Pilot70D
Member
Here is my first impression of the SW22 Victory after firing my first 350 rounds.
Bought the pistol late Tuesday at the Georgia Gun Club with an out the door price of a little over $385. Not the lowest or the highest price around for this fire arm but reasonable enough that I went ahead and bought it. I had done a lot of reading and watching reviews because I wanted a 22LR semi-automatic pistol. I was favorably impressed with the write ups on the Victory and this one was in stock.
Didn't fire the pistol Wednesday because I wanted to clean and oil it first. Did not take it apart but I did clean the bore and oil it. First impression before firing - the ergonomics and feel of this fire arm are perfect. The grips fit my hand well. The balance feels great and there is no sensation of this being a heavy pistol.
Wednesday I took it back to the gun club and fired 200 rounds. The first 50 rounds I fired using a bench rest to zero the sights. Out of the box the sights were way high and just slightly to the left. Minor convenience glitch here. S&W used two different sizes for the flat head screws that adjust the rear windage and elevation. The windage screw is much smaller than the one for elevation. I had already noticed this and brought a set of precision screwdrivers with me so I had the correct size screwdrivers. This more of an annoyance than a design flaw because once set I rarely have to re-adjust the windage so no big deal. I did notice that the tactile feedback 'clicks' when adjusting the rear sight are very indistinct. The clicks are there but were hard to feel with this particular pistol.
Initially I had difficulty firing tight groups even though I was using a bench rest. The trigger felt very heavy but I thought it would free up after the first few rounds. It did but not a great amount. I did adjust and learn to fire respectful groups with this pistol but nothing to brag about. The sights are terrific. As I mentioned at the beginning the ergonomics are superb. The pistol felt natural in my hand. The trigger pull remained very heavy though.
OK, took the pistol home, field stripped it, cleaned it and lubricated it. Disassembly and re-assembly were a breeze once I got the main allen screw loose. Getting it loose took a LOT of force. I don't know what torque setting they used at the factory but I actually bent the first allen wrench I used before finally breaking the allen screw loose.
Returned to the range today and fired an additional 150 rounds. Before heading out to the firing line I stopped by the armory where we measured the trigger break. It was 6.25 lbs consistently. We checked a half a dozen times just to be sure. From the beginning the trigger pull has been very smooth with a distinct and crisp break. Over travel was a little long so I adjusted that before shooting any rounds today. Limiting the over travel improved the feel tremendously. As of today there are no after market trigger kits for the Victory. As soon as someone produces one I'll buy it immediately.
I did experience two problems today during the 150 rounds I fired. First, the allen screw did come loose sometime after the first 50 rounds. I had tightened it as much as I dared after cleaning the pistol. However, this time I really gorilla'd it down. No more problems with the allen screw. I will start using purple LocTite on it from now on.
Problem number two was the magazine release. When I use a typical two handed grip my left hand can and did exert enough pressure on the magazine release that caused the magazine to be ejected twice. I adjusted my left hand position slightly which prevented any further recurrences.
So far there have been no malfunctions attributable to the pistol at all. No failures to fire, no failures to extract, no failures to eject, no failures to feed at all. I did run one fifty round box of ammunition through the pistol in a rapid fire mode. The barrel got a little warm but that's the only noticeable effect of sustained very rapid fire. Incidentally, on both days I fired Aguila SuperExtra 40 grain copper plated bullet ammunition exclusively.
In summary I found the Victory to be a delight to shoot with no bad habits at all with the exception of the heavy (in my opinion) trigger pull. There are two things that I think this pistol needs. First is a set of contoured wood target grips and the second is trigger kit to lighten the trigger pull. The stock factory grips feel fine and they fit my hand like a glove. Contoured wood grips simply feel better. Obviously mine at least also needs a trigger kit. I am delighted by the feel and handling of this pistol consequently I am happy that I bought it.
I hope this information is helpful. Now everyone out there have a great day.
Bought the pistol late Tuesday at the Georgia Gun Club with an out the door price of a little over $385. Not the lowest or the highest price around for this fire arm but reasonable enough that I went ahead and bought it. I had done a lot of reading and watching reviews because I wanted a 22LR semi-automatic pistol. I was favorably impressed with the write ups on the Victory and this one was in stock.
Didn't fire the pistol Wednesday because I wanted to clean and oil it first. Did not take it apart but I did clean the bore and oil it. First impression before firing - the ergonomics and feel of this fire arm are perfect. The grips fit my hand well. The balance feels great and there is no sensation of this being a heavy pistol.
Wednesday I took it back to the gun club and fired 200 rounds. The first 50 rounds I fired using a bench rest to zero the sights. Out of the box the sights were way high and just slightly to the left. Minor convenience glitch here. S&W used two different sizes for the flat head screws that adjust the rear windage and elevation. The windage screw is much smaller than the one for elevation. I had already noticed this and brought a set of precision screwdrivers with me so I had the correct size screwdrivers. This more of an annoyance than a design flaw because once set I rarely have to re-adjust the windage so no big deal. I did notice that the tactile feedback 'clicks' when adjusting the rear sight are very indistinct. The clicks are there but were hard to feel with this particular pistol.
Initially I had difficulty firing tight groups even though I was using a bench rest. The trigger felt very heavy but I thought it would free up after the first few rounds. It did but not a great amount. I did adjust and learn to fire respectful groups with this pistol but nothing to brag about. The sights are terrific. As I mentioned at the beginning the ergonomics are superb. The pistol felt natural in my hand. The trigger pull remained very heavy though.
OK, took the pistol home, field stripped it, cleaned it and lubricated it. Disassembly and re-assembly were a breeze once I got the main allen screw loose. Getting it loose took a LOT of force. I don't know what torque setting they used at the factory but I actually bent the first allen wrench I used before finally breaking the allen screw loose.
Returned to the range today and fired an additional 150 rounds. Before heading out to the firing line I stopped by the armory where we measured the trigger break. It was 6.25 lbs consistently. We checked a half a dozen times just to be sure. From the beginning the trigger pull has been very smooth with a distinct and crisp break. Over travel was a little long so I adjusted that before shooting any rounds today. Limiting the over travel improved the feel tremendously. As of today there are no after market trigger kits for the Victory. As soon as someone produces one I'll buy it immediately.
I did experience two problems today during the 150 rounds I fired. First, the allen screw did come loose sometime after the first 50 rounds. I had tightened it as much as I dared after cleaning the pistol. However, this time I really gorilla'd it down. No more problems with the allen screw. I will start using purple LocTite on it from now on.
Problem number two was the magazine release. When I use a typical two handed grip my left hand can and did exert enough pressure on the magazine release that caused the magazine to be ejected twice. I adjusted my left hand position slightly which prevented any further recurrences.
So far there have been no malfunctions attributable to the pistol at all. No failures to fire, no failures to extract, no failures to eject, no failures to feed at all. I did run one fifty round box of ammunition through the pistol in a rapid fire mode. The barrel got a little warm but that's the only noticeable effect of sustained very rapid fire. Incidentally, on both days I fired Aguila SuperExtra 40 grain copper plated bullet ammunition exclusively.
In summary I found the Victory to be a delight to shoot with no bad habits at all with the exception of the heavy (in my opinion) trigger pull. There are two things that I think this pistol needs. First is a set of contoured wood target grips and the second is trigger kit to lighten the trigger pull. The stock factory grips feel fine and they fit my hand like a glove. Contoured wood grips simply feel better. Obviously mine at least also needs a trigger kit. I am delighted by the feel and handling of this pistol consequently I am happy that I bought it.
I hope this information is helpful. Now everyone out there have a great day.
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