I was so impressed with the review of this product in this month's American Rifleman that I bought one of these pistols at my local gun shop this afternoon. Stainless steel and modular construction seemed pretty well thought out. I generally give a new pistol a pretty good going over inside and out before I shoot it looking for metal shavings and burs. Well I'm sorry to report that this is where it all went to hell. Someone at Smith & Wesson either cross threaded the screw, put it in with ten ton press or used epoxy or ALL THREE. I'm not using cheap tools either...Brownells 1/8" allen wrench. The head of the screw is completely stripped out. I'm sure that Smith & Wesson will be really sorry for the "inconvenience" and I'm sure they'll be glad to take care of the problem in three or four weeks. I'll also bet that someone at Smith & Wesson thinks this is damn funny too. I bet they won't think this review is nearly as funny. Smith & Wesson? Well what can I say? They don't make 'em like they used to!!!
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Sorry to hear that. Lots of folks complained about that. I must have been one of the lucky ones. I just have to remember to tighten my screw every 100 rounds.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Targets Guy I strongly suggest placing a No.61 O-ring n the screw when you take it apart next time. It will solve that problem of it coming loose on you. Can be bought very cheaply in most Hardware stores from around 10-50 cents each. Whatnickname call S&W as they will send you a mailer package and you should have it back in a week or two at the most. They will gladly deal with that problem. Get yourself the O-ring while you are waiting for the the gun to come back as well.

You might want to wait a little if you want to have something fixed, anything sent right now to s&w cutomer service may take 4 weeks at the very least to get done. I sent a firearm to be checked three weeks ago and I don't think it's been touched yet, I'm sure it's because of the holidays.

I don't quite understand S&W's thinking on this screw issue. The screws can come loose, and there are many ways others have come up with to fix that (o-rings, lock-washers, cleaning with brake cleaner, etc.)

S&W's "solution" appears to be installing the screw ridiculously tight at the factory. Yes, that might prevent it from loosening. But it will also prevent you from disassembling the gun. A bit counter-production of them.

I am one of the lucky earlier buyers who had to deal with a loose screw initially. I fixed that, first with brake cleaner upon reassembly, later with an o-ring. The more recent buyers have to deal with a ludicrously tight screw now, and cannot even disassemble their firearms without having to send them to the factory for repair. I think I prefer the old problem over the new one!

What are you thinking S&W? Are you trying to one-up Rugers "whack it with a wooden mallet" disassembly/reassembly procedure of their Mark I/II/III pistols? Ruger finally fixed that with the Mark IV (after many many decades of complaints). Hopefully S&W will figure out how to operate a simple screw more quickly.

A proper fitting bit and an impact driver cures the overtightened screw problem. No pesky trips back to the Mothership for repair, and no reason to whine on the innerwebs....... what's not to like?

You didn't mention which screw. The take-down, barrel, sight screw????

Ditto on the impact driver for disassembly. I've also used the driver hex bits in the fasteners then give them a smart rap with a hammer if an allen wrench doesn't feel right (starts over flexing). They usually unscrew easily after that.

This is a common complaint and S&W will fix it with free shipping. I don't think waiting time will be excessive since this gun is a big seller and they won't like getting dinged on the internet.

Unfortunately, S&W used a soft hex screw and included a cheap soft hex key. When you get your gun back you could buy quality screws and hex keys so it doesn't happen again.

I have two of these guns and like them; also amazingly accurate.

Best,

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I wouldn't like having to buy an impact driver to disassemble my pistol. I do happen to have that tool on hand, but not everybody does. You'd also need to buy a good gun vise to secure the pistol while you whacked on that impact driver. Not everybody has a gun vise either.

Everybody should have a reasonable set of tools, but an impact driver is not routine for many people, and certainly not routine for firearms disassembly.

