TargetTalk

Stick with the Buckmark for now. They are fine pistols. You can always upgrade to something else later on. For a couple hundred bucks, you can get a trigger job and have a brand new pistol on your hands. It's more important to concentrate on the fundamentals at this stage. Later on, if you want, get a Ruger, Hammerli x-esse, S&W 41, etc. Go for it.

What does the OP have budgeted?

Thanks for the discussion.
And I'd like to keep it to about 500 bucks. I'll need to sell some things but it will be worth it. It seems so far that upgrading the buckmark is the wisest choice, but I was considering the Ruger because there is so much more support available for it.

Thanks,
HB

If $500 is your budget then the Ruger is an excellent choice. Get a Volquartsen accurizing kit (sear & trigger), some decent grips (volquartsen, harret's, or rink) and that will take you to Master.

melchloboo wrote:If $500 is your budged then the Ruger is an excellent choice. Get a Volquartsen accurizing kit (sear & trigger), some decent grips (volquartsen, harret's, or rink) and that will take you to Master.

Add new adjustable sights. Factory ones are fatties.

If the right question is "what's the best gun I can get for $500", that is a really interesting question. I try not to collect guns I don't shoot, but I do have a thing for .22 pistols. In my case I've figured out the following:

1. My model 41 is definitely more accurate than my Pardini
2. My Pardini definitely has a better trigger than my model 41
3. My Ruger is virtually the same as my 41, better than my Marvel, not as good as my Pardini
4. The High Standard I sold had a better trigger than the 41, the Ruger, Not the Pardini
5. On any given day I can shoot my average with any of them
6. What I really want is a Unique DES 96, but they don't even make those anymore...

You get the point, they all get the job done. The Buckmark actually has pretty nice ergonomics, and it you can get a decent trigger it'll work as well as anything. The real fact is that for $500 any new gun that's available now will probably have a trigger that leaves something to be desired. You can get a Ruger and send it to someone like Clark, or get a used High Standard or maybe a 41.

If you can swing $1000, I'd get a new 41. You probably won't shoot it significnatly better than the Buckmark, but they're nicely made and there is some enjoyment to shooting a well made pistol with a nice trigger (and the stock grip's not bad either).

Good Luck,
Steve.

P.S. If I could only keep one it's a no brainer, I'd keep the Pardini.

Look on rimfirecentral.com for info on flipping the sear spring over in the Buckmark. Mine has a 2.5 lb trigger after that mod.

I shoot a 41 with a Nill grip normally but I have shot a few 100s in rapid with the Buckmark with a best of 100-8x.

If you can get the grip and balance right on the B-mark you should do fine. Reliability wise I don't think you can beat it, I use mine to get rid of ammo that doesn't work in other guns I own and it never fails.

Out of the box I think the High Standard triggers are the best.

A couple of years ago I was looking for a starter gun to try Bullseye pistol. I settled for a used High Standard with military grips. It is very accurate so I bought another with the slant grips - and very accurate. Off a bag, I can shoot in the x ring all day long with CCI standard ammunition. Both guns were in the $500 range and I think it will be a long time before my shooting skills will match the inherent accuracy of these pistols. DR

this is easy I had a buckmark and sold it. I would buy a high standard hands down to any on the market. Made in texas and ready to go right out the box and you can call them any time> I have three and love them good luck

Thanks for the info. I went the route of modding the buckmark because of budget concerns. Picked up a new barrel yesterday and will be working on the trigger tomorrow.

Thanks,

HB

The barrel shot just as good as the old one buy the 5.5 incher is much better balanced. After doing the spring flip today, the trigger is significantly lighter but a little polishing will be needed to make it smooth.

Thanks,

HB

Get a trigger job and maybe some better grips. I'm partial to Fung grips but that's because I've had mine for almost 20 years.

After you've wrung all you can out of the Buckmark, you can start investigating a "better" pistol. Also, when you have some more experience you can better decide what you want in a pistol.

An interesting discussion.

I am currently shooting a Smith and Wesson model 41, in indoor Bullseye competition. While my scores are okay (low 500's) they are not great.

Most of the shooters around me are using Pardini pistols, one Benelli, and several IZH 35's, and 1 ruger. Some shoot better than me, some worse.

The question I ask myself is, "would the Pardini, etc. be an aid in improving my score?" Which, I think, is also the point of this thread- will a firearm change help a particular shooter achieve a better score. I would certainly need to see an improvement over several matches, before I would consider such a change.

The question I ask myself is, "would the Pardini, etc. be an aid in improving my score?" Which, I think, is also the point of this thread- will a firearm change help a particular shooter achieve a better score. I would certainly need to see an improvement over several matches, before I would consider such a change.

Thanks what I've come to realize. I shot in a match this past week and I shot pretty well with the exception of about 4 shots, a 524 Sport Pistol at the Junior Olympics. I was one of 4 people shooting Rugers or Buckmarks out of the 30 male shooters there. I ended up in 16th with my rapid scores being very similar to those in the top 10.

Now I am deciding whether to spend money on Fung grips or an Ultradot for Bullseye shooting.

HB

Houston, congratulations on your junior olympics! Sounds like you did pretty well for a rifle shooter :). My suggestion would be to go with the grips for your Buckmark if you feel that you are going to keep it for a while. If you think that you are going to be changing guns soon you might not want to spend the money on them and go for the dot scope because that can go with you when you "upgrade" pistols. I shoot and older Model 41 (not cocked indicator) and really like it. Last week I got my Rink grip for it and like it a whole lot more now. It completely changed the feel of the gun. It went from feeling like a pistol in your hand to feeling like an extension of your hand. With the stock grip it seemed like the gun recoiled up and over twisting a little in my hand, but with the Rink grip it seems to go straight up and settle back down much better. With your young eyes I think you will do just fine shooting bullseye with iron sights if you go for the grip. We will be shooting two more non-sanctioned bullseye matches at The World Shooting Complex in Sparta, IL in July and October I think if you want to get a little bullseye practice in. It's a 60 shot match and you can shoot both relays if there is a second one. It's a low keyed event and right now just geared towards getting participation so that hopefully they will make some improvements to the range. Let me know if you would like to shoot and I can get you the schedule dates and directions if you need them. Scott

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to wait on the grips as they are a big chunk of change right now and will probably see less use than a dot will. I will also let you know on the matches but if I'm in town I'll be there

HB