M&P .22

[finaltoy]

Hey all,
I just picked up my new M&P .22.
After a good cleaning, off we went to do some sighting in.
I must say IMO this is "One Sweet" gun. Very smooth operating.
It is extremely close in size to the full size M&P of which I am waiting for in 9mm.
Feels great in my hands.
It did not take long to "zero" in and was very accurate. It comes with adjustable rear sight but without the white dots. I can live with that, at least for the time being.
Well you all probably know all this already!

 

[34tartex]

Bought my M&P 22 about three weeks ago but due to family medical problems I haven't had the pleasure to fire it yet. Do you, or anyone reading this thread have any idea why replacement mags are non-existent? I know S&W rushed to get into the .22 pistol market but the mags unavailability borders on the ridiculous.

 

[trikerbiker]

Picked my new M&P 22 pistol up today, put 400 rds. of CCI thru it with no problems at all. I will try other ammo the next time out. Accurate right out of the box, nice trigger, for me and my aging eyes it will probably get a new frt site at least. Gonna be real hard to decide which one I like better....my Ruger SR22 or this M&P 22. Heck, I'll just take both to the range all the time. I just bought them for draw and shoot practice and plinking anyway. I got three extra mags from S&W home website. Are supposed to be here Monday. Safe shooting , trikerbiker

 

[34tartex]

. I got three extra mags from S&W home website. Are supposed to be here Monday. Safe shooting , trikerbiker[/QUOTE]

Please post the URL for the S&W website where you ordered the mags from. When I go to S&W, I don't see any mags for the M&P 22 pistol. To have guns as good as they do, S&W has a crappy website!

 

[Ranger98]

Try this URL for the M&P 22 magazines

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...58017_757846_757837_ProductDisplayErrorView_N

 

[34tartex]

Try this URL for the M&P 22 magazines

Product: M&P 22LR Magazine 10 RD

Thanks Ranger98. They are pricey but I ordered two this evening.

 

[ndoren]

For those interested in the 12 round version, here's the link to the S&W ordering page:

Product: M&P 22LR Magazine 12 RD

 

[OldFencer]

The 10 round magazines are easily converted to 12's by simply removing a plastic plug on the spring. It pulls right off. Turned my two 10's (all they had at the time) into 12's in just a minute or two.
Love my M&P 22LR!

 

[34tartex]

The 10 round magazines are easily converted to 12's by simply removing a plastic plug on the spring. It pulls right off. Turned my two 10's (all they had at the time) into 12's in just a minute or two.
Love my M&P 22LR!

Is there a chance that the springs in the 10 and 12 round versions are slightly different and could cause problems in the future?
Thanks to you and ndoren for your help!

 

[OldFencer]

I had one 12 that came with the purchase and visually, I couldn't tell them apart. Not to say there's not a difference, but in 600+ rounds I've not had a failure I could pin on a magazine. The springs are so weak compared to a 9 or 40 that I can't imagine they manufactured two different springs for the same weapon.
But a quick email to S&W would probably assuage any doubts.

 

[ffiallo]

M&P 22 feeding issues - need help!
I have about 1,300 thru my M&P 22, no problems with CCI Minimags or Stingers, got about 10 rnds from a range buddy of Aguila (no problems), major issues with feeding Walmart Winchester 555 (for sure issues in all mags loaded at least once), Walmart Federal not as bad, but still quite some issues. Also some issues with CCI Blazer, which seems unacceptable. All these brands work perfectly fine in my Sig 522 rifle. In reviewing here and other online sites, some folks suggest polishing the feed ramp. What are some opinions on this and who would do that for me? BTW, I asked my LGS and there smith is a Glock guy. Or should I just send it to S&W and have them deal with it? Furthermore, when I first bought the gun last month I loved the saving$ of shooting 22LR instead of 9mm, but honestly I'm falling back to shooting the rifle in my last range trips due to this, even considered selling it...which I dont want to do.

