Update to post #151 in this thread...I tried everything, as did my local gunsmith. Mine is going back; got my RMA and label today. Will go to FedEx tomorrow. Will report on return and results later.

Good luck.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Here is my experience with a new Victory:

Bought gun at local basspro at Christmas. Tried to clean before going to range and despite best efforts and some CLP, unable to remove screw. Actually almost stripped screw head with simple hand pressure. Returned to Basspro. The clerks at the gun counter were well aware of what they said was a defect in this gun-in fact they said simply placing word "screw" on the work order would be sufficient due to many returns for this known problem. They themselves openly wondered about SW quality these days as well as why SW hasn't recalled this gun yet for the screw issues. I was very, very unhappy. Told 3-6 weeks for repair.

I went back to my pistol range to RO and there was a member at a shooting station with his brand new victory. Before he began shooting it for the first time I advised him to try to remove the takedown screw. He turned his allen wrench into a corkscrew (by hand) trying unsuccessfully to remove it.

Called SW and was told that the fix is nylonized screws that supposedly won't back out. They didn't admit or apologize for this known defect which I think was very poor cust. service. I personally am off to hardware to get the proverbial #61 O ring before using it for first time. Appreciate other forum recommendation to clean thoroughly after return from SW. Am hopeful I won't have further screw issues or other new problem like the feed issue described as I have tons of bargain federal ammo to shoot.

It will be interesting if this gun holds up to new Ruger offering in the market. Hoping for the best

1. Box says 091515
2. Damn straight!
3. don't know haven't used
4. See #2

__________________
Zeke

The only thing that I can see is that the O Ring would act like a cushion and possibly allow the barrel to move when fired.

Although I have not heard anyone using it complain about accuracy yet.

If you find that the O Ring is badly damaged after a few hundred rounds then I would say it is allowing the barrel to move and should show wear on the contact areas.

__________________
40 yrs Millwright Machinist

WE have never had any complaints of the O-ring moving at all or being damaged at all from usage. My self I also recommend the o-ring and around 30-40 inch lbs of torque as well. That seems to be the perfect combination for this gun.

sorry wrong date of manufacture, from another SW gun. The Victory Box is at the shop!

__________________
Zeke

I guess that I was fortunate to not have the screw too tight for removal when I bought my SW22. It was tight but broke loose with a little effort. The new screw with the NyLock from S&W is doing very well and I do not have to use a torque wrench. I'm not keen on breaking out the torque wrench or using thread lock after every take down.

I just tighten till snug and go. I have run about 150 rounds through it without loosening. I think that I will order another screw as a back up.

I also put a "Halo" charging ring on the back of the action to allow easier charging. Great investment. Augie

__________________
Discovering the obvious.

Same tightness problem soaked in fine machine oil over night used hex wrench from Wheeler kit and a good cresent wrench to break it free. Replaced screw because socket was slightly damaged. Now torque to 45 inch lbs, and does not loosen while shooting.

Hi I am a new member and like others I too have experienced the frustration of "owning" a Victory 22 for a few days only and having to send it back to S&W.
I live in Puerto Rico and S&W does not relate directly with the Gun Owner but rather through its Dealer(s).
The following is a reply to an email I received from S&W saying that S&W could not send me a couple of replacement Victory Takedown Screws even if I wanted to pay for them in the event that my local S&W Dealer and their Armorer could loosen the Takedown Screw.

"I just received and read your reply to my inquiry( included below) regarding the Already Long Known Issue of the S#&W Victory 22 Takedown Screw. Thank you for your reply !

This issue has been discussed for over a year since you started distributing the Victory 22. As you know it started with the Victory Takedown Screw being loose on arrival or becoming loose while being used and S&W while still not admitting their flaw on this area then started to ship the Victory 22 with the Takedown Screw so over-tight that customers and Armorers could not unscrew or get them loose. Some customers and Armorers (the lucky ones who could have the screw become loose) even discovered traces of Red Locktite in the Takedown Screw.

I waited a while to see fi this issue was corrected and finally after a year went by I purchased my S&W Victory 22 Pistol.

I thought I will be one of the lucky ones and that my Takedown Screw will become loose in a normal way the moment I decided to Takedown my Victory to clean it. I waited and shot about 50 rounds in my Range and then went home to find that I almost had my 1/8"Allen (included with the Victory ) bent and nothing happened !

So I went to my S&W Local Dealer ( DISTRIBUTOR)'s Armorer and asked him to try to loosen it and decided to write you at the same time hoping that I could have a couple of Takedown Screws sent even if I had to pay for them. Needless to say the (DISTRIBUTOR)'s Armorer could not loosen the screw nor have it taken out with his tools.

