Please allow me to provide a little background to put my opinion of the 22 compact in perspective. I am not generally into plinking pistols. My closest to a plinker is a Ruger Mk 2 on which I installed an adjustable rear target sight and a custom front sight which I fabricated to align with the rear as it has a tapered barrel. My first new purchase this year was a Performance Center 625 (which does not work. 2 - 3 misfires per cylinder. After an unsatisfactory go 'round with customer "service" I sent it to Clark Custom Guns and told them to make me a revolver out of it.) After that fiasco I decided on some fun. A Henry AR-7 survival rifle and a Beretta 21A Tomcat. As to the 22 compact...
A local gun shop reopened at a new location and I saw a 22 c in the case. It was brown which I did not care for. As my Dad used to say I had some money burning a hole in my pocket
I ordered the 22 c in black and with the barrel adapter. I ordered a Tandemkross Game Changer Pro compensator and 3 extra magazines. By Wednesday this week I had everything in hand.
I read that S&W had made reliability one of the design goals for this pistol. I would say that they have succeeded. On day 1 I put a 550 round box of Federal 36 grain plated HP ammo through the pistol. This is the stuff which Walmart sells for $20. Absolutely no malfunctions! I have put another 250 - 300 through it again no problems. The cheap Federal, Federal Auto Match and ancient (ca. 1992) Winchester Wildcat. Unfortunately I do not have any crappy ammo as the Henry ate it all up.
After the 550 round test I field stripped it for cleaning. I was amazed how not-dirty it was. Some deposit on the breach/feed ramp area and some smoke dirt in the mag well and on the breech area of the slide. A quick wipedown with a rag dampened with Hoppes #9 and a few passes of a bronze brush through the barrel and it was done. A little lube and back together for more shooting.
Reliability and ease of service A+++
The grip is a little small for my large hand. But again it is a "compact." I CAN get a decent 3 finger grip. That said, I do find the grip a little slippery.
Racking the slide is VERY easy. I would like the slide stop to be a little more pronounced. From my early training shooting bullseye 1) get the grip on the pistol with right hand 2) insert magazine with left hand 3) depress slide stop with left thumb. I have never gotten used to pulling back the slide to release it.
The sights are OK. I am not a fan of white dot sights, especially when shooting for top accuracy.
The trigger... Not too bad but a little gritty. Definitely not a target trigger. It is OK for a plinker.
The magazine... Reasonably easy to load. The spring is rather strong. I pinch the plastic follower between my forefinger and thumb in order to retract it. After 55 magazine loads in a session my finger tips are still sore
I think a little Dremel tool work will make a load assister out of an old Ruger loading tool.
A side note about the compensator. It looks really cool
It is probably not necessary as far as recoil is concerned. However, it does add some front end mass - probably weighs as much as the plastic grip frame (at least if feels like it.) This helps to steady the pistol a little.
Accuracy... I had not worried about that up till now. I was simply blasting some steel targets while I function tested the pistol. This afternoon I decided to see what it could do. My best 5 group at 50 feet was 4 within an inch and the 5th shot pulled. But it was not easy with the trigger and not-target sights. This was using the cheap Walmart/Federal ammo.
All in all I am VERY pleased with my new toy. The most disappointing thing... the slippery grip. I had not noticed how slippery until I was examining the pistol while writing this post. I will have to do something to address this as it exacerbates the trigger pull.
The 22 c will keep me amused until my 625 comes back from Clark. It is due November 1. If it is as good as the "Light Weight Revolver" which Clark made from my 67 a few years ago it will be something to behold.
Ken
