Another minor issue with SW22 Victory

[NH Old School]

I've achieved a truce with the takedown screw backing out by simply tightening really really tight. I just wonder if it will wear out from putting that much torque on it. We'll see. You can call it a design issue or not, propose solutions like Loctite or not, but either way I don't like it. I'm not going to change my mind about that.

A few days ago I put about 150 rounds through it, switching off between the 2 mags. After a while, if I loaded 10 rounds, the second one failed to feed and was deformed in the bargain (bullet bent down from the case mouth). This happened every time after shooting a few dozen rounds. Upon examination I discovered that the mag follower was semi-stuck with a full mag. It was pushing up very slowly. Fed the first round because it was already at the top, but failed the second because the mag has to feed the round as fast as the bolt is cycling, and it wasn't even close. This did not occur if I only loaded 5 or 6, so that's what I did for the rest of the range outing.

When I got home I cleaned the mags thoroughly and oiled them. On my latest range trip I didn't have the problem. OK, gotta oil the mags. It's a polymer follower in a plated steel body. Shouldn't need lubrication. Compared to Ruger .22mags, these things feel cheap and flimsy. They don't take down for cleaning like a proper mag: you have to stick something in the slots and pull the spring away from the baseplate. Cheap.

On the plus side, the gun feels good in the hand, is nice and muzzle heavy as a target pistol should be, trigger isn't bad, shoots reasonably well, and the mag release is where it should be.

By and large I'm a big fan of S&W, mostly their revolvers. I was excited by the idea of this pistol, as it seemed like it would be easy to clean and I liked the way it looks. So far, I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. My old (bought it used in '96) Ruger MK II bull barrel target pistol is a better gun.

 

[painless2]

i use a long allen wrench and really tighten it down,,,,,,500 rounds no problem

 

[Targets Guy]

I've got almost 600 rounds through mine and the last two sessions the barrel has not come loose. Must be getting the tighten just right. This gun is so easy to clean it is fun.

Not had any problems with the magazines. In fact today at the range I used a magazine I just got yesterday in the mail. Three mags beats two and I'll get two more sometime this year.

I did have problems with the gun jamming. I believe it is due to not paying attention to what ammo I was using as this is my first semi-auto .22 pistol and with my K-22 it didn't matter what ammo I used. It seems like as long as I buy ammo at or over 1200 ft/sec at the muzzle the gun operates fine.

 

[RonJon]

German's have solved this for more than a century:

Well, Smith & Wesson could learn to do it the way the German's have solved this for more than a century:

These are called locking or capture screws.

RonJon

 

[Kenneth L. Walters]

Initial Problem

Never got to shoot mine. It was so hard to cock that I sent it back to the factory for repairs.

 

[frankcr]

You lose the ability to torque a screw if it is locked with a secondary screw. Don't know if the Germans were the first to lock a screw with a screw as it has been widely used.

Torqueing and Loctite is a vastly superior method and an industry standard.

 

[RonJon]

You lose the ability to torque a screw if it is locked with a secondary screw.

The main (larger) screw has a circular cutout every 90 degrees around it. You can get close enough to the torque you want within 1/4 turn before you screw in the lock (smaller) screw.

 

[AlwaysArmed]

I don't have any trouble with the take down screw coming loose. I have trouble BREAKING it loose!
I torqued it to 40 in./lbs. with my Wheeler F.A.T. Wrench to get a baseline torque value to see how low I can go and still keep the screw fast.

 

[NH Old School]

I had the same issue again yesterday: second round would not feed, out of either magazine if fully loaded. If I moved the button on the follower down a bit (lowered the follower in the mag) and released it, it was clear that something was gummed up or jammed. The mag was way too lethargic to function properly.

This time I spent a bit more time analyzing the problem. It's only bad enough to cause a malfunction with lead bullets, and the overall length of the round doesn't seem to matter (tried a few different brands). It seems to be a matter to the mag follower design pushing the bullets forward against the front of the mag, and the lube on the lead bullets sticking/gumming under pressure. So I tried oiling just the inside front of the mag fairly liberally, and it totally solved the problem. Temporarily. I won't know how long that fix will last until I get it out to the range again.

So, it seems that, in order to keep this gun running properly, you have to include in your range kit both an Allen wrench (in case the takedown screw comes loose), and some oil and Q-Tips to lube the inside front of the magazines.

