Browning Buckmark, cycling issues

[CRQuarto]

Well, I love my Buckmark, the thing is a tack driver and my girlfriend loves it, but I have noticed it has cycling issues, even with high velocity .22LR. I will get a lot of stovepipes, which leads me to believe that it may not be cycling the slide back far enough to properly extract the cartridge. Anyone have any ideas? Lubrication was my first thought...but I am pretty good about ensuring that it is well lubed before, and during shooting. Perhaps I just need a hotter load? It is also fairly new, so perhaps it just needs to be broken in a little more. I've run probably 250 rounds through it. Here is the Buckmark:

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=006B&cat_id=051&type_id=442

I've been using the Winchester Super X 40 grain high velocity.

[ghideon]

Clean the hell out of it. Then try CCI Minimags. Mine likes those the best.

[CRQuarto]

Clean the hell out of it. Then try CCI Minimags. Mine likes those the best.

Hrmm, I clean the thing well, so you are saying the magazine it comes with, and additional mags that are an exact match of the one it comes with, are not of the best quality? Are the magazines possibly at fault? Might make sense...one of my mags doesn't feed at all, it jams on every round with that one, but the one it came with works well as far as I can tell, but hell maybe that is the problem.

[ghideon]

Are the mags original? I've tried aftermarket Buckmark mags, and they were completely unusable. But I'm referring to a brand of ammo when I say CCI Minimags. For most .22 semi shooters, they are considered to be the standard, in terms of working correctly. Walmart has CCI Minimags sometimes, if not Natchez or Outdoor Marksman carry them online.

[pistolero805]

I have a buckmark as well and have used various brands of ammo, never had an issue. Aside from "duds" and one stovepipe that I can remember, it has run like a champ. Stay away from aftermarket mags. Factory is the way to go and you can usuually find them for about $20 bucks or less.

You might want to try some cci stingers if you haven't already. Walmart has the bulk pack of federal's in the burgundy box for about $12 and that's what I use most of the time. Never had an issue.

Btw, its just a basic buckmark 5.5" camper.

[CRQuarto]

Hrmm, thanks gents, I will go the extra mile and not only pick up a couple of mags, but I will also try out the CCI ammo. Thanks a lot, hopefully it should resolve the problem!

[Rivers]

When I first got my Buckmark, I tried a bulk 550-box of Federal. Stovepipes, FTF, FTE, you name it. Then I spilled the ammo out onto a flat surface. Way too many bullets rolled around like a seriously bent axle! Seeing that, I don't blame the Buckmark for not playing well with the bulk ammo. Switched to CCE Standard or MiniMag and all has been good since. No change to the Buckmark related to ammo other than better ammo.

You might want to check with www.rimfirecentral.com for more tips on the Buckmark.

[JTROKS]

I have two Buckmarks, one made in the 80s and the other purchased brand new in 2002. The accuracy and quality is still there, but I'd rather have aluminum or steel parts than plastic. I've used all sorts of ammo and never a problem unless it's a dud. Mine will go through lots of ammo 1k+ until it needs thorough cleaning that requires the slide to come off. The only thing I hate about it is the requirement to remove the top strap that holds the rear sight when this type of cleaning is called for. If your buckmark has seen only 250 rounds and still won't fully cycle with CCI mini mags you may want to inspect to see if there's something slowing down the slide when cycling or your extractor might be at fault.

[c good]

Winchester Super X, X22LR is great stuff. I run it all day long in my Buckmark. It sounds like the "Lips" of the mag are giving you a problem. Stovepipes are usually caused by the lips being to "open" allowing the round when stripped to go up too high and hit the top of the breechface. Try bending the lips down and closer together a little (ever so little at a time) and this should cure your problem. Make sure the area under the extractor is good and clean too. HTH c good