S&w 22a problems

[Gaseous Maximus]

Does anyone on here shoot a Smith 22A. if so Has the barrel stud ever became loose, and what did you do about it? Also the manual says not to dry fire the pistol. I have inadvertently done just that, when the bolt failed to pick up a round from the magazine. the result is a slight firing pin notch above the chamber. I bought the pistol because it sort of reminded me of the old High Standard. My pistol seems to be real accurate, but I'm afraid its not very well made. I had to replace the plastic (ugh) firing pin retainer right after I first got the thing. Also I had to rework the magazine retainer and spring, cause the mag. liked to pop out of the grip. I did buy the gun new, and have shot it less than a couple thousand times.

[Drm50]

I had one a couple years ago and kept it for about a month. It had all kind of glitches with feed and
magazine. I bought a new magazine and it didn't help. I sold it at break even, kept new mag and was glad to see it go down the road. I've quite a few S&Ws, the last decent 22 auto they made was
the 422/622 series. I won't buy any of the newer models again. The new series futuristic 22 pistols
from all makers are junk. I also got skinned on SIG Mosquito, another piece of junk. Save your cash and buy that Hi-Std you will be better off. I sold my 422 but am holding onto my M41 S&W.

[Baltimoreed]

I’ve collected a bunch of Woodsmans over the years, love them. But if I hadn’t gotten into them I would have collected Ruger .22s. I shot a friends Ruger with the Volquartson[?sp] trigger and WOW. As nice as my Model 41 if not nicer. The old Colt Cadet .22 was junky, bought one and got rid of it. They don’t make them like they used to. If I wanted an economical .22 Smith i’d invest in a wheel gun. They have that technology down pat.

[tazman]

I have a 22A and it shoots extremely well. I haven't had anything come loose on it yet. I have the target length barrel.
The trigger is long, heavy, and gritty but It actually makes me hold the gun on target and not anticipate the shot better.
Some ammunition doesn't feed well in it. Good, 40 grain round nose ammo feeds well and shoots well in it.
I have to keep the slide well oiled or it will start dragging and cause feed problems. As long as I do that, it works fine.
It hates Thunderbolts. Likes Federal Auto Match. Loves Norma match.
I probably have about 1500 rounds through mine.

[arcticap]

The 22A was a fairly popular model at our club .22 plate shots and generally functioned well.
They had their fair share of ammo stovepipes & jams depending on the ammo. since most folks like to shoot Federal Bulk whether it functions the best or not.
Some folks would not push the magazine in deep enough to lock it in place or so I thought.
Club members would take turns being range officers and standing at the shooter's tables to make sure each gun was clear after each relay.
So we would closely observe how each gun was shooting and problems that cropped up during each relay.
They didn't seem to have many more problems than other models, and most ran like a clock with the right ammo and magazine.
Some magazines may work better than others.
Perhaps their quality has declined, or we only hear about the ones with defects.
And yes, their model 617 10 shot wheelgun was always the universal favorite on .22 revolver night during our plate shoots by a large margin.

If the barrel stud has a problem, give S&W a call and see if they will send you a pre-paid shipping label.
Perhaps they will fix it gratis.
If they don't send you a label, then pay to send in the gun and they should pay for the return shipping.
Or perhaps the gun dealer where you bought it can ship it back for you using a commercial discount.
Explain the problems that you've had to them and see what they can do to help you if S&W doesn't offer to pay for shipping.

A small dimple from dry firing should not make a difference with performance.
As long as it doesn't protrude at the chamber lip enough to interfere with chambering at all.
I've yet to ever see that happen.

Or perhaps you can trade in the 22A towards a new Victory model, or a used Ruger.

[Gaseous Maximus]

I am the gun dealer I bought it from. I forgot to mention that the rib on top also worked loose. I've had this pistol about ten years. The barrel stud is threaded, so I probably need a thread locker, but not something so strong that it cannot be removed if need be. This is why I posted on here, I thought someone might have had the same problem, and what they did to correct it.

