Browning Buckmark vs Ruger Mk. III - Field Stripping

J

Judge Vandelay

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I vaguely recollect that field stripping one of these - either the Browning or the Ruger - was a real PITA. Or are both of them a real PITA to field strip?

I'm not what you would call a handy guy so the one that's easier to field strip might get the nod.

Comments?

I am assuming that the quality of both is about equal. True?
 
I went with the MarkIII and it was a pain in the ass the first time, a little annoying the second time, and no problem every time after that.
 
I bought a Mk3 22/45 recently and it's still sitting in pieces in my safe. Decided to take it all apart to wipe out all the grease. Couldn't manage to seperate the barrel from the frame.

I think the big problem w/ these new ones is the magazine disconnect that complicates the take-down procedure.

Been way too busy recently to try and put it back together but thanks for reminding me it's in there. I'll take a look at the youtube video and see if it'll help.
 
Just tap the barrel off the frame on the edge of your workbench - It does loosen up.

But yes, I refer the reassembly of the Ruger MkIII as the pistol "hokey pokey":

You put the muzzle up, and you take the mag out;
You put the muzzle down, and you put the mag back in;
You put the muzzle up.....

etc., etc.
 
I just bought a Buckmark at Reliable today...waiting for my papers to come through so I can take it home. I have read that stripping these down completely can be a pain, something about having to remove two screws before the slide can come off...doesn't sound field strippable to me, but I'll find out when I actually get it home.

As a former Mk III 22/45 owner, I can tell you that the Ruger can be a pain in the beginning until you get the hang of it. There's little things like making sure of the position of that little dangly thing that sits inside the back of the grip, and the position of the hammer when putting it back together that helps.
 
Well I just got my Buckmark home, and overall, I would have to say that it's a superior pistol compared to the Ruger Mk III 22/45 target model that I used to own. The metal parts of the Buckmark are all nicely machined from high grade aluminum, and the trigger is sweeeeet! The grip is also far superior to the 22/45. I can't wait to take it out on the range tomorrow.

I would also have to say the take down of the Buckmark, while requiring an allen key, is simpler than the Ruger. You do need the Allen key to take out two screws to take off the top strap so you can take the slide off, but after that, it's very simple.

Three things I DON'T like...the first is the owners manual supplied with my gun. It clearly states in the manual that I should loosen the barrel screw in front of the trigger guard three and a half turns counterclockwise in order to remove the barrel. Well, after breaking a bit trying to loosen this screw, I found out that it was epoxied in, and cannot be removed in my model of Buckmark pistol! Luckily I didn't damage the screw! I found better instructions on a non-Browning website, and he specified that the only Buckmarks that you can take the barrels off of are the ones with the full rails.

Secondly, the lug sticking out at the back of the frame prevents a cleaning rod from going through the bore from the rear end of the pistol. I guess a bore snake would work the best if you don't want to risk damaging the crown of the muzzle.

Lastly, I guess I don't like the idea of having to take off the rear sight in order to do a complete teardown to clean the pistol. I guess this will affect the zero when I put it back together. I'll find out tomorrow.

FWIW...I picked up the Buckmark Camper model. Cheers.
 
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