Buck Mark Vision Black/Gold Suppressor Ready - Vortex Red Dot

09/30/2023 – How to make bobcat, coyote, fox, and hawk chow

I don’t cry over varmints that I eliminate. Not when guilty of the crimes of damaging structures and/or getting more out of my vegetable garden than me.  Until varmints can make financial restitution, they are fair game. I like that word “varmints”. It reminds me of Yosemite Sam

Expired pests do not go to waste, as there are plenty of coyotes, bobcats, fox, and hawks around to dine on the carcasses. Squirrels, rats and gophers often make the sanctioned varmint kill list, and end up as table fare… as they do in nature.

I have two favored firearms I use to kill intrusive varmints, a 22 LR bolt action rifle and a 22LR Auto pistol. The Buck Mark Vision Black/Gold Suppressor Ready – Vortex Red Dot is an excellent example of the latter. The rifle is routinely shot out to 50 yards and the pistol out to 25 yards and, occasionally, farther.

Unlike the balance of the Browning firearm products, that are manufactured by FN Herstal at a variety of European and Asian facilities and imported into U.S., the Browning Buck Mark is manufactured in Morgan, Utah by the Browning Company.

The original Buck Mark product was introduced in 1985 (Above-Bottom), a follow on to Browning’s Challenger rimfire pistol (Above-Top), which was produced from 1962 – 1985. Pictured are personal firearms that have seen tens of thousands of rounds at the range, and while varmint and small game hunting.

Pictured above in its 2020 introduction form, the Buck Mark Vision Black/Gold Suppressor Ready was originally a limited edition model, but become a standard catalog item. It is available without and with the red dot sight. Without the red dot, the Buck Mark Vision Black/Gold Suppressor Ready ($799) ships with a target type rear sight, which is adjustable for both windage and elevation.

There are forty two Buck Mark models currently in production. New model Buck marks are added and retired routinely; maintaining the most popular standards, while bringing in new models that reflect features, refinements and nuance of the day.  Prices range from $439.99 to $1,079.99.

The subject Buck Mark

The 1/2″ diameter steel barrel resides in a tensioning, lightweight aluminum shroud. The absence of a steel, full diameter bull barrel, results in the pistol being lighter, running cooler and without sacrifice to accuracy.

The subject model’s alloy steel barrel’s chamber is hand reamed. The barrel terminates with a recessed target crown. The barrel is finished in 24 karat gold… not really, but it is finished in long wearing gold Cerakote. For those who might have a different aesthetic bent, there are red, blue and black versions of the Buck Mark Plus Vision with varying barrel sleeve appearances.

 

Controls are where we have come to expect them, within reach of our opposable thumbs. While man, generally, has the longest thumb to finger length proportion, my thumbs are freakishly. Still, I had no problem reaching the slide release (above mid grip), thumb safety (above aft grip) and…. with a little stretch, the magazine release. yes, that little checkered button located aft trigger guard. The rear of the slide is dog eared to make slide opening easy.

While the primary sighting device is the included red dot, the combination of fiber optic front sight and windage adjustable rear sight also work well. The bright green front element and rear sight aperture both measure 0.135″, which provides good daylight for centering front to rear.

The rear sight is integrated into the red dot mount base. Both sight sets are visible with the red dot sight in place, power on or off. No, I did not want to use the term “co-witness” even though it applies.

No, the brake is not for show. If you’ve ever sight tracked a structure marauding squirrel as it makes its getaway toward a tree line, you know the value of a good rimfire brake when taking follow up shots… when attempting to send Rocky straight to bushy tail hell. Sorry. I’ve been listening to Tom Waits again. I love little tree rats,and often think of adopting one. At least, when grown up, it might call its father every once in a while.

Silencers on 22 LR Rimfire pistols make a good deal of sense. Using target ammo, or any other subsonic ammo, leaves only the sound of firing pin strike and slide reciprocation to announce a shooter. Hunting small game for the table, or knocking off varmints, is greatly simplified, if a first shot doe not scare them into the next county. Of greatest importance, silencers save hearing.

Is there a down side to suppression? Maybe. In this case, my old AAC Aviator 2, at just under 6.5″ in length, extends the Browning’s overall length to approximately 16″. While light, the pistol/silencer length will not qualify as a pocket pistol, but the length isn’t much of a handicap for a hunter.

There are also significantly shorter silencers that can take the overall length down a couple of inches. However, they are larger in diameter and may obstruct the metallic sights.

The Vortex Crossfire Red Dot

The Vortex Crossfire Red Dot is a moderately priced sight. I like the 2 MOA dot as it doesn’t obscure 50 yard targets. Range of adjustment, in 1 MOA increments, is 100 MOA for both windage and elevation. The objective lens is 22mm in diameter, eye relief is unlimited.

Outside of easy to manage elevation and windage controls, there is a on/off brightness range adjusting collar around the battery compartment. The Crossfire takes a CR2032 Lithium battery that is rated for 50,000 hours of use at the mid brightness setting.

During range check out, the sight performed as advertised and held adjustment. The 2 MOA dot was precise and easy to follow on a target.So, as a turnkey package, the Buck Mark Vision Black/Gold Suppressor Ready is good to go as received and would, no doubt, continue to so so for a very long time.

Getting a bundled product is usually a bargain. Despite MSRP listings for firearm and sights, the package is often discounted at retail outlets. I’m more partial to open red dots on pistols, so I would probably purchase the metallic target sight version, no red dot included version, and use the price differential savings to purchase an open red dot sight of choice.

Bang, bang, bang… bang

I like rimfire projects. Even at today’s rimfire prices, I don’t have to check my bank account balance with each trigger pull, as I do with bigger bore centerfire cartridges.

The Buck Mark is rock solid. I saw no success in trying to trick it into a misstep with a wide assortment of cheap and premium ammo, subsonic to super duper sonic, gloppy lubed to clean.

I mixed ammo in magazine, shot it open and suppressed… didn’t matter, it never skipped a beat. At one point, I left it on the bench for twenty minutes, startled it awake from its nap, shot 10 rounds, and it still cycles through all reliably. It is almost unnatural to shoot a rimfire that does not occasionally burp or hiccup.

After I quit screwing around, I settled on four types of rimfire ammo that see common use.

The recorded velocity is with the supplied muzzle brake installed. I did shoot the same with a silencer in place. Accuracy was essentially the same, velocity was +/- dependent on the ammo. Eley and Rem Target picked up velocity, the other two lost velocity. No variance was greater than 5% in any case, in any direction.

The Browning was shot from a mechanical rest, only to assure my finely honed marksmanship skills and bifocals would not detract from the pistols performance. I always anticipate that Eley will shoot better, because it is British and overpriced, and Winchester Wildcat will shoot worse, because it comes as 500 rounds, poured into a cardboard carton, and it is bargain priced. Never happens that way.

Looking back…

Yes, the Browning Vision is a terrific pistol for varmint hunting, but it is also good for small game hunting and for recreational target shooting. They are good for marksmanship and firearm safety training. They are quiet enough to not annoy rural neighbors where people live on acreage, and they are easy on the shooter and a shooter’s wallet.

The Browning Buck Mark product line is a good one. Browning has put a lot into this product to achieve a high level of performance, reliability and longevity. They have also done a nice job of providing many configurations to suit specific applications, aesthetic taste, and budgets. Mine have performed well with no more attention than the occasional cleaning and lube.