I need advice on a potential 22 purchase, please?
I am in the process of purchasing a new .22 that I want to use for target shooting. For the first time I'm going to include on the list a scope.
My first choice is the Browning Buckmark Contour followed closely by their standard target pistol. I have been lead to believe that when a detailed strip of the pistol occurs the ramp the scope resides on must be removed for the cleaning. This would mean every time it would have to be re-set when reassembled.
My beginner question is if I purchase a browning with this set-up will I have to re-sight the scope every time I do a detailed strip and cleaning of the pistol?
That doesn't sound like such a good idea if the sighting in should be done by a gunsmith in the first place,right?
I originally was leaning toward an S&W 22A with the long barrel but feedback from the forum made it questionable if it could compare with the Browning and generally speaking that is good enough for me.
But I'm beginning to wonder if the S&W with a trip to the gunsmith (to generally tweak it out) since the construction is different without having to deal with this resighting problem (if it exists) might in the long run be a better choice.
Your thoughts, observations and guidance gratefully accepted.
Regards,
My first choice is the Browning Buckmark Contour followed closely by their standard target pistol. I have been lead to believe that when a detailed strip of the pistol occurs the ramp the scope resides on must be removed for the cleaning. This would mean every time it would have to be re-set when reassembled.
My beginner question is if I purchase a browning with this set-up will I have to re-sight the scope every time I do a detailed strip and cleaning of the pistol?
That doesn't sound like such a good idea if the sighting in should be done by a gunsmith in the first place,right?
I originally was leaning toward an S&W 22A with the long barrel but feedback from the forum made it questionable if it could compare with the Browning and generally speaking that is good enough for me.
But I'm beginning to wonder if the S&W with a trip to the gunsmith (to generally tweak it out) since the construction is different without having to deal with this resighting problem (if it exists) might in the long run be a better choice.
Your thoughts, observations and guidance gratefully accepted.
Regards,
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You have been misinformed. It is NOT necessary to resight your pistol after cleaning. It is also NOT advisable to disassemble the pistol further than advised in the owner's manual. Also, no benefit will be derived from doing so.
Your scope will be mounted on a "rail" attached to the barrel, and is not removed for normal maintenance.
Prior to retirement, I was the Chief Firearms Technician at Browning Arms for many years. I also own 4 Buckmarks myself in various configuations.
Hope this helps.0 -
I don't have any first hand knowledge of the Browning, but I have a Ruger Mark II Bull Barrel" target that will shoot right with anything else I've run across. Disassembly would not require removal of a scope. 0 -
I don't know if you have any experience shooting pistols with a optical device? I have found that the weight and bulk of the device has a negative affect on my shooting off hand, i.e. without a rest of some sort. When you start off with a heavy long barreled target sighted pistol and add a heavy scope or red dot sight, it becomes a chore to fire even a full mag accurately off hand. You might consider a Burris they make a open configuration type red dot sight that is much lighter then scopes or scope type red dot sights. 0 -
Never having done it, I'll defer to others on how to strip a Buckmark.
But no, you should NOT need a gunsmith to sight in an optical type sight on your pistol! (In fact, you shouldn't need a gunsmith to install the sight either).
If by "target shooting" you mean serious bullseye type competitive pistol, the Buckmark is clearly the better gun here, though I think there are even better ones out there for that purpose. In general, like most everything else, you get what you pay for, so if you want a better gun, you'll be looking at more money.
Smith 22a, bluntly, isn't as good a pistol as the Buckmark, but it does have a few advantages: Its a good bit cheaper, its easier to strip and clean (though maybe that's not such a big advantage, since you shouldn't be doing this all too often), and has a sight rail built into the top of the gun, making it really easy to put an optical or dot sight anywhere you like along the top.
Probably the biggest advantage of the 22a is that the entire barrel and sight assembly come off in one piece in a few seconds. So if you like, you have have one barrel with standard iron sights, and a second one with a scope mounted, then switch them in a matter of seconds without tools and without losing your zero on either one. New barrel/sight upper can be had from Smith and Wesson for about $100, which is pretty cheap for this sort of thing.
Edit: Buckmark is probably every bit as accurate as a High Standard, but in my limited experience, the trigger isn't quite as good, nor is the grip (though that's a bit subjective). If you're looking for a budget bullseye gun, I'd agree the Buckmark is a good way to go, a lot better than the 22a.
My experience with my High Standard Citation (see below) is that after a couple hundred rounds it will start to occasionally misfeed (gun won't always snap back into battery). Problem is fixed with about 3-5 seconds wiping out the chamber and feed area with a Q-tip soaked in CLP, then a dry one. After that, I'm good to go for another couple hundred rounds.
In practice, since I rarely fire that many rounds at once any more, I'll just wipe the thing down when done shooting, preventing any problems.
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If you are going to be target shooting, as in NRA bullseye, you will clean the gun only after it starts to malfunction. I cleaned my High Standard, Victor and Citation about once every season or after 2,000 rounds or so.
The Colt Gold cups were the same; they too got cleaned once in a blue moon or if they started to malfunction or about every 1,000 rounds.
As long as you have proper lube in the proper places you will cause more wear by cleaning than you will by shooting.0 -
My Buckmark is every bit as accurate as the Citation was. I took the barrel off and cleaned it after about 8,000 rounds. Other than that it was just wiped down with a gun oil rag and stored for the next session. 0 -
Try www.rimfirecentral.com for more information than you could ever want regarding different rimfire pistols and rifles. They have sections for each manufacturer. They also have a forum just dedicated to rimfire guns. 0 -
I have been shooting NRA bulls-eye for 40 years and the target Buckmark is a very good choice as a beginning target pistol. IMHO for a pistol it is MUCH easier to pull down to clean and then put back together then the Ruger. The Buckmark also has a grip angle close to many bigger bore target pistols. The red dot scope type only weigh a few ounces and Used by a 10 to one rate over the open type red dot. The scope type work better if it rains and much easier to change Zero from 50 yards to 25 yards and back again. If possible find a gun club that has a bulls eye program and go meet some shooter they will most likely offer to let you try their pistol . This is the best way to find YOUR right choice. 0
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