Now "my" S&W Victory 22 is waiting on S&W's Decision to have it shipped back to them under Warranty to correct this issue.

So this is where I am today:

I "OWN" A BRAND NEW S&W VICTORY 22 (WITH S&W WARRANTY THAT IS RUNNING) THAT I CANNOT USE BECAUSE OF A FLAW IN DESIGN NOT RECOGNIZED BY S&W YET AND ON TOP OF THIS I HAVE TO WAIT A MINIMUM OF 3 (THREE) MONTHS FOR S&W TO RECEIVE IT AND SEND IT BACK TO PUERTO RICO !!!

(This information was obtained as a result of a Phone call to your S&W Distributor according to their previous experience with you people at S&W)

I will be posting my experience on S&W Forums to have the members know how are you handling my issue.

I hope my experience ( positive or negative) will somehow help others in their decision to purchase this Pistol.

Please reply in order to acknowledge this email and letting me know the actions you will be taking regarding my Pistol.

Thank you for your attention to this communication !

Cordially, "

OK the actual mfg date was 10/18/16

__________________
Zeke

update, received my victory back from SW yesterday. No apologies, nothing written about what they did. Takedown screw now functional but did have red material (locktite?) on it.

Cleaned gun and tried to cycle it and it and have some hopefully minor concerns. First, the mag is a little difficult to lock in the gun, both empty and with a cartridge in, not sure why. Also, it didn't cock the hammer with cycling even with the mag in.With a cartridge in I'm not sure if the hammer cocked. Haven't shot it yet so don't know for sure. Not sure if I did something wrong with the reassembly. Any seasoned victory owners have a comment? Thanks.

was 10/18/16

__________________
Zeke

whoops, sorry spoke too soon, fiddled with gun stripped down, turned out the hammer was cocked but not releasing. Released it a couple of times stripped, put together again and used more force to seat mag (with homemade snapcap from drywall anchor). Cycles now without difficulty.

Next post hopefully will be how happy I am with the gun!!!

__________________
Zeke

First trip to range. Cycled well, no hangups, only problem was barrel worked itself loose on its insert screw. Figured out it was loose after trying to zero new red dot was problematic. I'm planning to carry the two allen heads to the range whenever using the pistol and checking tightness closely. If it continues to work itself loose, then will need to investigate locktite for the barrel screw. Otherwise shoots well and now I'm tentatively happy with purchase.

__________________
Zeke

I sold my M&P 22 to buy a Victory. Picked one up at a gun show yesterday. As with all my new purchases figure I would disassemble and clean it. Well bent three allen keys trying to get the takedown screw out. Finally went to HD and bought a husky 1/8 hex socket. thank the good lord it came loose but damn I swear they use a 1/2 impact gun to tighten the damn thing. Buggered up the screw a bit so email SW to see if they will send me a new one. I did clean the screw and thread and used blue Loctite and torqued it to 40 inch pounds. Looking forward to shooting it.

Sorry to hear about your problems. I bought my Victory in Jan of 2016. Had no problem taking the screw out for the first cleaning. My barrel tended to loosen at about 70 rounds and I began making sure I took the hex wrench with me. I would check the barrel after each mag and tighten as necessary. After cleaning sometimes the barrel would stay tight for 100 rounds (my normal compliment at the range) and sometimes not. I just retightened and moved to the next mag. Over the last three months the problem seems to have gone away. Last five trips with no loosening. I did put a "o" ring on during the last trip and it worked fine. I will continue to monitor that based on what I read above. I am also going to call S&W customer service and see if they will send me the new nylon screw. I'll keep that as an emergency back up.

Hope yours smooths out and gives you a lifetime of pleasure. I love shooting mine.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Update . . .

Just got off the phone with them. New screw on the way. The person I spoke with didn't recommend one with a nylon insert or widget or whatever. Worse case is I have an extra part.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Benny instead of continuing to fight with the screw loosening at the range place a No.61 O-ring on the screw 1st and only torque to around 30-40 inch lbs with NO locktite at all. This will do the trick for you instead.

I have a Fat Wrench and had to set it to 65 in/lbs to break the take down screw free. Started at 20 in/lbs and worked up in 5 in/lbs increments. After talking with a local gunsmith, he recommended using a Viton O-ring.

What is the screw -- is it an inch standard or a metric standard? Maybe not using the correct standard Allen wrench is causing the problem?

__________________
Bill

allen wrench that comes with the pistol is a 1/8".

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Been spending more time on the Victory FB page; but happy to join you folks.

My first Victory TB was purchased in April, '16. No problems initially with the takedown screw; but I did end up adding a split washer after the screw backed out after the second and third cleanings(100 rounds or so between). Didn't have any trouble removing the screw the first time using a Husky(China )bit chucked into a Kobalt(China) rubber wrapped 'screwdriver' handle. Always just tightened by hand to whatever felt OK.

