The striker-fired Browning Buck Mark is a range of reliable, accurate, elegant, full-featured 10+1 .22 semi-automatic pistols that use straight blowback action to recycle the gun and a half-length slide that helps lower weight relative to, say, a comparably sized M1911 type semi-automatic.

The Buck Mark has already been around several decades and has proven itself well. It remains popular because of its many good qualities.

The Buck Mark uses a straight blowback action. This means simpler architecture, fewer parts and increased reliability. All this is possible because the Buck Mark uses .22 rounds.

Dimensions vary, but Buck Marks frequently have a 5.5” barrel and 9.5” overall length, an impressive 8.0” sight radius and yet weigh only about 35 ounces. The slide is roughly half the length of a normal slide. It only covers the gun’s back. It makes a horizontal-U around the gun’s rear half leaving the barrel fully exposed. And even what is left is cut down in the center, shaving weight and volume. At back, the slide has diagonal grip serrations, deeply chiseled recesses and horizontal grip “ears”.

The gun has target sights in front and back. In back, the entire range has a Pro-Target sight that has ultra-fine 16-clicks per revolution adjustment settings that should cover all your needs. Adjusting is easy and only requires a flat head screwdriver. Of note, the Field Target models have a full-length upper Picatinny rail to mount additional sights.

In front, the 5.5 Target model has hooded target sights while the Front SightPlus models have a Truglo or Marble’s fiber-optic sight.

The slide release/stop latch, thumb safety and magazine release are all positioned on the left and evoke an M1911’s setup. Behind the thumb safety is a nice docked beavertail to help optimize comfort and make for faster follow-up shots.

Buck Marks have several barrel options. The fluted ones are absolutely breathtaking. One, the Buck Mark Plus Lite Flute UFX Suppressor Ready, has a black barrel with five ogive flutings that reveal the glint of its aluminum sleeve. Another one has smaller tighter flutings all around. Some have slab flanks, while one has the Browning Buck logo on the top of the barrel, etc. In each case, the barrel is target crowned.

Other configuration options abound. They cover different frame colors, whether there is an under-muzzle Picatinny accessory rail, slide color, barrel color, etc.

The single-action trigger is clean-breaking.

The grip is narrow, making it comfortable for people of all sizes. You get four grip choices: straight wood laminates, soft black nitrile Ultragrip FX which has shallow finger grooves, the medium finger-grooved Ultragrip DX and the soft black nitrile deep finger-grooved Ultragrip RXs. The RXs are the best looking with a trio of waves per flank, excellent texturing and laser stippling and finger grooves just where you’d want them. Browning calls this the Ergonomic Interactive Surface (EIS).

The 10-round magazine is tall and thin and evokes a leaning ladder. Speaking of which, the Buck Master also has a magazine safety. No magazine means no firing.

The Browning Buck Mark pistols are Made in USA.