[georgerkahn]

I won one of these at a NRA Banquet in 2012 -- s/n UDA47xx. I had similar loose barrel challenge, and -- compounded with my not liking the barrel which came on it -- I bought (eBay) a replacement barrel. This barrel fitted and worked fine for me, until -- a few years down the road -- I spied and traded it for a Victory model. My major reasons for moving "up" to the Victory, is the 22a always seemed to point "down" when held at target -- and, when compensated, still did not meet my accuracy wants at the time. The ammo we used was the Green stuff from CCI; I do recall hearing or reading of a prohibition to use high-velocity in this firearm. Perhaps a previous owner may have (just a thought) -- loosening things up?
BEST!
geo

[Gaseous Maximus]

I won one of these at a NRA Banquet in 2012 -- s/n UDA47xx. I had similar loose barrel challenge, and -- compounded with my not liking the barrel which came on it -- I bought (eBay) a replacement barrel. This barrel fitted and worked fine for me, until -- a few years down the road -- I spied and traded it for a Victory model. My major reasons for moving "up" to the Victory, is the 22a always seemed to point "down" when held at target -- and, when compensated, still did not meet my accuracy wants at the time. The ammo we used was the Green stuff from CCI; I do recall hearing or reading of a prohibition to use high-velocity in this firearm. Perhaps a previous owner may have (just a thought) -- loosening things up?
BEST!
geo

Mine is the 5 1/2" bull barrel and the pistol is pretty accurate, with a scope, 1" or so at 25 yds. I am the original owner. As long as the stud is screwed in tight. there is no looseness between it and the frame. The victory model interests me, are you liking it?

[arcticap]

The only thing that I've ever heard that go wrong with the 22A's is that the internal plastic buffer pad needs to be periodically replaced.

I wonder if it radically increases the vibration if that small buffer pad is not routinely replaced once it's worn out.
That might explain some of the parts rattling loose.
It's a very inexpensive replacement part, but an important one that's needed to buffer the slide.

Even barrel mounted scope mounts on most .22 pistols need to have thread lock applied to the screws.
Some High Standard pistols can have frame cracks develop from using high velocity ammo because the pistol doesn't have a buffer, and it's not designed for HV ammo.
I knew a guy whose S&W Model 41 slide cracked after many years and he basically only used it with standard velocity target ammo.
However S&W did replace the slide at no charge.

There were some isolated quirks with the Victory model that mostly seem to have been worked out.
The original barrel retaining screw would loosen up and a modified redesigned screw was issued by S&W.
A small number had feeding issues which S&W fixes for those who can't iron it out themselves.
There's a well known procedure on youtube videos explaining how to get it feeding right.
IIRC it's just a small adjustment to a metal tab in the slide, the ejector tab maybe?
Otherwise, the reports about them have been stellar.
It just seems that S&W rushed the Victory to market a little prematurely before all of the bugs were worked out.
And the factory techs weren't properly adjusting the slide tabs on some guns before being shipped.

What's nice about the Rugers are that they seem to handle high velocity ammo without a hiccup or undue wear & tear for the most part.
It has a much longer track record than the Victory, and they've now developed the Mark lV.
The Ruger has benefitted from a lot more R&D over the years that have helped them to evolve.
Its other advantage among plate shooters is that it has an internal bolt and not an external slide that one needs to worry about
interfering with how one holds the pistol for speed shooting.
I've seen folks blaze through steel plates at the highest speeds with the Ruger models because of that.