After a spring issue in the original Vic, I purchased another just over the weekend. My original is on its way to the mother ship and I traded my 22/45 base model in on the new TB(didn't want another TB; but the range shop only had TB models). Initial breakdown was similar...felt pretty tight; but no undue force was needed to loosen it. Set screw for barrel is plenty snug and all is well after 250 rounds or so...except the red dot I swapped from my original has gone nuts(what did I expect for thirty bucks!). Now I'm back to the original sights, although I may switch to a too-bulky 1x scope just for grins.

The trigger on the new unit is crisper and more positive feeling. Otherwise, the new Vic is a very familiar 'friend'. I'm up to eight mags between the two, so I'm burning through ammo faster than I should! Couple boxes of MiniMags along with a couple hundred Browning BPR and Federal AutoMatch...all running fine(albeit smokey on the Browning).

Just gave it a quick clean and replaced the original sights for a trip back to the range later today(I hope...Valentine's Day, ya know).

I'll be back with stories of my Vic experiences and an update on what the mother ship does with my original unit. I'm hoping for some new springs, roll pin, etc and maybe a new shock bumper since I mentioned that to them.

Adios,
CoachRick

Forgot to add a pic of the tiny spring that went haywire in the firing pin assembly. Broke into three pieces and coiled onto itself, resulting in multiple non-strikes per magazine....

Attached Images

IMG_0113.jpg (120.5 KB, 51 views)

Hi CoachRick and Welcome to the Forum from Canada as well. There are many Victory owners on here with a lot of knowledge about them. If you can find a No.61 o-ring at your local hardware store just place it on the barrel screw and torque it to around 35-40 inch lbs. Still easy for you to undue and will not loosen off by itself. Tandemcross also makes a very nice trigger setup for them which is easy to install at home.

Well my Victory went to S&W and I got it back in about 3 weeks. They got the takedown screw loose and tightened so I can undo it, and even sent me 2 extra hex keys rattling around in the box.

My only complaint is that the elevation adjustment screw from the rear sight was also rattling around in the box. Why it was out, I don't know...but I put it back in and am headed to the range tomorrow to re-zero it. Odd mis-step by S&W customer service, which was otherwise exellent to deal with.

well after getting the takedown loose(thanks husky 1/8 hex socket)! put 250 rounds through it with four brands of ammo and it shot without a problem!!! after a little site adjustment was very accurate! real happy. Oh and I received a new takedown screw for S&W. New screw with a dab of red substance on part of the thread????

Update: Took my newly repaired Victory to the range and it shot great once I got the rear sight re-adjusted. Shot a variety of ammo, about 80 rounds, no issues.

I just wanted to say thanks to all on this thread. I have had the same issues with my Victory, so I followed the advice to use Kano Kroil and left it overnight. I bent all my 1/8 hex keys, so purchased the 1/8 socket. After a big squeak, it released. I cleaned the barrel and the screw and then used VC-3. Since then no problems with about 100 rounds. S&W is supposed to send me a new longer screw to eliminate the loosening issue. I love this little gun. I have a Ruger 22/45 and the Ruger Mark III target and this is every bit as accurate and fun to shoot as the other two.
Thanks.

I have had the takedown screw loosening problem since the purchase of this thing! 50-75 rounds and it's loose so I contacted S&W and they said they would send me a new screw. I received the screw, it said it was called a (some kind of) patch screw or something, it had a red circular spot on it of some sort. Well, I cleaned pistol and used the new screw and off to range today. Less than 100 rounds it was loose, rather than fool with it, out of disgust, I just put it in range bag and shot something else that wouldn't come apart on the firing line! When I got home this evening I was going to clean it went to take screw out seemed rather loose, kept turning then realized that the bushing that the screw screws into had unscrewed out of the barrel! No matter how I try I cannot get the takedown screw out of the bushing! What a hunk of junk! I would rather put up with a ruger takedown any day than to have to go through what it's been like owning this junk. I guess I'll contact S&W on Monday and send it back! I would not advise my worst enemy to think of purchasing this aggravating and unsafe pistol.

I feel your pain.

Wow, that IS a new one on me! I wouldn't be happy with that!

For all the folks cranking down on a "stuck" take down screw(or seriously overtightening), this may be a concern I hadn't even considered

that needs to go back to S&W

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

As I posted above the bushing that the takedown screw screws into came out. It will unscrew out of the barrel, and I suspect we will see more and more of this over time because it appears that all that prevents this is what appears to be red locktite! Eventually it will give way. I have only hand tightened mine, and less than a month mine gave! Here are some pictures of mine.

