When I decided to buy a new .22lr pistol, I knew exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something well-built with a decent sight radius that would eat range ammo all day long. A .22 pistol that’s like a Leatherman multi tool, good for just about every job. Self-defense (yes), practicing shooting fundamentals, target work, plinking or helping a new shooter get started. The obvious choice: a Ruger 22/45.
The Ruger 22/45 is almost universally praised as a nicely designed, heirloom-quality gun. Sure, the magazine disconnect thing is a PITA. And the Ruger will never win any awards for ease of take-down. But those were compromises I was willing to make to save some ammo coinage while sending a lot of lead downrange.
But a funny thing happened after leaving the forum. When I picked a 22/45 up it felt wrong in my hand. Not at all comfortable. Admittedly, I have small hands. But I’ve shot Beretta 92s that felt good and they have grips with the approximate circumference of an oil drum. I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger, so to speak, on the Ruger.
Seeing my disappointment, and sensing a lost sale, my friendly retailer handed me another gun. When I picked up the Browning Buckmark Camper, I’m pretty sure I heard angels sing and sunlight showering down from the heavens on the gun counter. Which was a hell of a feat as this shop had no windows.
The Browning Buckmark Camper was made for my hand. It has pretty much everything else I was looking for, too. A 5 ½” bull barrel. A reputation for shooting pretty much anything [ED: he means cartridges.] And I’ve had great experience with Brownings (OK, it’s an over/under trap gun, but it’s still a Browning.) So I plunked my dinero on the counter and off I went.
Fit and Finish
I own a Kel-Tec P3AT. It’s reliable as all get-out, but the gun looks like it was crafted by the third period shop class. The Browning Buckmark Camper, on the other hand, is nicely assembled and immaculately finished. I’m not saying it’s got tighter tolerances than a Catholic school, but Sister Mary Elephant would have nothing to scream about.
The Camper’s Parkerized bull barrel is substantial, in a good way. The molded synthetic grip has a rubberized feel to it, but it isn’t tacky. It’s every bit as comfortable from either the right or left hand, though the slide lock, safety and magazine release are all set up for righties only.
And the Buckmark is no lightweight. At 2 lbs. 2 oz., the babe will know that yes, that is a pistol in your pocket. Not that the Camper is – in any way – a concealed carry gun. But it’s certainly tenable as a nightstand gun for someone who can’t handle higher caliber ballistics.
Features
You won’t be surprised that this is an American-made standard blow-back gun with a single action trigger. As with almost every .22 lr pistol out there, the Buckmark has a 10+1 capacity and comes with one magazine.
And this is where Browning nicks you. Buckmark magazines are a good $7 to $10 more than Ruger Mark III mags, depending on the retailer. That’s a fair bit of change that could be much better spent on ammo.
The Buckmark’s sights are standard black and adjustable for windage. Many Campers seem to come equipped with Hi-Viz fiber optic sights. Both rear and front sights are easily swapped out for aftermarket alternatives.
While not quite in the Ruger’s league in terms of accessories, the Buckmark still has a wide variety of rails, replacement triggers, grips and more that can be used to customize the gun in any number of ways. In fact, one of the first things I did after a few weeks with the gun was to pick up a scope base and Tasco 1×30 red dot. This was $60 well spent and greatly adds to the fun of shooting the gun.
Oh, and about that red dot. It gives you a very easy to see 5 MOA dot with 11 different brightness settings. Coated optics, easy to zero and amazingly well made for a mere $32. Highly recommended.
Firing
The Browning Buckmark Camper’s best feature is the trigger. It has a light, crisp break that’s unusual for a gun at this price point. Combining a quick re-set with a .22’s soft recoil, the Camper’s incredibly easy to keep on target shot after shot.
The Camper doesn’t seem to like every brand of ammo quite as much as others. But misfeeds have been very few and far between. In about a thousand rounds, I’ve never had a single failure to extract.
