I've enjoyed a variety fo .22 pistols thru the years including High Standards, Various Browning Buckmark/Challengers and even my P-226 .22 LR Classic.
I recently bought a 7" Buckmark Hunter and did the unthinkable: I unpacked it and took it directly to the range.
No break-down & Clean.
No read the manual.
No careful wipe down/lube/prep for the "first shoot."

I've been turned off by some .22 semi-autos because many are finicky with ammo, finicky with cleaning and just plain tempermental at times.

I've read good reviews of the latest Buckmarks, so I wanted to see for myself how this one did "as shipped".

Ammo: Mid-Grade (imho) Remington Target, the one in the 100 round plastic box.

It wasn't the fancy stuff and not even High Vel.

The Buckmark Hunter looks like a well-made, well defined product. Fit/Finsh is very good with no machine marks or imperfections from what I could see on-range. The action is Tight and the trigger is Crisp. The pull's a little heavy for my target use, but not a distraction and as a probable field piece for plinking/small game..it's right where it should be.

Out of the box, it performed 100%.

Not 1 jam, not one failure to feed, not one failure to eject.
Even after 100 rounds worth of good fouling, it ran like a quality pistol.

The laminated wood grips felt great in my hand and even on a hot, humid day, did not slip or feel loose at all in my hand. There's a slight grip shelf and it felt nice.

It may be unthinkable to write this.....but after a few years use, the "satin gloss" may wear off and it may feel even better with a little "graininess". I'd never think of knocking it down some, but some "0000" steel wool or brass could easily give a little extra "purchase" to the satin finish. But it looks so good!

The Gold Trigger is a nice touch and the top rail looks solid enough for any extra optics up there.

The sights are semi-match grade and work very nicely, imho. The rear blade is a nice big square and the front fiber optic green dot stands out very nicely in the sight picture. The sight adjustment screws are good, though I'd like to see them just a little more substantial for actual occasional adjustment. I didn't have the right screwdrivers with me to try and adjust them without marring them ( hard lesson learned). But out of the box, it centered nicely, though I will have to bring down the point of impact a bit if I standardize the pistol on this ammo..which shot a little high. But it could've  been user error too.

Overal feel is very nice, the 7" bull barrel is not front-heavy and it takes up the minimal recoil very well. Fast follow-ups should easily stay "On Aim".

How will it do on a quiet day? We had some pretty good winds on range today...and I was just shooting at 15 yards. I'll have to see how the winds effected the grouping, along with me getting comfortable with a new pistol.

But straight out of the box with the ammo I bought, I feel 100% confident with this pistol and it performed flawlessly.  

Mounting my Vortex Sparc on it was a snap. Doesn't make it top heavy at all.

Will it keep up with much higher priced bullseye .22's?

Will it perform better with match grade ammo?

How will the sights adjust and will it give me the bughole groups I'm hoping for?

How will the top rail work with optical sights?

So many questions, so little range time.

Do priests like to watch Penn State games?  




Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The difference between match ammo & bulk is their consistency between rds. I have a Buckmark that shoots Blazer better then Federal NM 711 ammo. Go figure.




Yes, the sights will adjust. As for the groups, that depends on you, homes.  




Should be no issue.


My .o2

I've got two buckmark campers in nickel. mine and my Dad's.   they shoot the shiite muzlim out of my S&W .22s,  and P22.  I've yet to compare it to my new/used .22/45

I also shoot the buckmark rifle....  shoots as good as I can aim with cci MM when not on a bench.

that's one beauty of a pistol you got there!  #envy

I've gotta compare groups against the 22/45 and an old 1920 woodsman I have'nt shot yet...

I've picked up a 3" buckmark bull barrel recently to try out as well.

I have the same pistol only with a Browning reflex sight and love it. I sold off a Ruger Target MKII after shooting this one if that tells you how it stacks up to others. But I can't say about the higher priced pistols.

All ammo that I have put through it has cycled without a problem, with CCI AR and Fed Auto Match being the most accurate.

I should also mention that I did the trigger spring flip. The trigger pull went from 7lb to 4lb measured with an electronic fish scale.

My first outings with a Vortex Sparc proved very interesting. It mounted fine and needed minimum adjustment to get in the black. But I am seeing that fine tuning it may take another trip to the range or two. I am not sure the adjustments are uniform and the adjustment screws seem mushy.

But the groups look outstanding so far with numerous multiple hits in about the same spot.

Will be fun trying out different ammo. But so far, its' eaten everything without a hiccup.

I'm wondering if I'm really gaining anything at all with the RD Sparc since the fiber optic front site gives a great dot-picture to the sharp rear sight.

This might depend on the MOA size of the dot, IMO. I try to get the smallest sized MOA dot as possible for my rimfires. Most are in that 4-6 MOA size, with a few in the 3 MOA. I wish there was an affordable 2 MOA red dot.  

Thanks for the review. I have been thinking about a Ruger MKIII or the Buckmark Hunter. Although a poll on here seemed to give the Ruger a nod, the more I dig around it looks like the Buckmark seems to be the same or more accurate; easier to clean and breakdown; fits the hand better; and has a bunch of aftermarket available.

After picking them up first hand, I have to say that I like the feel of the Buckmark. Your review is helping me decide that the Buckmark is the tight one for me.

After a few more trips to the range , it reinforces my I first impression: eats ammo without a hitch, functions very well  with very good accuracy. Feels very good in the hand and the sight picture is very good along with a crisp trigger.
I'm going back to original sights and taking off the Sparc Red Dot...I feel I need to get used to the pistol without the extra optic...since it shoots fine without it.

I changed out the Vortex Sparc with a Trijicon RMR.....it's built like a tank and is a rock-solid sight.
The single knob mount is nice for easy-on, easy off capability.
I've got some more fine tuning to work on and it looks like it'll be easy to get completely zero'd in.
I think for most close work within 10-15 yards it's really not needed, but I will work on seeing how it does at more extended range like +25 yards.

Pricey addition, but expect it will be right at home on a rifle as well as anything with a rail.

Still weird there's no on-off switch or other adjustments.
But I guess that's what the upgraded and more expensive units offer.

Nice write up- I have this pistol and love it! It has been wonderful- my only issue so far is the 2 allen screws on the top of the pistol needed blue loc-tight to stay snug.

I had the first case of the top screws loosening up.
Tightened them back and will see what happens.
Til then, I'm hoping it won't need loctite, but we'll see.
Sounds like a common problem.