I love my Victory and wouldn't trade it for the world. But I didn't have the over-tightened screw problem (I had the exact opposite problem). I would be a little pissed off too if I couldn't disassemble my gun with the tools that were provided with it for that express purpose, and had to send it back to the manufacturer for it's initial disassembly/cleaning/inspection before the first shoot. I have enthusiastically recommended the Victory to many friends. Give the current gorilla-tight screw problem, I might issue a "hold" on my recommendation until S&W gets this sorted out. When people complain that a screw is too loose from the factory, the "factory fix" should not be to tighten it so much that nobody can get it out. I hope S&W recognizes this soon, and tries something different (say, like an o-ring maybe!)

I had the loose screw problem and fixed it with O-ring.

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Wow. While there seems to be a lot of people experiencing the screw problem, I imagine it is truly minuscule in comparison to the number of guns actually sold. I was lucky to get one of the first ones produced and have had zero issues, "zero". I was impressed with the value i received after paying less than $400 for a stainless semi-automatic handgun from S&W. Are you kidding me? I have over $700 in a plastic and steel Ruger that just barely out shoots and out of the box Victory, and don't get me started on magazines. Totally blown away by the quality of the Victory factory magazines as far as fit, finish and performance. Ruger isn't even close, just cheaper, for now.
Of course these are my observations and opinions to take with a grain of salt. Your experience may differ.

Hey, question for you. I see you have the halo ring and I have one also. Have you had an experience with having to pull on the ring more than once in order for it to sling forward? Sometimes when the slide is locked back and I load a mag in the magwell, I'll pull on it to sling it forward and it won't go forward. I'll have to do it twice before it goes forward. The halo ring is installed properly and I'm not riding the halo so I wonder why it's giving me that hiccup. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

I'm not the person you directed your question to, but I also have the Halo ring installed on my Victory. I have never had it hang up the slide on mine. I would try your setup with a different magazine. My hunch is that you might have some issue with your bolt hold-open feature. This is an interplay between your gun and the magazine. It's simple to try different mags to see if it's that half that is giving you problems.

I'm sure you've already done this, but it's always a good idea to mark your mags 1,2,3,4 or A,B,C,D, etc. so that if you have problems like this you can look at the specific mag that's inserted, take notes, and eventually determine if the problem may be related to only a specific mag.

Bought a Victory today and turned the takedown screw out just fine. Firm, even very firm, but not over torqued, glued, welded, etc. I'm on my way to get the O ring anyway.
I think this screw is like the fatal flaw built into the Death Star

Actually, I'm a newbie and I have not done this, but always wondered why people labeled their mags. Wow. This is informative. I will certainly try it this weekend and see if one of the mags is the issue. But yes, it seems to happen more that I'd like and I don't want to send it back to S&W if I don't have to. I may reach back out to you to see if it IS indeed one of the mags, then I'd like to know how to fix it. Thanks so much for the input!!!

Anton you will be very Happy with the ring by itself and around 35-40 inch lbs of torque also.

Their has been problem a problem with the take down screw problem from day one. S&W knows about the problems and the cost to send the guns back. Fix the problem S&W. If it was a car we would have a recall. We as gun owners don't need guns with problems on the market.

I had read the good reviews on the Victory and I bought one. After buying it and having the take down screw and the top rail screw coming loose I checked out reviews on the Victory. I don't know how I missed the reviews on the screw problem when I first checked the gun reviews.

I bought a Ruger MKIV and sold the Victory. I have a few S&W guns that I like a lot but this Victory wasn't one of them.

Two screws come loose and you sell the gun? Loctite on the top rail screw. An o-ring on the takedown screw. Done.

The first thing I do to all my guns is loctite down the screws that I don't intend to remove often. This includes sight screws, rail screws, grip screws, scope mounting screws, etc. All my guns. That top rail screw is not a problem. Many many guns need Loctite in places. I didn't even test to see if it would come loose before I Loctited mine.

The takedown screw is more unusual. But most guns don't have a takedown screw like this. If yours was loose, that is so trivial to fix. That is the good case - a loose takedown screw. A no-brainer to fix.