[georgerkahn]

To answer Gaseous Maximus's query re my liking the Victory, I adore it! I have a Model 41 which I bought new in 1970, and -- after shooting Bullseye with it for a short 30 years, and it having made two or three costly trips to Clarke Custom Guns for costly improvements to hopefully increase my scores by one or two -- it stays IN the safe, EXCEPT for dedicated official target shooting. I was excited winning the 22a, which -- I'm being frank here and hopefully am not instilling hard feelings -- was from the gitgo a real disappointment to me. It appeared cheaply made, and that I always had to bring my wrist up about 15* didn't endear it to me -- but, I thought the replacement barrel would solve all problems. Yes, it restored a better no-longer-loose barrel fit, and I reckoned I might maintain fair accuracy... But, when the Victory in a local dealer's showcase started shouting, "Buy me!", how could I resist? Dealer gave a fair trade price for the 22a, being quite cognizant of what I perceived as its faults, too.
I've carried the Victory; had it in tool-box on my tractor; in a boat tackle box, and fed it pretty much all flavors of .22 ammunition. I believe I've had less than a dozen failures, and I attribute them all to one lot of "bargain" fodder I picked up at a Gander Mountain going out of business sale -- its Remington which came loose-packed in a white cardboard box of 550 rounds.
Back to the Victory, when I load it, it fires, and the bullet almost always lands pretty close to where the barrel is aimed. It has the same "hold" as my 41, 52, and 1911s -- so there's no requisite adjustment. Knowing what I have from owning and shooting one -- yes -- I'd buy another in a heartbeat if I ever lost/had to sell this one.
geo

[Gaseous Maximus]

Thanks arcticap. I have replaced the buffer, as a matter of fact I ordered several before finding extras under the foam liner in the case. I agree about the Rugers I have a mark 1 (5 1/2 bull) which I bought used years ago, and have shot it a bunch.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Thanks, georgerkahn, That has been pretty much my feelings & experience with mine. Its my belief that Smith made the thing way too cheap. I have replaced the plastic buffer and have a bunch of extras. The thin spring steel piece on the rear of the rib which hooks into the rear of the frame doesn't seem like a real great plan. also the plastic firing pin housing. That is interesting about your victory. I have thought about selling my 22A and buying one. I don't know anyone that I would want to inflict it upon though.

[Baltimoreed]

George, Your Victory sounds like my 4.5 in bbl 2nd Series MT Colt. Just fits my hand perfectly. Finish is pretty much gone as I carried it deer hunting for years. I’ve killed squirrels with it from my tree stand numerous times. It was my favorite plinker but was always dead on. I’ve never shot a .22 bullseye match but have competed in 25 yd, iron sight, chicken silhouette type matches an indoor range used to hold every week. 10 relays of 5 rds, highest number of chickens knocked off the rr tie won, but they had to be knocked off to count. Always was a heartbreaker to be doing good and just snig one and it hangs up by the foot and not fall or snig the top and rock it forward so it falls in front- don’t count. Top shooter got half the entry fees, range got the other half, second place got a free shoot next week. If there was a tie the tied shooters kept doing relays. Lots of fun.

[JeffG]

I have the 22A. I’ve replaced a couple buffers but to date no loosening of barrel lug. I have no complaints with trigger on mine. Zero magazine issues. Shot 100 rounds with it a couple days ago. As typical, some ammo better than others, typical bad ammo duds.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Jeff, How often have you replaced the buffer? I have read, on another forum, of making one from brass. which sounds kind of radical to me.

[tazman]

I just got back from a trip to the range and I shot the 22A while I was there. Put 100 rounds of auto-match through it. I had forgotten just how accurate and fun to shoot it is.
No problems at all today.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Tazman, I am happy for you. If there was one pistol in ten thousand with a problem, I'd probably get it. If I might ask, what is that that you are holding in your avatar?

[tazman]

Tazman, I am happy for you. If there was one pistol in ten thousand with a problem, I'd probably get it. If I might ask, what is that that you are holding in your avatar?

That is my world class channel catfish. It was smaller than the stinkbait worm it got hooked on.

It only had one barb of the treble hook in it's mouth.
My wife holds the record for smallest fish though. She managed to hook and land a sunfish about the size of a postage stamp.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Fine looking fish Taz, sort of reminds me of JAWS.

[BPSharps]

I have a 22a I bought from a guy that said it was terrrible and wouldn't cycle. Told him I would give him $100. Took it home and looked up assembly video on Youtube. Darn thing was put together wrong. I reassembled it and it runs without a glitch. It is also quite accurate. Money well spent.