It seems many .22 auto pistol platforms are plagued with various problems, pot metal sildes, poor reliability, etc. Adding a suppressor to the mix seems to sometimes magnify those issues.
It seems the Ruger MkII is the best available, but it is not without it’s own quirks (cleaning) but seems to be made from decent steel. Reliability is good, but not perfect. I don’t have one but the Browning Buckmark seems to be a close second, maybe even better than the Ruger?
Is there a product out there that will eat loads of .22 with few problems? My particular Ruger likes to jam up on subsonic .22, particulary troublesome when doing pest control around the compound…
IMO, those are both really solid choices, and very economical choices, if you’re looking at the base model pistols. My preference is biased a bit toward the Buckmark. It’s pretty nice, as is, but can easily be tarted up with goodies from Tactical Solutions. The Ruger is nice as well, but it irks me a bit that changing out the top end means getting another serial #'ed frame assembly. I think the Ruger is built tougher, but I don’t know if it really matters. Either one of these pistols is way better than a Walther P22 or a Sig Mosquito.
I do not recall the member’s name/ handle, but there is at least one Buckmark that was on the board with a suppressor attached. I recall seeing the photos here. He also added a Mini-RDS in place of the rear sight. It was a great looking gun.
I also read that the open chamber area of the Buckmark, lends itself to a more suppressor friendly platform because of the majority of the gas/ unburnt powder/ debris flying out of the gun versus remaining inside.
In addition, after having owned several Ruger Mark variants, I purchased a Browning Buckmark myself. It is a nice little pistol. And as was already pointed-out, with the Ruger the upper receiver (barrel/ bolt assembly) is considered the firearm, whereas with the Browning it is not.
There are many aftermarket accessories for the Buckmark as well, but not quite as many as the Ruger. The Ruger definitely has more accessories in comparison.
Accuracy wise, from my personal experience, the two brands are very comparable. Although, I do really like the much lighter Browning. I also like the grip angle better and it balances well.
Try to find a shooting range with handgun rentals it may be that it suits you better than a Ruger too, but you will not know until trying one-out.
I know many people have used the Browning Buckmark with suppressors successfully for years. Browning has even made a factory Buckmark with a threaded barrel, called the Whisper.
As Seraph has mentioned, Tactical Solutions makes aftermarket threaded barrels for the Buckmark, and they are seperate from the reciever and don’t require an FFL transfer.
I personally am biased toward the Buckmark as it fits my hand better, is accurate, reliable and easy to dissasemble.
One thing I have to add though, is finding the particular Buckmark you want to buy may be difficult. Browning seems to have a 1yr backorder rightnow from when shops place an order to when they have been recieving them. So if you see one you like, get it.
I’ve been dissatisfied with my P22 for some years now, so I’ve been working on a project that is finally nearing completion:
I have a mid-80s-vintage Beretta 92F sporting my old set of LG-302 lasergrips, a Beretta factory .22LR conversion unit, and a Gemtech Outback. I just need to send the conversion upper to Gemtech to have it threaded for a P22 adapter, and I’m good to go.
It’ll be more pricey than either a Ruger or a Browning, but I just love my pizza pistols
You should look at a CZ Kadet. I have one and it eats everything and runs well with my SWR Spectre. You will need to get it threaded though. Or you might be able to find one already threaded on Gunbroker.
I sold my Ruger 22/45 for a Buckmark last year for the reasons folks listed. The shop I purchased my Ruger from threaded the bbl on mine so I didn’t have to deal with the TacSol to FFL stuff … but in the end I did want lighter weight and wanted the TacSol upper but didn’t want to deal with the hassle. I sold the Ruger and purchased a nice Buckmark with the molded grip. It felt incredible out of the box, much better grip angle for me too. I bought a TacSol TB for it and haven’t looked back. Heck, I was always afraid to break down the Ruger too. Afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it back together. I’ve known too many knowledgeable folks that had trouble. No thanks. Browning is easy.
EDIT: Both were/are great guns. Run like champs with negligible difference in accuracy.
