I traded for a full sized M&P 22 recently. I just got it out to the range today. I had alot of problems with it. I only had one 12rd mag, everytime I used it, I had FTE in the 1st 3 rounds. Sometimes the slide didn't blow back, sometimes it did, but didn't pick up the empty. Usually, after the first 3, it would blow through the other rounds just fine.
I only had Federal 40gr. fmj, Target Grade Performance(1200FPS). I did have some Fed. copper HP's that I threw in the box after a range session with another gun. They both had the same hiccups.
I cleaned it before shooting, I didn't see any issues with the gun.
I'm going back this afternoon with some Win.Power Points, and some CCI Green Tags. I hope I get better results.
Does this gun have a reputation for being ammo picky? If so, what is best for it? I only have the 1 factory 12rd mag. I looked and no one around here has extra mags for it. If I order online, should I get 10rd mags?

I have had a FS M&P 22 for a couple of years and have used CCI, Federal auto-match, Winchester, Aguila, Remington, etc. and have not had many issues. I will get an occasional FTE, but not like you are reporting. I have actually been amazed at how it is not picky with .22 lr ammo.

I have factory 12 rd mags and 12 rd mags from Keepshooting.com. They both perform the same.

I also have a full size M&P 22 but I've not have any pistol issues with it. Seems to fire all ammo I've tried but have had some short stroke failures to load next round with Aquila SV and PMC ammo with I attribute to under powered rounds. I have three (came with 2) 12 and two 10 round magazines and all seem to function perfectly with the pistol.

As you've indicated, try different ammo. Are you getting good primer strikes? Does the round go off with a second strike? Sometimes it's the priming in the ammo.

Don't think the magazine capacity has anything to do with it but you should try other ones when you can. CDNN Investment has both 10 and 12 round magazines for $24.99 plus shipping. Ebay also has both but cost varies by seller. Some are slightly more than CDNN but can offer free shipping so overall cost may be less. I also live in Missouri so either 10 or 12 rounds would be OK; your choice. The only difference is the length of the piece that limits how far the spring and follower can be depressed.

Hope you can get the problem resolved.

I have the same gun and have had problems with certain types of ammo and with a brick of ammo my dad bought at Montgomery Ward (imagine the age of that). Even if the spring is very soft (very easy to rack the slide), I suppose the gun needs powerful enough loads to push the heavy slide back.

By the way, the best price I've ever found for those magazines is at 44MAG.com - Smith & Wesson .22lr Pistol Magazines All Models - Smith & Wesson M&P22 Pistol Magazine .22lr 12rd. I've been happy with my purchases from them.

Thanks for the comments. I went back to the range with Win. Power Points and CCI Green Tag(std. velocity). The Win. acted the same as the Federal. It has good primer strikes, but doesn't eject the 1st round, or #2 or 3. I have to rack the slide to eject the shells. I only loaded 5 rounds in the mag and it usually worked just fine. Now, the CCI Green Tag, which is a few years old, BTW, worked perfectly, even loaded at 12 rounds.
The range shop only had more high velocity. I'm going to have to try other std. velocity ammo and see how it does.
Oh, I should add, one Win round stuck in the chamber. I had to pull it out with a fingernail. It wasn't hard, but the extractor wouldn't grab it.
There's a solution somewhere, I just have to figure it out. Kinda like an old Ford I used to have.

I shoot. 22 Compact. I only shoot CCI (Mini Mag RN, Mini Mag hp and Velocitor) from the first round to the latest expansion round fired That is just a bit shy of 3,000 rounds. Never a failure to feed, fire, or eject. Reliability in a blowback design requires quality ammo.

I havn't had much problem with most ammo. Occasional FTEject or FTFire with Win anf Fed. , especially bulk packs. I have very good luck with CCI and Rem Golden , very few issues with these.

If you are looking for mags. , try Gunmagwarehouse.

Panther, my M&P .22 FS exhibits the exact same behavior as you've described with yours. I've tried many different types of ammo with no luck. Some have suggested that CCI mini mags are the only ammo this gun will fire reliably, so I bought some but haven't tried them yet. Pretty much disgusted with this gun at this point, hoping the mini mags work or someone finally figures out what's causing this problem.

Are you looking at the rim of the casings. Is there a strong imprint from the fireing pin? Is consistent? If so, my guess is ammo.

I've had my FS for about five years. I've had the occasional FTE but not as often as yours and not in any pattern like you are experiencing. My FS prefers higher velocity ammo for both accuracy and functioning. I've had some functioning failures with lower power ammo. Some of the most accurate and reliable ammo I shot out of it was a 20 year old brick of Thunderbolts. Go figure.

I'd advise cleaning the extractor and firing pin area well. I note the "S&W" .22LR versions of center fire pistols are supposed to be Umarex variants of their standard Single action automatic.
Geoff
Who is skeptical.

Yes, important to look carefully at the firing pin. Also, could be the Firing pin return spring. If it's weak or very dirty, it may not return the FP fully to the rear and result in a light primer strike. End result , slide not traveling back fully so as not to eject or even extract the casing. If it's just dirt ,this can be corrected with the use of something like Gun Scrubber to flush out the FP block. This would also clean the ext .hook and spring.
Just a thought.

My M&P22 full size has had numerous malfunctions with the Federal Automatch and Federal Champion (failures to feed, failures to extract). On the other hand, I have had great success with CCI MiniMags, CCI AR-Tactical, and Aguila SuperExtra. Haven't tried any Remington in it yet.

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