAll]

I have a Buckmark and like it considerably, but the rear sight rail mount screw does tend to loosen, even with the star washer in place. I just bought a bottle of locktite, and am going to see if that cures the problem. Other than that, it's great.

[rugerfreak]

Don't waste your money on a BuckGARBAGE---I've had 2 of the worthless pieces of crap---you couldn't even give a free one now.

Other Browning guns are good---but the Buckmarks are just sorry excuses and a waste of aluminum--plastic and steel---and are not worthy of consideration.

[9x19]

Oooohhh!

Well, I'll run out back and throw all four of mine into the pond right now!!! :what:

Wait a minute! That's probably just what a rugerfreak would want us to do.... sneaky! :scrutiny:

Just for that, I'm gonna keep shooting mine and writing about how wonderful they are! :neener:

That'll vex him! :fire:

[TheMariner]

P22, unless you have real big hands... then, when you get more ca$h, get a P99..
:)

It is a great training tool for DA/SA weapons, especially the P99 and similar weps.

It is NOT a serious target weapon in anything but trained hands. I know very few people who can shoot well with it... a former Russian pistol champion, Igor Zalatov, who coaches our pistol team was able to squeeze out a 1/2" group at 50 or so feet with my 5" P22.

[mikewilczynski]

I have a p22 and like it a lot. It will jam with cheap ammo. Mine works fine with CCI minimags. After several hundered rounds over the last few sessions it did jam today, once. It is not a serious target gun. But it is damn fun to shoot. In my opinion it is not in the same catagory as the other two, therefore my advice is to buy the p22 and one of the others.

[BamBam-31]

Don't forget you can improve the trigger on the 22/45 with Volquarsen parts. I did, and my trigger's pretty sweet. Dunno about availability or quality of aftermarket parts for the other two, but Volquartsen is good stuff. :)

[denfoote]

Ruger Ruger Ruger!!!
Did I say Ruger three times??
I guess I did!! I have three of them!! :D
22/45 P4 MKII :cool:

[Mellow_c]

I Just bought my Standard Stainless Steal Browning Buckmark yesterday. The Gun has a wonderfull ballance. The Safty, mag release, and slide switches all seam to be reliable and Easy to opperate! I love the look of the gun. It comes with a hard plastic case wich holds your gun, your manual, and an extra clip (wich you must buy seperatly for $30 after shiping, ebay) Mine was $309 after Tax from Sportsmans Warehouse in Colorado. I have heard nothing but good things about the browning, other than the top screws comming lose, witch can be fixed with a tinny dab of non perminant lock tight. I love that the slide stays open on your last shot, so you can put in a new clip, release the slide, and your ready to keep shooting. CCI minni Mags are probably the best and smothest to use in any semi auto .22, for the whole life of the gun. problems can arise if you use CCI stingers.(the cartrages dont have the same dimentions as standard LR.22) My Grandpa has a really old Ruger .22, it's alot of fun, a little more difficult to operate, and some would say it looks better than the browning. But both the ruger and browning come in enough different styles that you can surly find one you like. My heart lies with the browning! This is a great link to a comparison of the Browning vs Ruger http://carnival.saysuncle.com/001297.html

[Eightball]

ATTACK OF THE ZOMBIE THREAD!

Though, for the sake of it, I would have also picked the MkII

[Baphomet]

If you want a .22 you can just play with and be reasonably happy with right out of the box, the Buckmark is okay. Nothing wrong with it in my book. I've owned them, shot them. They're fine pistols.

If you want a Pistol that's all that AND highly customizable, as in "has its own cult-like following", you're better off with the Ruger MKII/III series. The BM trigger is pretty good out of the box, the Ruger's trigger is not so good right out of the box. However, I've had gunsmiths that flat out refused to do ANYthing to the BM trigger. Period. With $20-$100 in after-market parts, and depending on just how good a 'pull you want, you can get a 'pull on an MK trigger that the BM can't even dream of approaching. I should know, I have just such a MKII: #2 pull, 1/32" of pretravel (for shot prep) and zero overtravel. Accuracy-wise, I could put 5 shots into 1/2" at 25 yards using CCI Mini Mag HP's using the factory slab-sided barrel; with the Volquartsen upper, I tear single, ragged holes at that range with the same ammo.