The cracker-crisp trigger and the gun’s heft means minimal, Airsoft-caliber recoil. With the Camper’s long sight radius, a reasonably experienced shooter can achieve 1” groups out to 15+ yards.
Field Stripping
Here’s an area where the Buckmark gets, um, marked down. Not only is field stripping a minor adventure, it requires tools. Allen wrenches, to be specific. Two different sizes of Allen wrenches. Is it difficult? No, it’s not. But it’s not something you’ll want to do in the field.
To clean and lube the slide, you have to take the slide bridge off. This you do by removing two screws with one of the Allen wrenches. (Make sure to keep ‘em straight because they’re different lengths.) Not satisfied running a BoreSnake through the barrel? If you’re going to run a cleaning rod through it from the rear, you have to use a different wrench to remove the barrel.
The Browning Buckmark Camper’s grips are attached to the gun with two flat-head screws. The grips also hold the mag release spring and part of the trigger assembly. Tip the gun the wrong way and out they come. In short, replacing the Camper’s grips is not exactly like putting a new set of Cocobolos on your 1911.
Again, it’s more of a hassle than an invitation to an armorer’s course. Lots of folks, me included, like to futz with their firearms. But the Buckmark’s design seems needlessly complex.
Summary
Face it: everyone needs a .22 pistol. The Browning Buckmark Camper is no race gun, but it’s a lot of fun in a well-built package at a nice price ($300 +/-). How great is that? Great.
Specifications
Action Single
Caliber .22 LR
Barrel Length 5.5”
Capacity 10+1
Safety Thumb and Magazine
Grips Synthetic
Sights Adjustable
Weight 34 oz.
Finish Black Parkerized
Price: $379.99
Ratings (out of five)
Style * * * *
It won’t win any beauty contests, but it has a certain utilitarian je ne sais quoi.
Ergonomics * * * * *
It’s the reason I bought the gun. Extremely comfortable to have to hold and to shoot.
Reliability * * * *
Find its favorite brands of ammo (and there seem to be a lot of them) and it’ll run all day long.
Customization * * * *
Plenty of plug-and-play options out there to make it in your own image.
Carry *
Um, no.
Overall * * * * *
Unless you need a super-accurate target gun, a .22 pistol should, above all, be fun and reliable. Mission accomplished.
Thank you Dan! Just yesterday I expounded on the shooting enthusiast’s need to have a .22LR pistol in his arsenal.
I would like to point out that I have only taken the grip off of my Buckmark Camper URX twice. The first time and the last time. PITA is the best expression for it. Plus who cares whats going on under that stupid grip.
Keeping the breech face clean is important if you don’t want to feel the sting of unburned powder on your hand every time you fire the gun.
Good review!
I think they look better than the Rugers. I almost bought one a year ago but I bought some other stuff so the government, my wallet, and my wife decided I needed to wait a while. I am glad I saw this in regards to disassembly. That sounds like a pita. I hate guns that you need the DVD (and spare springs for the little ones that go flying off no matter how careful you are) just to change the stocks.
I’ve had a Buckmark for 17 years, and my *only* complaint is that it’s overly complicated to disassemble. The Allen screws that hold the slide in place can vibrate loose unless I put Lok-Tite on them, and that makes the tiny little buggers that much harder to remove. After about ten years of shooting, despite being extremely careful with them, I stripped the screws and had to replace them.
Not a huge complaint, in the grand scheme of things, about a gun that is solidly built, reliable and graceful in action, and phenomenally accurate with the right ammo.
I have to lok-tite my buckmark screws. Any tips?
instead of lok-tite on your screws, use clear fingernail polish or even the clear fingernail protection stuff. Works great, easy to clean up, and no hassles.
Here’s another vote for the Buckmark being a great gun, and I too prefer the feel in my hand over the 22/45. The thing is dead-nuts accurate and embarrassingly fun to shoot.
