# Buckmark Light Primer Hits



## yardman

I was wondering if anyone else experiences light primer hits with their Buckmark. My 5.5 field has this problem. I have replaced the firing pin, but still have the problem. I was thinking of looking for someone that could make a longer firing pin to give better strikes.
Your comments and suggestions will be welcome.


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## DJ Niner

I've owned several BuckMark .22s over the years, and they were generally very reliable. I did experience an occasional failure-to-fire/light-strike, but in most cases, it was traceable to something other than the firing pin. 

For example, a buildup of crud/fouling on the rear face of the barrel, or front face of the slide, can interfere with the slide closing completely. If the slide is not completely closed, when the trigger is pulled, part of the firing pin's energy is re-directed from crushing the rim to pushing the cartridge the rest of the way into the chamber, and the result can be a light strike on the rim and a failure-to-fire. Other things that can cause a failure of the slide to completely close are:

- General fouling (slows slide, robbing it of speed/energy).

- Lack of lubrication. Often seen along with fouling/crud buildup, but nowadays, some folks clean their guns with evaporating spray cleaners which can leave the mechanism bone-dry. Check your manual for lubrication points and quantities. Add a little more lube, see if the problem goes away.

- Extractor binding. As the slide closes the last fraction of an inch, the extractor is forced slightly to the side. If the extractor is binding due to dirt/crud/lack-of-lube, it can prevent the slide from closing that last fraction of an inch. Add a drop of lube to the side of the extractor/plunger, see if it helps. Also, the groove in the rear of the barrel where the extractor seats when the slide is closed must be kept clean.

- Upward pressure on the base of the magazine. Sometimes this will cause the top of the mag to drag on the slide, slowing its travel. Rare, but it does happen, usually when the pistol is being fired off a rest or bench.

- Thumb pressing against the side of the slide during firing. Check your grip, keep your digits away from the slide (good from a safety standpoint, too).

- Poor quality ammo. This used to be fairly rare, but I'm seeing more and more of it nowadays. Crooked/deformed bullets, dented cases, excessive bullet lube; all can prevent the slide from closing fully, and give a light strike on (attempted) firing. Inspect ammo closely during magazine loading.

- Rearmost sight base screw (at top-rear of slide/frame) too tight, or missing washer. May not apply to your specific model, but it can cause binding/drag on the slide during operation.


Usually, when a firing pin is causing a failure-to-fire, it is not intermittent; the gun stops shooting, period. If you are only seeing the problem occasionally, I'd closely check every item on the above list before I'd consider modifying the firing pin, or any other part of the mechanism.

Hope this is helpful. Few things are more aggravating than an accurate pistol that won't shoot reliably.


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## yardman

I had 3 rounds that would not fire, even with 3 strikes around the rims. I put each round in a Ruger 22/45, and all 3 fired . The 22/45 has a deeper and wider firing pin strike. That is what this Buckmark needs. 
I appreciate the detailed info provided, and I will check everything mentioned. Thanks


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## DJ Niner

Just curious; 3 rounds out of how many? 3 out of 3, 3 out of 30, 3 out of 300? And what brand, if you don't mind saying?

Yeah, Rugers are tanks. They crush a rim like no other pistol, but I'm still surprised that they didn't fire in 3 attempts each in the Browning.


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## yardman

I had 1 round per 10 round magazine that did not fire. That's a pretty high ratio. I like the Buckmark and would like to get it running reliably. I shoot steel challenge, and misfires just make the times really go up.
About a week ago when I fired the Buckmark and had problems, I had two Ruger 22/45's with me. I fired over 100 rounds of assorted ammunition thru each of them without any misfires. I just gave up on the Buckmark during that outing. The brand was Remington golden bullet 36grain hollow points.


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## DJ Niner

If it's a brand-new pistol, you might just need to shoot it a bit more; the old "break-in period" crap. I've even run into this problem with new magazines in older/broken-in pistols, sometimes you just have to shoot them a bit to loosen them up. Not the answer any of us wants to hear in these tight-.22-ammo-supply times, I know.

If you're getting f2fire stoppages that often, you might be able to see if it's slide-closure-related by having someone else watch the slide closely while you're shooting. Have them stand off to your left, even with the pistol, and watch the slide/barrel gap to see if the slide fails to close tightly. If they see a problem, they can call a cease-fire and you can examine the pistol prior to pulling the trigger, which often closes the slide the rest of the way and may destroy evidence of the cause, as well.

Good luck, and good night!


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## yardman

Thanks for all the suggestions.


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## denner

Cleaning firing pin on Browning Buckmark: light primer strike solution - YouTube


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