Summation:
If you want to open the box, shoot and be done with it, most likely you'll be quite happy with the BM. Just be sure you're happy with exactly what you have from the get-go, because future options will be limited.

If you want to open the box, shoot AND have a dizzying array of upgrade options (grips, sights, barrels, you name it) get the Ruger MKII/III. Going from stock to "racegun", even in a .22 can be a lot of fun:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Baphomet/RugerMKII3.jpg

Baphomet,
Hight Priest and sole member of the Church of the MKII

[kbheiner7]

I've had a Buckmark for several months now and really like it. It does prefer quality ammo, but it's a shooter. I plugged a few rabbits last weekend at 65-75 yards.

My buddy has the Ruger and it is a great gun.

[alucard0822]

Depends on what you want to do with the .22, if you want a fine 22 to modify and amaze yourself with accuracy it's the mk II or 22/45, if you want one that shoots well out of the box and good for occasional target work the buckmark is ideal, but if accuracy beyond a couple inches at 25' and perfect reliability are 2nd to looks or fire control training for a larger caliber auto the p-22 is loads of fun, my personal favorite, but getting hard to find is the stoeger luger, 1" at 25 ft, few jams and cool factor.http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=50607&stc=1&d=1168048080

[Nematocyst]

<Subscribed to thread>

Baphomet, what scope is that on the MKIII, please?
_________

In the last few days, I've been introduced to the world of .22 pistols
by several evil people :evil: trying to deplete my bank account. :uhoh:

OK, I got the fever. Now, what to do about it.

This one for me is going to be a "go to" pistol for small game hunting, one that can be carried in the backpack along with a Marlin 336 in .30-30 for ... let's just call it extended treks in the woods where obtaining food could be necessary, and for which I only want to carry one rifle (the 336, so the .22 pistol will fill the need for that small caliber game getter).

I've only spent about, say, 10 hours so far reading reviews, handling guns at the gunstore, etc, but so far, the top contenders on my list are some Browning Buck Mark (I like the hunter, cause I want the option of scoping for those 40 yd shots), and the Ruger MKIII Hunter (same issues).

(I confess that after reading this thread, and several others: 1) the P22 is not on the list; 2) I have some concerns about the Browning due to too many reports of A) loose screws; B) FTE after large numbers of rnds. Although I've heard some concerns about a difficult assembly/reassembly procedure with the MKII/III, I believe that after the first time of getting it right, that becomes less of an issue, and overall, it appears to be a nonissue. I like the MKII/III better than the 22/45; it feels better to me in terms of grip and balance.)

So, I have subscribed to this thread to follow the discussion.

Nem

[Shipwreck]

I'm not 100% sure, but I read somewhere that Sig and Walther don't actually make those 22s themselves (the Sig Mosquito and Walther P22) but contract out to some other company. The slides are made of zinc, I believe, as well.

I'd get the Ruger 22/45. I've looked at many 22s for years, and that's what I have decided to buy.

[James NM]

Why are we giving advise on a "What to buy thread that's nearly 4 years old?:what: I'll bet even the OP would be a little suprised.

[<SLV>]

OK... I've got to bust this theory that the Buckmark is not tunable.

For starters, read this thread at Rimfire Central for instructions on a SIMPLE modification to drop the trigger pull to @ 40 ounces instantly with no parts required: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174356

For great barrels check here: http://www.tacticalsol.com/traillites.htm

You can also order the Silhouette/Target adjustable trigger w/stop screw for $9 + $6.50 directly from Browning.

How about some Nills grips? http://www.nill-griffe.com/

I know there might be more available for the Rugers, but maybe the Browning just doesn't need as much tuning.

[FieroCDSP]

For BOB's sake!!! Lock and kill this aging thread!!!

[Blarelli]

22/45 all the way. Just make sure it is a MK II, not a MK III.