MetalMule Welcome to the Forum from Canada. May I suggest to you to buy a socket with the correct sized bit in it and that will break it free with a 3/8" rachet. When its loose and out, place a No.61 O-ring on the screw before re-tighting it to around 40 inch lbs. Problem solved and very cheaply as well. With this in place it won't come loose unless you want it to.

Having read all the problems with removing the take down screw was reluctant to purchase one but did anyway. What a surprise it came apart easily. Noticed a red dot of some sort of locking compound, just a dot on the thread. Maybe that is the new fix?

Hello everyone,

This is my first post but I felt I might be able to add some insight.
I bought my victory early in february of 2016. It's under 6400 serial number.

I have put over 9500 rounds of various ammo through it. I use it primarily for NRA bullseye shooting and plinking.

I had the same problem as everyone else with the barrel loosening every 50 rounds. I tried the rubber o rings but they would get torn up with the set screw going in and out. I would just keep a wrench with me and tighten every 50 rounds or so. The answer came when I used green thread locker. Enough stayed in the threads and it quit loosening up. I could then run 250-300 rounds with no loosening.

About 6000 rounds the spring on the firing pin plunger broke. Of course this is a "armory only repair and I would have to send the gun in. Took it to my local gunsmith, matched a spring, back in business.

This week's range session, the extractor claw took off, the plunger came out followed by the spring in two pieces. Contacted S&W, can't sell me the pieces, got to go in. Oh they are on two week factory shutdown.

But, I love this gun. This thing ran flawlessly until it broke. And in all fairness close to 10,000 rounds.

At 5000 round count, I added a Volquartsen carbon fiber barrel, a tandemkross trigger and altamont wood grips. A Bushnell red dot. It is as beautiful as it is accurate.

So after I put all the stock pieces back in I can send it to the factory for a 5 minute repair that will keep me out of a gun for 3-4 weeks. And I have no doubt it will be repaired under warranty.

I hope this helps anyone who is considering. From stock to customized it is a hoot to shoot

Update 8-5-17. My earlier mentioned experience with S&W was on a live chat were I was informed I had to return the firearm. Yesterday I called S&W customer service, and even though I was on hold awhile, the gentleman said he'd mail the needed parts at no charge. Expect them in 7-10 days. Of course I provided the serial# I registered early on after purchasing. He asked for the name of my prior contact ( I couldn't remember) because he wanted that corrected.

So all in all, a great customer service response, once talking to a human.

The best part, I don't have to dismantle all my goodies and send it back as stock. And to those looking at the mods, you can easily add $250- $300 to your purchase price before optics.

But I primarily use this one handed, NRA B-8 at 25 yds. I wanted the barrel length of a Ruger Mark III Hunter but in a much lighter weight. The Ruger is around 42 oz. And the new Mark IV Hunter is around $575.00. This set up with the carbon fiber barrel is 33 oz. So for me it was very much worth it.

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Nice looking pistol and a great report. I just picked up my new Victory last Saturday and can't wait to get to the range, hopefully tomorrow. I've been perusing websites looking at mods but I'm gonna shoot it a bit before going any further. And mine came with threadlocker on the takedown screw so we'll see how it holds.

My experience is similar to yours. I bought mine in Jan of 2016 and have about 2100 rounds through it. I bought a nice Victory bag and carried the allen wrench in it and accumulated five magazines. After every 50 rounds when I had to reload the mags I would check the barrel and tighten if necessary. I was okay with that and over time I established "muscle memory" on tightening I had to tighten less and less.

I am one who cleans after every session. I did order the free replacement screw but have never used it. I also got the "o" ring from John Deere and it has worked well. It may deteriorate over time like yours did but I don't shoot as much as you do and they are under two bucks so this solution works fine for me.

I also added a very inexpensive red/green dot and am having a ball with the SW22 Victory.

The real issue is that the wife loves to shoot mine so I may end up getting a camo one for me and let her have the original.





Great first post by the way.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Got my Victory a couple of weeks ago. Date of manufacture: 3/16/17. First time removing the takedown screw required some effort, but popped loose without any problems using the supplied allen wrench. Have fired only 100 rounds so far, (Volquartsen fluted barrel) but no loose screw problems encountered. Very nice gun indeed!

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S&W SW22 Victory

Yes, that's the new fix.

I got my new S&W SW22 Victory today and it was also made on 3/16/17. Has the small red nylock patch on the take down screw.

Picked up a couple of o rings yesterday from Ace Hardware. Their stockage uses a different format for o rings. Their number for #61 size is #007. The ID is 5/32, OD is 9/32 and wall thickness is 1/16. Same measurement as that of #61. Their charge was 23¢ each. Works fine.

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S&W SW22 Victory

That is the new S&W solution. It is not loctite, but some other compound (Nylock?). It works.

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Loving retirement!

The O-rings should last for years if you get the correct sized ones. Tighten them up to around 40 inch lbs when the O-ring is in its proper place. They will stay tight for sure.

Gentlemen
I just bought a Victory and also joined this forum. The torque on a takedown screw can affect accuracy. Rubber between the screw head and the frame may give during recoil which could also affect accuracy. The Smith and Wesson screw with the red patch screw cure is probably better, but I think you do need to torque enough so the bolt will not become loose during thermal expansion or shock.

I had to investigate something like this during a failure (I work at a rocket company) The following is what I learned

Personally I do not kill Loc-Tite. I have seen it fail on my rifles several times. Loctite blue is Anaerobic, it is a liquid when exposed to oxygen. As the screw is tightened the blue is deprived of oxygen and turns into a solid. At my company we do not use Anaerobic Loctite in our electronics because it can migrate to other places and cause issues.

The red Loctite has a methacrylate ester base. Think crazy glue. It is designed for permanent use. It is used by the military in many places, but not in the Abrams tank turret. The reason it that this type of threadlocker can shatter under high shock loads. It doesn't work after shattering. I have had scope mounts get loose with Loc-tite.

Vibra-Tite VC-3 is used in the Abrams tank. I buy it in a bottle and it also comes in a tube. To use, I degrease the screw, then brush on the VC-3. Do not install the screw! Let the VC-3 dry first. The VC-3 can be applied months before the screw is used. It is rubbery and probably flows into the nooks and crannies between the threads. It cannot shatter. The screw can be re-used many times. This is probably the red patch on the screws S&W has been sending out to fix this problem. I have used VC-3 for several decades and I never had it fail.

The torque on a action screw can affect accuracy. The screw is there to hold the two pieces of metal together even during shock loads. The purpose of the torque is to stretch the screw enough so shock loads, thermal expansion etc, cannot allow a screw to become loose even for a moment. Once a screw is loose it can turn (unless there is Vibra-Tite on it). The rubber o-ring may take up the slack, keeping the load on the screw, but probably not enough to keep the barrel and frame as tightly together as a torqued screw would. A Belleville Washer would be a better choice, offering greater force. I believe I saw some at Ace.

I would suggest the VC-3 without the O-ring and toque it down. Someone should test to see how much the amount of torque affects accuracy. If you can't get to the store for the VC-3 in time, go look at a gun magazine (the kind you read). Find an ad which is glued in the magazine with a strip of that snot stuff. A single wrap stretched around the threads worked for me a while back. Your results may vary.