Review: Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory Target Gun

[toobaroque]

My final 10 rounds at 10 yards included a magazine change. I shot a steady pace of fire, not rapid fire or 10-second timed pace, but quickly enough that my instincts guided me rather than the thrill of shooting a new gun. It was VERY comfortable, and I have to say the mag drop and reload were very smooth. Unlike a Mark III, I did not have to rotate the gun to reach the release button, and I was able to get the new magazine inserted within about 3 - 4 seconds. I wasn't trying to rush, but I didn't want to lollygag either because I wanted to simulate a competitive-type situation.

I wouldn't win any awards, but the point of all of this is to review the GUN, not my shooting ability. As far as that goes, at 10 yards this gun is awesome and to this point has performed flawlessly. I'm beginning to think maybe I didn't make a mistake after all in succumbing to it's lure.

Below you'll see the final 10 rounds (plus the previous 5 rounds) that I took at 10 yards. A couple of flyers, but I have no doubt at all that they were a result of operator error.

From here on out, I'll be shooting at Bull's-eye distance of 50' so I'll most likely be making some adjustments to the sights again. I'm also going to use some different types of ammo to see how the gun handles it all.

 

[Leatherhead]

Nice report, toobaroque . Can't wait to hear how it reacts with different ammo.

 

[Gadgetsrfun]

Conference call multi task. Tear down and reassembled in less than a min. MK 2 so much easier than the 3 but still not bad..

 

[Gadgetsrfun]

I think I will wait for a BNIB in the next year or so. Or just shoot toobaroque

 

[toobaroque]

I moved the target out to 50' for all of the next rounds of fire.

After shooting a few rounds at this distance, it was obvious that I needed to lower my point of impact to accommodate the bullet rise between 30' and 50' so I moved the rear sight down a few more clicks. Keep in mind, I have not even touched the windage adjustment screw and it doesn't seem like I am going to have to. From the out-of-the-box setting, I have now moved the rear elevation exactly 1/2 turn.

Using a random selection of the previously mentioned ammo (NOT the CCI Quiet), I proceeded to shoot at different paces to see if the gun would cycle everything. I wasn't worried too much about accuracy at this point, but I will tell you I hit paper every time. I was pleased with the result, as I only had a few rounds that didn't eject properly, all of which were Remington. The other brands worked 100% of the time, no matter how fast or slow I shot. I had one instance where the magazine released a second round on top a chambered round (also Remington), but I was able to clear that very quickly. The guide rod on this gun is offset, not like a Ruger that runs right down the middle, so the second bullet kind of got lodged up in there behind the guide rod. I could see this as a problem in competition because I couldn't just shake the bullet clear since it was off to the side. I had to drop the magazine and then take my pen to flip the bullet out. That was the ONLY problem I had with this type of situation, and it was again with the Remington ammo, and it only happened ONE time.

My conclusion to all of this is simple: I believe this gun will satisfactorily eat ANYTHING you want to put through it.

Next trip out, I'll try some Subsonic rounds (not CCI Quiets @ 710 FPS) to see how it does, but my hunch is that it will cycle them just fine. I'll report of that after the test takes place... which most likely will be tonight!

Once I finished this, I settled into some Federal JHP 40gr rounds and worked on accuracy. I'll report on that later.

Hope y'all aren't too bored yet.

 

[toobaroque]

I just picked one of these up myself. Hoping tomorrow will be decent enough weather that I can try it out.

The second thing I noticed is that this gun is a snap to clean. Loosen a single hex-screw in front of the trigger guard and the whole upper unlocks and comes right off. Pull the bolt out the back and you are done with the field strip. Putting it back together is just as simple. I did both in less than a minute, something impossible to do with either the Ruger or (God forbid) the Browning.

Last but not least is the interchangeable barrel system. After field stripping it, you loosen another hex-head screw and the entire chamber/barrel comes out of the receiver as a single unit. Right now they are only selling the bull-barrel version the OP shows, but they will be delivering threaded barrels and lightweight barrels as well.

