Hello everyone
A month ago a came across a Browning Buck Mark URX on Kijiji sold by a lady in her seventies. She told me it was virtually brand new and had fired it only a couple of times. I didn’t count the pellets in the tin that came with it but by the looks of it and the pristine condition of the gun it really was in NIB condition.
I know it’s not the greatest gun out there but I was actually considering buying one as it filled the requirements I was looking for. First, it’s cool looking being the replica of a real one…It’s easy to cock, pretty accurate and quiet. The Buck Mark will be my winter basement and garage plinker.
Looking around the internet I found an exploded view and parts diagram and a couple of references on disassembly and trigger mod. With that I was confident I could improve the trigger. As many of you may know, strait from the box, the Buck Mark has a terrible trigger. Mine had a 5lb 10oz trigger pull. Stock weight is 24oz (680g) compared to 34oz for the real 22lr Browning Buck Mark. I thought that adding some weight would provide more shooting stability.
Disassembly of the Buck Mark is real easy with only four screws on both side plus two Allen screws holding the rail mount and “slide” to the frame. Removing the rubberised grip exposed a grid. I managed to fill most of the grid with lead, nuts, washers and other metal bits. They all are “press fit” so there is no rattle.
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The other place I was able to add weight is between the barrel and the barrel shroud. I was able to wedge about two dozens 2 inch length of soldering wire in there for an additional 25g. Now my Buck Mark weight a more satisfying 29oz (820g). I’m no expert but I think the gun has a better overall balance and the weight forward help stabilising the front sight.
While the barrel was dissembled from the muzzle part I noticed that the barrel had a loose fitting in the plastic muzzle. So I wrapped a couple of turns of Teflon plumbing tape on the barrel tip before reassembling. I also painted the rear of the front sight post white. Much better!
Moving on to the trigger I did the trigger mod following the vague instructions from the You Tube video I found. First time I over did it, ending up with a gun that could be fired while the safety was still ON!! Pretty scary… I managed to shape the sear back to even worse than 6lb pull!! The second time I successfully lowered the trigger pull to around maybe 3lb. I didn’t measure it since the more I shoot the smoother it gets. So I will wait until it stabilise itself.
While I had the trigger assembly on hand I also polished the safety parts. Now the trigger comes ON and OFF very smoothly with no jerking. A lot better!
Finally I reshaped the trigger itself as my right index finger rested at a slight downward angle on the trigger. The bottom left corner of the trigger was uncomfortably pressing on my finger tip. I filed, sanded and polished the metal trigger (yes a metal trigger!!) to its new shape.
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Cosmetically I removed the four ugly round mould marks on the left side of the barrel shroud, removed all moulding lines inside and out of the trigger guard, top and bottom of barrel shroud and back of grip frame.
Final touch was to strip paint and polish the trigger, safety lever and fake slide grips, which I think gives it a cool distinctive looks. I might completely strip and polish the slide portion later. Let me know what you think…
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With these mods this gun now shoots a lot more consistently, operated more smoothly, is a more stable platform. Considering its low power this gun is really for indoor short range 5 to 7-8 meters and I look forward to long winter days plinking quietly in my basement.
Now if I can only find a way to access that main spring to try to give it a little more power…