Attached Images

	Victory 1.jpg (33.0 KB, 113 views)
	Victory3.jpg (43.0 KB, 106 views)
	Victory2.jpg (56.8 KB, 105 views)

Would you be so kind as to post a picture of your barrel?

Sure here you go!

Attached Images

	victory4.jpg (92.1 KB, 95 views)
	victory5.jpg (80.4 KB, 87 views)

You see my explanation of why initially the takedown screw is so tight. They put red locktite on the bushing threads start the bushing the start the takedown screw and put an extreme amount of torque to seat the bushing, sometimes the red locktite may even get on the inside threads of the bushing causing the takedown screw to become even more welded in place. You see I could probably take the barrel off and do the same and possibly get the takedown screw out. But as they say this would only fix the symptom and the problem would remain. I want S&W to really fix the problem before someone gets injured, this is a safety issue!

Danfo out of the hundred's of folks who have bought this model and reported on here you are the only person to have this bushing loosen up on them. I would use the red locktite on its threads and put it back to-gether and then place a No.61 o-ring over the screw when putting it back in. Try to torque to around 40" lbs if you can and you should be good to go.

Yes, I could do this, as I said in my previous post, but as I said it would not fix the Big problem. I maybe the only one so far that you know of but I can guarantee there will be more the red locktite will not stay put forever. Like I said mine went a month and maybe 700 rounds, the screw would come lose on the average every 50 rounds. I never used anything to torque it but a allen wrench with normal finger pressure. This is a safety issue!
And I paid good money for a defective design. If I sold you something new and it had this issue would you just shrug it off and say, well I'll just rig it and hope it doesn't hurt anyone. I don't think so and I will not either S&W needs to fix this issue. I've had hundreds of guns but this tops the list for complete incompetent design.

Give you $100 for your incompetently designed firearm.

I would not sell you or anyone else a firearm that I wouldn't use and that I feel is unsafe. Besides this is not the classifieds. It is being sent back to S&W.

This same issue was posted in another forum (here). The guy was thinking it was a new design. Several of us posted that it was a defect, not a new design.

Edit: I believe this forum prohibits links to the other "smithandwessonforums". The link above does not work.

__________________
NRA Benefactor Life Member

It might be worth trying an item called a stat-o-seal. It is basically a washer with an o-ring bonded in the ID of the washer, It was designed for fluid sealing around screws. Although I used them in hydraulic systems, I have also used them to perform as a lock washer. It might be worth a try.

Aluminum Stat-O-Seal Sealing Washers | Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies

for some reason the link seems to lead no where. Just search the generic name stat-o-seal

__________________
Andy

The No.61 O-ring which is very cheap at most hardware stores works perfect especially if you torque it to around 40inch lbs. WE have had literally many doz's of members on here try this and it has proven 100% successful so far.

I realize this thread has been around awhile, but I wish I would have seen it before yesterday. I just traded a mint 1979 vintage 870 Wingmaster 20 gauge for a Victory w/a barrel screw that won`t budge. I would have checked the screw had I known....
Called S&W and they`re shipping me a return label-not messing around with this. Heck, I haven`t even fired the dang thing yet.
Wasted 2 allen wrenches. May get a socket allen wrench to try if I go into town later.
Have had bad luck with new stuff-bought a new Burris Fastfire 3 that didn`t work. Been waiting on a replacement for a month now. Whatever happened to quality control? Not real impressed with a couple of companies lately....
beerbelly

Have you tried heating the screw with a soldering iron or something prior to attempting to remove it?

or use an impact driver? easy/peasy......

Well, am having more fun with the "Victory screw" (or Victory screw-job. ha)
Went into town and purchased a Crescent brand 3/8 socket hex-head set (because they were out of the American made 1/8" individual hex head socket). Applied heat to the screw via soldering gun, barely started torquing on the screw, and promptly snapped the cheap Tawain-made hex head. Great.
Dug around and found a hex-head bit that fit my impact driver (Bosch 18 volt-don`t have a air or electric impact wrench). Reheated the screw, put the driver on, and of course the screw wouldn`t budge. Now my temporary Tourette`s Syndrome really kicked in.
The Victory is now in a box waiting for FedEx to pick up. Included in said box is a note explaining my severe displeasure of the whole situation (which will probably "slow-up" the repair process if I tick `em off). Maybe I`ll get to play with my new pistol before Labor Day.
beerbelly

beerbelly, when my lgs sent mine back it took about 3 weeks to get it back. But they didn't send an allen wrench to replace the one that got stripped out. One quick phone call took care of that. Customer service was great on this one.

__________________
Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I just experienced the same problem. Bushing has no evidence of red Loctite on it. Now I can't get the takedown screw out of the bushing. S&W sent me a nylock takedown screw to solve one problem and now it has created another.