It's a fun gun, very accurate, and has good ergonomics. Seems like it comes with a lot of baggage though. I mean, you take any of the similar Rugers out for a range session, and you just know they're going to work. The trade-off is that you have to know the little tricks to get the Ruger back together again after removing the mainspring housing and bolt. And you can't easily change barrels or sighting systems on a Ruger. So the Victory has some strong points too.

I wonder if S&W will make any slight design alterations to address the issues after a while.

 

[Muss Muggins]

If you're going to lube your magazines, don't leave them loaded . . .

 

[NH Old School]

If you're going to lube your magazines, don't leave them loaded . . .

Of course. This isn't a gun that I would leave loaded anyway. That's not really what it's for.

 

[gwpercle]

I know this is going to sound strange, it sure did when I was told to do it on a mould screw that would not stay tight . Take a few strands of 0000 steel wool and wrap around the lower half of the offending screw, it doesn't take much at all, just 1 or two strands, and screw it back in .
I'm not sure why it works, but the mould screw has not loosened scince doing it. It's cheap to try and not something that can't be undone .
Gary

 

[smalljaw]

I know this is going to sound strange, it sure did when I was told to do it on a mould screw that would not stay tight . Take a few strands of 0000 steel wool and wrap around the lower half of the offending screw, it doesn't take much at all, just 1 or two strands, and screw it back in .
I'm not sure why it works, but the mould screw has not loosened scince doing it. It's cheap to try and not something that can't be undone .
Gary

Mixing steel wool and a stainless steel threaded frame may be a no no. Surface rust could result.

 

[frankcr]

You have a steel screw in a stainless steel hole, so a less noble metal (iron wire) should not hurt. It would be the sacrificial member, but bronze wool would also serve to fill the gaps between the threads if you were concerned.

Worth a try if you have a screw which continues to work itself loose.

 

[Magload]

My purple Loc Tite is still holding. I put small marks on the screw head and frame so I can see if there is any movement while shooting. I torqued the screw to 40 in/lbs. I cleaned the screw and hole with Acetone and put the Loc Tite on the starting end of the screw ran it in , backed it out and then back in and torqued it down. Let it set for 24 hours. The rail mount screw came lose yesterday. lol

 

[varmint243]

One of my magazines if rough and doesn't feed 10 rounds well
I have tried polishing the follower button and the inside of the mag at the edges of the follower cutout
I haven't found the magic fix yet
Using candle wax as a lube on the inside of the slot works well for a little while
After several trips to the range I like the gun fine and consider on par with my mark II's
I also don't see that it has any real advantage over a Mark II
The Mark II takedown complaint goes away after you learn the trick

 

[shotguntom]

Never got to shoot mine. It was so hard to cock that I sent it back to the factory for repairs.

Never got to shoot mine either. Just went click, no bang. Its back at Smith right now. Hoping for a success story when it returns.

 

[Ranger98]

The screw on mine came loose after the first time I took it to the range and ran 100 rounds through it.I tightened it down and have had no other problem with it.
As of now,I have shot aproximatley 1000 rounds of CCI Mini Mag ammo through it with no magazine issues.

 

[Ed Fowler]

I was maybe 11 years old when I started hunting rabbits with a Rem #4 Take Down 22 rifle. Like the S&W it had a single take down screw, a quarter would fit the slot and took a second to tighten it when it loosened. Absolutely no big deal!
Carried a cut off nail that I could sling down the barrel when the extractor stripped the head off of a 22 to knock the shell out.

I cleaned it by pulling a brush from the chamber to the muzzle on a regular basis.

I fail to see where the Victory is such a problem!?

My suggestion would be to replace the screw with one with a large head that a coin would fit. Also to those who shoot semi autos, clean them or cuss them.

 

[shotguntom]

Never got to shoot mine either. Just went click, no bang. Its back at Smith right now. Hoping for a success story when it returns.

Well 3 1/2 weeks later, my Victory arrived back home today.
Not a success story. According to the paperwork, they relaced the hammer and the sear. Went to the range, at appx 40 round mark, the gun stopped working again. Same problem. No trigger, no firing pin strike.
Im not too thrilled with this paperweight. Gun is heading back again to S&W tomorrow morning. Im thinking a possible Lemon here.