My Buckmark has done more to make me a better shooter than any handgun I own — as I think 22′s do. Whenever my .45 or 9mm holes stop going where I expect them to, I load a few 22 magazines and my Buckmark sets me straight. Everyone should own a 22 handgun.
Maintenance really isn’t that bad. Rusty22′s BMT, or Buckmark Maintenance Tool makes it … more efficient. BMT video. It’s a handy hex, flathead, slide-remover, and magazine-loader tool. That and a bore snake, and you’re set.
… and a poor man’s trigger job known as the “Heggis flip” makes an already good trigger – really good at only a couple pounds.
I shoot one of these (with the Browning holographic sight) for Bullseye. Had a trigger stop installed and it easily shoots as well as the (much) more expensive Smiths used by several others in my group. Mine has the longer barrel and the wood grips, but still balances perfectly and holds well in my hand. It is a pain to disassemble and clean but I’ve never had a failure to feed or eject. Nice gun, much more ergonomic than the Mark III’s.
Key component of a review is COST, I see the cost of magazines and the nifty cheap red dot scope, but umm, how much is the gun?
The summary says nice price, but where the heck is the price in the review?
(In other words, how much dinero did you plunk down for this little backyard squirrel killer?)
Scotty V
Updated!
Mr.Zimmerman, do you know about the different 22/45 models available? they make one WITH 1911 style grip panels, and one without (the all black one), was the latter the model that you handled at the shop?
I went to the exact same experiences when i was shopping fro a 22 pistol and came to the exact opposite conclusion. I handled the buckmark and the 22/45 (model without removable grips). I actually liked the way the buckmark felt in my hand and it points really well. The down side is the ridiculous take down involved. The fact that you have to unscrew things to get this weapon apart was MAJOR turn off to me. as chriss dumm said, even with loc tite, he STILL stripped the screws eventually. this is not the case with the 22/45 as you have to maneuver the mainspring housing out of the back of the gun. This take a little getting used to but after 1 or 2 take downs you can get it apart quite easily.
the next point for me was price, both guns are comparatively accurate (moreso than i probably) but the buckmark was over $100 more than the 22/45 without removable grip panels. Mr. Zimmerman mentioned that he did not like the grip on the 22/45, all you need to remedy this is a cheap hogue hand all grip to slip on. so i was able to fix that issue for 15 bucks, and still come out spending less than a buckmark.
Finally my 22/45 will eat any type of 22lr ammo out there,( it is not picky at all, much like my 40 cal p-series).This is one other thing to consider when comparing these two guns as the buckmark will not digest crap ammo like Remington yellow jackets were my 22/45 will digest it all day long.
Horses for courses, I guess. I tried the base 22/45. I ended up paying about $30 more for the Buckmark – $275.
The 22/45 is clearly a great gun. Just not for me.
wow what a great price, gun prices in my state are ridiculous, plus the %16 sales tax plus the state police fee. I got my 22/45 on a black Friday deal and paid 300 total at the end of the day, which was a quite a hook up compared to other purchases that i have made in the past.
Sweet review, Daniel, of a sweet pistol. I don’t like most .22 pistols, including the Ruger 22/45 and Mark III, but I do like the Browning Buckmark. It is an American classic. FYI, I’m a crazy fanboy of .22 revolvers. Go figure.
Between us the Wife and I have owned a Browning Buckmark, Ruger Mark II long barreled target, Ruger 22/45, and Beretta Neo. Our then elementary school aged daughter has shot all four as well. Between all of them, they liked the Ruger target the best (for absolute accuracy-the most accurate pistol I ever owned) but the Browning not far behind. Along with other shooters it seems:
1. The angle of the grip is just different enough that often people will prefer one or another as feeling more “natural” in their hand. Many ranges have one or both for rental and I would advise shooting a version of both.
2. Of the pistols the NEO was the easiest to strip and clean (turn a knob and the upper removes completely). The Browning disassembly is not bad with the Allen wrench after you’ve done it once. Helpful tip, if you shot a lot at one time, be sure to see if the retaining screws new a slight tightening after about 300 rounds, or the pistol will have increasing difficulty feeding/jamming.
