mark III 22/45 vs. buckmark

[JImbothefiveth]

What are the pros and cons of each? Trigger, reliability, will they work with a wide range of ammo, warranty? Other concerns?I used to be set on the 22/45, but then I discovered that "safe to dry-fire" really means "safe to dry fire in limited quantities".

I'd probably get the stainless camper buckmark or the stainless bull bbl 22/45 Will either one not balance well? I've held the 22/45, but not this version.

 

[gb6491]

I have a MKII 22/45 and a BM Plus stainless UDX. I am not aware of any problems with dry firing the 22/45 (as long as the firing pin stop is properly installed).
In regards to the other areas:
Trigger: out of the box, I give the nod to the Buck Mark. The Ruger can be improved by drop in parts or action work. There is a procedure to make the BM even better, but some like it and some don't (search "flip" on the Browning forum at Rimfire Central).
Reliability; Excellent with both over a wide variety of ammo. I do recommend putting a Volqartsen or Power custom sear in the Ruger (about $10). The BM needs to have the screws tight on the sight base for proper function. If you remove them to clean the gun, apply some Loctite to them when reinstalling. I don't, but I carry an allen wrench in my range bag; the rear screw works loose enough to cause problem in approx 200-250 rounds.
Speaking of the sight base, it's plastic on the Camper models and been known to break.
Rugers come drilled and tapped for an optical mount (I believe it's supplied with the MKIIIs). You need to buy a scope mount sight base for the BM.
I 'm fond of both pistols. A good friend and I have some friendly competition every now and again; the BM is my money gun.


regards,
Greg

 

[Pilot]

I have three Ruger MK II's of which one is a four inch bull barrel 22/45, and I've had them for many years. They are all excellent and reliable shooters. My 5.5 inch bull barrel target model is the most accurate, especially because of the Volquartsen trigger. Recently, I shot a friends Buckmark Plus with the flourescent front site. Wow! Great balance with 5.5 inch squared barrel like the newer UDX and very accurate and reliable. I am sold. I think it balances better than the Ruger and has a better out of the box trigger, although the Ruger's are easily remedied with Volquartsen, Clark or Power Custom parts.

Its really almost a coin toss and which one feels better to you.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I am not aware of any problems with dry firing the 22/45 (as long as the firing pin stop is properly installed).

The problem is that I tend to do so excessively. I'm a target shooter with a low budget, who can't get to the range very often. I can get in over 10,000 dry-fires in about 6 months. (That's only about 55 "shots" a day.) I actually broke a different ruger that was also supposed to be safe to dry-fire. (Always use snap caps!) It wasn't too bad, maybe $15 or less worth of components to repair it. But, my current method is to dry fire once on to a snap cap, then leave everything in the fired position. (This won't give a realistic trigger pull, but it's better than nothing.) This means whether or not it's safe to dry-fire won't mean too much to me.

Darn that's rambling.

I think it balances better than the Ruger and has a better out of the box trigger, although the Ruger's are easily remedied with Volquartsen, Clark or Power Custom parts.

Is the ruger with Volqaurtzen trigger any better or worse than the buckmark, or will this just depend on the individual gun?

 

[Pilot]

Is the ruger with Volqaurtzen trigger any better or worse than the buckmark, or will this just depend on the individual gun?

The nice thing about the Ruger with the Volquartsen trigger is that you can adjust it to what you want. It has pretravel and overtravel screws, plus with the VQ sear, you can get it nice and light with a very crisp break.

 

[benzy2]

I have both, though neither in SS. I can't say much one way or another. I'm not sure which I would buy if I were to buy again. I can't tell a difference in accuracy between them. Both are pretty reliable though if given the worst of the worst ammo the BM hiccups ever so slightly more often. I do like that if I want to switch barrels the BM doesn't need to have another registered receiver bought. Buy whatever feels better to you or looks better in hand is my suggestion. Both are quality and fun.

 

[Hanafuda]

JImbothefiveth,

55 dry fires a night? Can't get to a range very often? If you've got the bullseye bug that bad, and if you've got the space and a safe environment for it, maybe you should get a nice air pistol and a pellet trap and set up your own little indoor range in the basement or hallway. I did that when I was single, did wonders for me. A Beeman P3 isn't 'cheap,' but it's worth the price. It's a quality target gun, not pot metal junk, and under $200. The really high end airguns that use mini scuba tanks and what-not are also worth it to some people, but I'd rather buy real guns once the price goes over $200.

Anyway, dryfires are nice practice, but actually shooting is better, even if its little .177 pellets. A 1/4" CTC group at 10m feels good no matter what gun you used.


And between the two you suggested, Ruger. But save a few more dollars and get the steel framed version. The weight and balance of the steel frame is better for bullseye, IMHO. If you're gonna use an optic sight, the 5.5" bull barrel is all you need. If you want to shoot iron sights, then the models with a 6 and 7/8" barrel give you a longer sight radius.