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Old December 31, 2012, 10:39 AM   #1
Guv
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Buckmark Challenge

Just wonderin how many of you guy's and gal's have a Buckmark Challenge? Seems like a kinda rare variation although rather elegant with it's pretty slim barrel contour. Not to easy to find one used either.
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Old December 31, 2012, 01:33 PM   #2
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The original barrel on my BM was a 5 1/2" slab side. Put a Challenge barrel on it a couple years ago. It looks good, shoots great and shaved a significant amount of weight. Nice upgrade on a 25 year old pistol.

I find the rubber Browning grips fit me better than the Challenge grips so they are staying the same. The original grips on the gun were the flat plastic type. The rubber ones came out a year or two after I purchased the gun and were the first upgrade.
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Old December 31, 2012, 02:02 PM   #3
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Browning had a pistol called the Challenger, then Challenger II which I had, bought in 1981 or so. Then they later come out with the Challenger III which essentially was the Buckmark with I'm sure some minor differences.
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Old December 31, 2012, 02:24 PM   #4
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I had a Challenger in the early 80's, beautiful gun. It had a steel frame rather than the Buckmark's aluminum frame.
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Old December 31, 2012, 03:44 PM   #5
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The Challenger (I, II and III) was the predecessor to the Buckmark.

The Challenge is a variation of the Buckmark.
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Old January 2, 2013, 06:24 AM   #6
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I have the first series Browning Challenger made in Belgium. They aren't real easy to find, but are an excellent pistol and well worth owning. While I like my Browning Buckmarks, they don't even come close to the classic Challenger although they are accurate and much less expensive. Browning makes a great .22LR pistol and their .22LR SA rifle is a great piece as well. The Challenger isn't a variation of the Buckmark and in fact predates the Buckmark by quite a few years.
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Old January 2, 2013, 08:44 AM   #7
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Is there a current model Buckmark model called "The Challenge". Is that what the OP is asking about and not the old "Challenger" modesl?
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Old January 2, 2013, 01:20 PM   #8
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I have a 5+ yr old Buckmark Challenge, seems they discontinued this model some time back. I also had a Challenger many moons ago, different gun.
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Old January 4, 2013, 07:10 PM   #9
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Browning began a series of 22 semi autos in 1962. These semi autos carry the name Nomad, Challenger, and Medalist. Some folks call the original Challenger, the Challenger I. The series ended in 1974. Only these pistols were built in Belgium by FN. Subsequently, Challenger II, Challenger III (slab side and pencil barrel sporter) and Buck Mark Challenger were built. These firearms are, for the money, fabulous shooters with wonderful fit and finish (especially the Belgian guns). The Belgian pistols are all steel with the exception of Walnut in the Challenger I and Medalists (Nomad is quasi plastic economic grip) grips. The current Challenger BuckMark semi auto by Browning is no longer built. The later pistols are based upon an aluminum alloy. Earlier Belgian pistols in the Medalist series come in base plus tricked up variants.

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ps-- These Brownings actually began life as Colt semi autos. But, that's a long story.

Last edited by bn12gg; January 4, 2013 at 07:18 PM.
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