3. In comparison stripping the Rugers can be described alternately as “horrific” or “Kafkaesque.” After much practice I was able to strip the target Ruger but it never became easier. In fact I think it’s the graduating test in some anger management classes. Because of this, although I preferred the Ruger’s accuracy and trigger just a hair more, I’ll never ever buy another one. Its just too difficult.
I have a Buckmark Hunter with the 7 1/4″ Bull Barrel with the green fiber optic front sight, and LOVE it. I have used it several times to teach people(adults and children) to shoot. I have shot both versions of the Ruger 22/45 and did not like the grip angle or the take down. I have taken down my Buckmark many times and have never had a problem. The springs that are under the grips are only flat springs not coil springs that tend to fly all over the place. Just watch what you are doing and it is NOT difficult. The locations for the springs are pretty much shaped the same as the springs are.
Wow you basically summed up what my likes and dislikes are lol. I’ve had FTFeed with the slide open and closed. Cleaning IS a PITA, in fact I finally field stripped it (if you want to call it that) last week cause I havn’t cleaned it in almost 400rds + the fact that all that gunk was preventing the striker from hitting the rim of the rds. I need moar mags!!!! Annoying stuff aside its still a hoot to shoot clay targets set on a berm from 25 yds!!!!!
I spent $200 on my Camper six years ago. I honestly have no idea how much ammo I’ve run through it, but it’s a great little pistol. I’m very pleased with it.
Just purchased a Buckmark last week and love shooting with it. Lots of talk about the Maintenance Tool, but no references as to where I can purchase one.
The first firearm I ever purchased was my Browning Buckmark.
I was looking at 2 different 22 pistols. The Buckmark and the Ruger Mark II. I did not like how the Ruger felt in my hand and I complete disliked the ‘slide’. The Buckmark felt perfect, like it was meant to be. This was the spring of 1987, and I walked out the door with it for $159 + tax (about $165 total).
Mine does not have the allen head screws for holding the cover on top of the slide on, just 2 normal flat tip screws. I have cleaned it regularly it’s whole life, but just did a complete dissassembly for the 1st time 2 months ago.
The carbon build-up wasn’t horrendous but obvious, yet extremely easy to take care of. I had no problems reassembling it what-so-ever.
For being 24 years old, I still love it, have put over 10,000 rounds through it and it still looks fantastic and functions perfectly.
I don’t agree that everyone needs a .22 pistol. Experienced shooters do not, but novices and those in training do. Survivalists who favor fighting rifles that lack a .22 lr conversion unit certainly better also carry a .22 pistol.
Just bought a Browning Buckmark. Have noticed that with only 2 rounds in the magazine, it will not feed properly. Has anyone else had this issue?
I have owned both the Browning Buckmark in SS and the Ruger MK III 22/45 target and like them both. The Buckmark is a better starter gun as you really do not need to field strip it often and the RUGER does take a lot of effort to field strip the first few times. They both are a lot of fun to shoot. So many guns. So little time.
Google Buckmark maintenance tool and itmwill lead you to his website. He has a contact us icon.
I have a Browning Buckmark and had a similar shopping experience, it fit my hand better than the Ruger, and I found it much easier to rack the Buckmark slide. I was shooting in a Bullseye League thus fall, and had the mist frustrating problems with misfeeds and ejection issues. I have a fused wrist, so must keep my elbow bent to see down the sights/holographic red dot. Theories were that because my elbow was absorbing the kick, the gun was not kicking back against something firm so unable to function properly. I switched to a 40 grain ammo and it resolved the majority of the issues.
