Fun with the Browning Buckmark air pistol

Today was such a nice day that it just felt right to go out and do some plinking. So, I headed to my makeshift armory – an old cabinet left by the previous owner of the house. I grabbed a gun I hadn’t used in a while: a break barrel with a really stiff trigger. For those who know their stuff, yes, you guessed it, it’s the Browning Buckmark.

I remember being pretty impressed with this .177 caliber break barrel spring pistol when I first got it. I set up at my picnic table, aiming at a can about 10 meters away. Any further and I’d be pushing it because this pistol isn’t exactly a powerhouse. I loaded it with my go-to RWS R 10 Match pellets. These pellets are great because they make clear holes in the can, thanks to their flat noses.

I added a cheap Pinty red dot sight to the pistol, and it’s working out better than I thought. It really makes shooting more fun. I didn’t even bother with the original sights. There’s a Weaver mount on the gun, so why not use it?

The pistol feels solid. It’s easy to break the barrel and it locks tight. I like how this air pistol feels in my hands. I don’t have a tool to measure speed, but I’ve heard it can shoot pellets at about 320 fps with lead pellets. I doubt that’s accurate; it probably shoots more like 200-250 fps. That seems right to me. If you hit the can at the edge, sometimes the pellet bounces.

This is a plinking gun, not something you’d use for hunting. It just doesn’t have the power for that. But that’s okay with me. I bought it for shooting cans, and it does that well.

I’m still outside, soaking up the sun and causing a bit of anxiety for a couple of squirrels living in the big tree just behind the shed.

Try this pistol, you will be impressed. Usually, an inexpensive air gun looks and feels cheap (I would know, I had a lot of them)  But not the Browning Buckmark.