There is a great story about the evolution of the Buck Mark platform that all started at the beginning of this century. Though the Buck Mark platform has been heavily used in competitive Rimfire Challenge and Steel Challenge matches for years, it has a much longer history that dates back to the origins of both competitive shooting and the 1915 Browning design patents. That story continues with the Browning’s Contour Pro, the newest competition and optics-ready .22LR Buck Mark platform.
Origins
Colt Woodsman — John M. Browning’s .22 autoloader planted the seed for a century of rimfire sport-pistol design. Introduced in Colt catalogs beginning around 1915 as the Colt Woodsman, Browning’s patented design delivered an elegant, reliable, compact, slim, semi-auto blowback-operated pistol. The design established what shooters and competitors came to expect, from well-balanced ergonomics, clean sighting lines and the option for true target appointments. It was a unique design that has echoed through European and American fields and matches for more than 100 years.
Browning Nomad, Challenger, Medalist — In 1962, Bruce Browning (J. M. Browning’s son), working with FN Herstal in Belgium, refined the initial patent design into a three-model family intended to cover the market from field use to precision target work. These FN-built pistols were updated from the Woodsman patent to use new machining and production technology with three distinct models — the Nomad for simple outdoor work, the Challenger as the everyday sport pistol with adjustable sights, and the Medalist for competitors who desired ultra premium match-grade features and the heft of a competition model.
FN Medalist International — Per the Browning/FN production agreement, FN offered a match-focused Medalist line targeting the competitive rimfire matches of the euro market in the mid-1970s: International Medalist carried a shorter version of the Browning Medalist bull barrel, omitted the forend and used the ergonomic target-focused sculpted Challenger grips. Later, the International Type II Medalist was released aimed explicitly at serious competitors. The Type II was distinguished by a slab-sided barrel, an adjustable under-barrel weight for balance tuning, micrometer-style sights, target trigger and adjustable competition grips — the Type II is still considered an elite competition pistol even by today’s standards. A sharp eye will notice many design traits such as finish, slab sided barrel, and overall look this 1970s pistol delivered that later became traits of the Buck Mark. Even today, the full rear slide serrations have been rolled back to similar cuts from this design.
Challenger I, II, III — The Challenger family itself went through recognizable generational shifts. The original Challenger gave way to the Challenger II in 1976 with altered ergonomics (notably a different grip angle and hand fit), introduced production-driven metalwork and finish changes, and standardized a more mass-market “precision” sighting package. The Challenger II was the inflection point where parts were no longer backward compatible.
Around 1982-83, the Challenger III arrived as the last evolutionary step before Browning’s clean-sheet rebirth of the platform. The short-lived III moved toward lighter alloy frames that changed balance and handling, embraced bull/target barrel profiles and mounted rear sights to the barrel assembly for greater alignment consistency, with many parts compatible with the modern Buck Mark.
Modern Buck Mark — In 1985, Browning launched the Buck Mark — a clean-sheet modern .22 platform built around a straight-blowback action and a precision-machined aluminum receiver. The Buck Mark prioritized modularity and parts availability and quickly expanded into a broad family of variants: everything from practical/field models to optics-ready and target-focused versions. There have been ongoing updates, including the 2000 update to the slide serrations and extended charging “ears,” which delivered sizable manipulation and charging improvements.
Contour Pro — Though some heritage models can deliver truly exceptional accuracy, the Buck Mark line has always been highly regarded as extraordinarily accurate. Today’s Contour Pro represents the latest update with threaded vertical block fluted barrel, removable compensator, optics-ready top and underlug rails, premium grip panels and modern sighting hardware.
Other extras include deluxe G10 multi-color grips, pro-target sights with white outline adjustable rear and TRUGLO/Marble Arms fiber optic front sight. The Buck Mark trigger has always been exceptional; however, aftermarket upgrades options from TandemKross can improve the trigger even further for the competitive-minded shooter. Browning offers both 4-inch and 5-inch Pro Contour models, both with a $799 MSRP.
The new Contour Pro delivers much more than just a dressed-up Buck Mark. I have owned many Buck Marks over the years, and the Contour Pro fits its purpose as a highly refined target and competition pistol. In many ways, it feels like a more modernized International Type II. The more I handle these side by side, the more I feel that the focus and overall design intent is very similar. Though it is fun to shoot the legacy models, the modern conveniences, design and features are noticed and appreciated when fast reloads, lights, lasers, red-dot optics, and suppressors are added to the mix.
Features and Function
As expected, standard and subsonic rounds just did not have enough gas to have an effect with the compensator. The comp comes alive with CCI Mini-Mags and other higher velocity rounds, delivering a flat and extremely fast-shooting rimfire. Simply unscrewing the included compensator reveals standard 1/2x28 barrel threads promptly tested with a super-light, configurable Rugged Mustang suppressor adding a feathery 2.4 ounces and 3.4 inches in length. This is the perfect application for a configurable short/long suppressor in short configuration with subsonic rounds.
The Contour Pro offers a lot of adaptability we wanted to test that spanned open sights, competition and hunting applications. The TRUGLO/Marble irons sights were exceptional and lacked nothing, and weights can be attached to the lower Picatinny rail for the competitor purists. With the Primary Sem GLX MD-21s red-dot mounted, speed and accuracy really come together. For hunting, an offset-mounted Infitac Mini Thermal sight and an Olight laser/light combo was used for critter night hunting. This allowed illuminated shots to be taken via open sights, laser or thermal. As it turns out, the Infitac thermal sight is spectacular for night rat hunts; offers 1X-2X magnification, multi color/reticle options and a variety of thermal colors; and can be easily moved between handguns and rifles with any RMS footprint mount. There is a lot of quick adaptable versatility in this design.
Accuracy and Reliability
Bolting on a 2-7 Burris Handgun scope showcased what the Contour Pro was capable of from a rest, delivering average .5-inch 25-yard five-shot groups with Lapua Pistol King. Moving over to the brand new Primary Arms GLX MD-21s red-dot, groups opened up to just over 1 inch, and with the fully adjustable sights, just under 2 inches. Though I love red-dots on rimfires, the Contour Pro is a highly capable gun with just iron sights.
Of note, the GLX offers a huge field of view for the competitor and options for many different reticles, with near infinite runtime, thanks to the battery plus solar backup/recharging. It includes a variety of mounts in the box. Off-hand shooting on a 3-inch steel swinger tree at 50 yards seemed easy with just the red-dot, with only a few shots missed with a 9.5/10 score average on 10 runs.
Reliability was perfect, with only one ammo-related issue across 3,000 rounds, including the vermin and rat night shoot — even with some rather slow subsonic rounds. Though Browning includes two magazines, one accessory I would suggest stocking is the McFadden reloader for single-stack .22 pistols such as Ruger MK and Browning Buck Mark pistol magazines. This allows near-instant magazine reloads of all 10 rounds thanks to its 100-round hopper.
Final Thoughts
The Buck Mark Contour Pro is a purposeful modernization that all began with Browning’s original Woodsman. The pedigree shows through with competition rimfire that delivers the heft and precision expected for fast, stable shooting. The Pro Contour adds a few extra ounces to the Buck Mark Field Target model often used for competition, with the extra features like upgraded sights, grips, compensator and lower Picatinny rail seen on significantly more expensive custom competition rimfire pistols. Notably, this is Browning’s top-end competition offering, eclipsed in price only by their ultralight tensioned barrel- and optics-included models. Whether customers want just a versatile do-it-all platform or a competitive rimfire challenge pistol, the Pro Contour offers a lot considering its closest competitor, Ruger’s Competition model, is less featured with an MSRP of $150 more.