I am now shooting in a Winter Indoor League, where we must use 26 grain ammo and the gun is again having issues with ejecting, and the slide gets stuck shut to where I need assistance to open it. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I love the gun, but I am frustrated! Thanks! Kim
Kim, I wonder if your alignment is just a titch off. With extent of disassembly the gun requires, it is rather easy to get some binding if the screws are over tightened. Just as an experiment strip the gun down completely, and then when you put it back together leave the screws a little looser than you normally would. Use the “wiggle check”, wiggle the part while you turn the screw tight, when the wiggle stops add 1/4 – 1/2 a turn and call it good. Also make sure to cycle the slide a few times as you are snugging the top screws down. In this condition the screws may become loose every couple hundred rounds, but the action should be able to get itself into a comfortable position… And if all else fails call on a gunsmith…it might have a machining mark that isn’t smooth enough or some other simple to fix issue.
lovin the buck-mark regularly! As my wife has a mk3, I find the accessories for the buck-mark a slim line-up and a bit utilitarian. I didn’t buy it for the beauty or prestige of a fine showpiece but it’s super reliable and easy to re & re for cleaning and maintenance. (Sorry I disagree with you on this point) As for screws loosening off, I found the grips never stay tight. I detest two things where screws and threads are invloved, stripping threads and things that won’t stay tight. In several situations I’ve had to use someone else’s litter as thread locker, a small piece if plastic bag or baggie pulled snugly over the end of a screw will allow enough grip for the threads to stay in place while only “snuggly” tightened. I would however like to see a nice plain set of cocobollo’s for this gun one day. -Rocket Boy
the best gun cleaning tool is a good air compressor
you would be suprised how much gunk you can blow out with
solvent and air.
I know this review was written almost exactly a year ago but I’m still hoping I will get a response. Anyway I really like your set up and would like to do the same. I bought a tasco red dot but I am having problems getting it mounted. I think I bought the wrong model. I found out after I bought it there are two model of the tasco 1×30 red dot site. So I am wondering if you could tell me what model of red dot it was you bought. Is your Tasco Red Dot the BKRD30 or the BKRD30-22? also I was hoping you could tell me what kind of scope base you used. Thank you for your help.
Austin
I bought one of the Browning Buckmark Campers a couple years ago, mostly to plink with. I wanted something that didn’t feel tiny in my hands but that my wife could shoot too and it fit the bill. The gun is very fun to shoot and easy on the recoil. I picked up a couple extra clips for about $12 each. The grip is more than big enough to hold more than 10 in the mag and it would have been nice to have a greater capacity but I’m sure there is some law that says they can’t.
Saw them use it on TopShot a few weeks back. Maybe I’m just a crack shot, but those guys couldn’t hit bowling pins at 15 feet.
I’ve had a few hangups but they were with cheap ammo that was about 10 years old. The newer stuff seams to cycle better and burns a bit cleaner too. Cleaning the action is a bit tedious, but some pipe cleaners and Q-tips work pretty well in the hard to reach areas.
Keep up the good work with the reviews.
Just bought my Buckmark Camper today and want to thank all of you for your comments and advice. Great for my morale! Mine did not come with high-viz sights; I’d appreciate the proper ID of those for the Camper.
Why bother taking them apart, a blast of CLP is all mine ever needs.
“I’m pretty sure I heard angels sing and sunlight showering down from the heavens on the gun counter.”
That was my experience too, except mine was GORGEOUS: According to the label on the case mine was a Buckmark pro target model:Black frame, chrome barrel & slide, with flats machined on what would have otherwise been a bull barrel.
I went into the store looking for a Ruger MkIII, and simply HAD to take the Buckmark home. Shoots WAY better than my Dad’s Ruger Standard.
Your jab at the Catholic Church was idiotic. I wonder if Ill be seeing any good natured jabs at other faiths?…I wont hold my breath. Our Church has been around 2,000 years and an “gun writer” with limited creativity and class will do it no harm. Btw Ive owned a Buckmark and loved it.
Since when is the Catholic Church the only religion or denomination of a religion to have angels? And I didn’t think it was a jab anyway. Who says God can’t guide you to make the right gun choice? Given how few chances we have to test, we could use a little help!