If the accuracy is similar to the Rugers, they may finally have a semi competitive to the Mk II/III series.

.

Congratulations on your new Victory.

Taking a break from my review, I have to comment on this post:

Being of that particular "nature" I decided to take this SW22 apart before I even shot it. I read the manual carefully and seeing how ridiculously simple it is I got all set up and broke out the trusty Allen wrench that came with the gun. Heck, I remember taking apart a can opener my Mom got for Christmas way back in the 60's some time... just to see how it worked, before she even plugged it in; so this should prove to be very simple.

WRONG!

THREE Allen wrenches later, including using an extension handle for leverage, my gun would still not yield to my curiosity. So far, my gun has not been taken apart for cleaning even after all my shooting. I might give Smith a call today for some encouragement. WOW, is this thing ever tight.

 

[Hayata]

Nice range report!

Someone at S&W is torque happy. Broke the wrench that came with my S&W compact .22 trying to remove thread adapter. Finally resorted to vise grips.

S&W replaced the wrench.

 

[toobaroque]

I'm gonna wind this down because I know it's getting very boring. Hopefully this will give you all the information you need or want.

After a series of shots using the different ammo, I settled on the Federal because that's what I usually like to shoot steel plates with. It's consistent and reliable and seems to be more readily available than the others with the exception of the CCI SV.

I decided to settle in for accuracy first, then do some rapid fire. Using a recycled target covered in tape, I hit mostly where I was aiming; maybe a little low. These shots are at the Bull's-Eye distance of 50'. I know I shot 10 times and had one dud round, but I only see 8 holes, so I must have either missed altogether or cut the same hole on one shot. Either way, I was getting tired and my eyes were getting blurry, and I was also helping my 84-year old Dad try to get his WWII era Colt 1911 to work with the Ace conversion, so my focus was in more than one place. Regardless, it was fun and I think the gun performed beyond my ability anyway.

After this I decided it was time for some fun, so I loaded up the magazines and Let 'Er Rip! Obviously I was getting tired, but I believe the results here prove that this gun can compete with the Rugers given these circumstances. It has a nice heavy feel in your hand so you know what the gun is doing when it fires. I believe the accuracy is better than MY ability to shoot it, so it gets 5-stars in that regard as well. The mag drops/changes are easy and quick and it eats anything you want to shoot out of it... although I did not use Remington Goldens and I promise this gun will never see one.

Thanks for enduring my rambling (assuming you didn't just skip to this part) and good luck in your decision to resist buying one of these. I only wish that I would have waited for the S&W threaded model to arrive before pulling the trigger on the purchase, but I will enjoy the fluted VQ barrel when it arrives in my mailbox. ASSUMING, however, that I ever get this thing apart.

Have a great day. Safe shooting and enjoy every minute we still have our freedom to do what we do.

If you have any specific questions, post them on the thread or send me a PM.

 

[potenza]

Its

Your stainless frame Buckmark is the only other one I've ever seen or at least that I recall

It's an older one, the trigger is messed up right now.

 

[spencer60]

Congratulations on your new Victory.

Taking a break from my review, I have to comment on this post:

Being of that particular "nature" I decided to take this SW22 apart before I even shot it. I read the manual carefully and seeing how ridiculously simple it is I got all set up and broke out the trusty Allen wrench that came with the gun. Heck, I remember taking apart a can opener my Mom got for Christmas way back in the 60's some time... just to see how it worked, before she even plugged it in; so this should prove to be very simple.

WRONG!

THREE Allen wrenches later, including using an extension handle for leverage, my gun would still not yield to my curiosity. So far, my gun has not been taken apart for cleaning even after all my shooting. I might give Smith a call today for some encouragement. WOW, is this thing ever tight.

It's definitely 'on there'. I was able to break it loose with the supplied hex wrench, but something with more leverage would have helped. I haven't tried the barrel screw yet.