The more common problem with newer Victorys now seems to be that S&W tightens this takedown screw to a ludicrous level. Sure, it doesn't come loose anymore. Even if you're trying to remove it intentionally! S&W took a minor loose takedown screw problem and "fixed" it in a ridiculous manner. They made things much worse. I don't know what they could have been thinking. Their "super tight" fix only works the first time. After you get the screw removed the first time, then it reverts back to the original loose screw issue.

Once that ridiculously tight screw is removed, then you're in like flynn. Things are good to go from there. Your gun was evidently good to go, per your description.

Some have more money than brains.....

A extremely cheap No.61 O-ring fixs the barrel screw problem instantly. Even torqueing it to around 35 inch lbs also does the same trick but doing both is the supreme answer on this model handgun.Blue Locktite on the top rail solves that issue as well.

The tight screw dates to the beginning of the 22 Victory. I bought my first Victory in late Jan. 2016. The fired case was dated Sept. 2015 and the screw was extremely tight. My view is the "problem" can be managed if you have some patience, experience with tools and persistence. I have quality hex wrenches with long handles which did the trick. We should keep in mind that all 22 Victorys don't have problems.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

My experience is pretty much like yours Bob. I bought my SW22 on Jan 20 last year. First time out the take down screw loosened somewhere after 50 and before 70 rounds. Spent some time learning to tighten it enough so it wouldn't come lose. I also made sure the hex wrench was with me every trip to the range.

After yesterday I have put over 1700 rounds downrange and the screw has remained tight the last five trips to the range (100 rounds per trip).

No loctite, no o-ring, just some patience. I might pick up one or two of those o-rings though as they seem to be a pretty basic fix.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

S&W 22 Victory Unscrewed
I picked up my new Victory 22 a month ago. Tried to remove the take-down screw - and it didn't budge. After reading about other people striping screw heads and sending pistol back to S&W, I started getting concerned. Then I saw my can of Kroil oil and gave the screw 3-4 drops with pistol inverted. Waited 10 minutes and the screw came out with normal effort. Kroil oil is a thin penetrating oil used to free up frozen parts. Regular penetrating oil would probably work too.
I'm curious if anyone tried Kroil on that screw and it didn't work?
John Gator
SW Florida

I guess I had the advantage of reading many threads pertaining to the Victory before I purchased mine. Having that prior insight along with 45 years of hand tool experience and a good selection of proper tools helped also.

The supplied hex key that came with my SW22 hasn't touched my gun. From everything I've read on this subject and from some photo's I've seen of the hex key twisted, I'm going to guess that S&W is sourcing bulk hex keys that are MIC. Whether they are buying thru an American company or direct from overseas they are not suitable for the intended use. I have over 20 years of selling tools and fasteners in my background, so using a bit of that product knowledge and gut feeling tells me that the supplied hex key is too soft for the job. Some of the photo's I've seen show the key twisted like a Dunk's cruller. A quality hex key will flex and spring back. A cheap MIC hex key will twist and stay deformed just like in the photo's as the steel used is too soft for the job. A good hex key should be made from spring steel or chrome vanadium which retain their sharp edge and spring back instead of twisting into a pretzel. Though the smaller keys as used in the Victory application may twist and not completely spring back as they do have their limitations.

So far my SW22 has only seen Wheeler gunsmith hex key. Not knowing if mine was an early production model that came apart easily or one of the later models that some owners are struggling with, I did use an adapter and 1/4" drive socket wrench with the Wheeler bit and mine easily came out. The barrel screw came out as easily.

My Victory was purchased to be a base for mods. Other then S&W test firing, I never shot mine until I outfitted it with parts from Tandemkross and Volquartsen. I've taken it apart and reassembled mine 5-6 time since buying it in October 2016. I use the O-ring and blue lock tight(just a small dot) method and torque the take down and barrel screws to 40 inch pounds. For me it has worked fine. It hasn't loosened on its own and it comes apart easily.

Very Smart Thinking and doing on your part wwit. I foresee a lot of years of enjoyment for you ahead while shooting this gun. You should win many matchs I suspect as well.