 

[Tyrod]

M&P 22 feeding issues - need help!
I have about 1,300 thru my M&P 22, no problems with CCI Minimags or Stingers, got about 10 rnds from a range buddy of Aguila (no problems), major issues with feeding Walmart Winchester 555 (for sure issues in all mags loaded at least once), Walmart Federal not as bad, but still quite some issues. Also some issues with CCI Blazer, which seems unacceptable. All these brands work perfectly fine in my Sig 522 rifle. In reviewing here and other online sites, some folks suggest polishing the feed ramp. What are some opinions on this and who would do that for me? BTW, I asked my LGS and there smith is a Glock guy. Or should I just send it to S&W and have them deal with it? Furthermore, when I first bought the gun last month I loved the saving$ of shooting 22LR instead of 9mm, but honestly I'm falling back to shooting the rifle in my last range trips due to this, even considered selling it...which I dont want to do.

Have you tried cleaning your mags lately? Winchester anything seems problematic in most any 22lr pistols. Comparing 22 rifles to 22 pistols isn't gonna work. I get the feeling you expect any brand or loading to work in your M&P22. For the time being, stick to what works, the Minimags seem to be working ok!

 

[ffiallo]

I did clean them, however how would that have an impact with some ammo only? Thanks in advance.

 

[jerrybruce]

I found two dark spots on the feed ramp of mine. I was having a few FTEs with bulk ammo until I polished the ramp.

Clean your ramp well with a solvent and look closely to see if you have any dark spots on it. I think it is some errant bluing as solvent won't remove it.

I used a Dremel tool with a soft polishing wheel and some polishing compound. It only took a few minutes to do and no problems since.

If you don't see any dark spots on the ramp then that isn't your problem.

If you only have problems with Winchester ammo then I don't think it's the gun.

 

[ffiallo]

I believe I have exactly what you describe on the ramp. I dont have a dremel though... I field strip my guns comfortably and I do my oil changes and basic maintenance on my cars, so I'm kind of handy, but not sure I'm comfortable messing with this.

 

[ffiallo]

BTW, have you shot Walmart Federal's, or some other non CCI brand good stuff without issues? Thanks!!

 

[Tyrod]

BTW, have you shot Walmart Federal's, or some other non CCI brand good stuff without issues? Thanks!!

Yes, I've run several hundred rounds of Walmart Federal 36gr HP bulk pack through mine. In fact, that's the only kind of ammo that gun has ever seen. I haven't had any issues.

To answer your other question, magazine issues can lead to many function problems that wouldn't necessarily lead you to believe the magazine is at fault. If I had a nickle for every time a new magazine fixed a semiauto problem, I'd have enough money for a Starbucks coffee. No frills, of course.

The barrel is easily removed. That's what the supplied wrench is for. The manual doesn't tell you how to do it. You can PM me and I'll tell you. Once removed, with the barrel situated such that it can't move, you could put some Flitz on a cleaning patch, apply the cleaning patch to the ramp and use the eraser on a pencil on the patch to slowly polish the ramp.

 

[ffiallo]

I bought 2 additional mags (OEM), and it will happen with all three mags, that's why I am inclined to believe it is ammo related. With the good ammo it is good all the time with all the mags, and viceversa - thus some failures all the time with all the mags. Thanks for your help again, let me consider this.

 

[Tyrod]

I bought 2 additional mags (OEM), and it will happen with all three mags, that's why I am inclined to believe it is ammo related. With the good ammo it is good all the time with all the mags, and viceversa - thus some failures all the time with all the mags. Thanks for your help again, let me consider this.

Ok, we can reasonable assume it's not a mag problem. So, let's examine other issues or possible fixes. I noticed something years ago when I was testing an extreme wide variety of 22 ammo in my collection of 22 rifles to find the most accurate ammo for each rifle. Before I began testing I was collecting ammo at LGS and gun shows to get the widest variey of ammo I could. Almost 60 different brands and variations of brands were tested. That fact, is neither here nor there in regards to your problem. What I did learn is that 22 ammo manufacturers played very loosely with case length. While OAL was consistant the case length varied along with exposed bullet length to accomodate different bullet styles. The consequence is that sometimes after shooting a particular brand or style of cartridge with slighly shorter brass I would have to be extra careful to clean the ridge out of the chamber or the following brand with more normal length brass would be hard(er) to chamber. In semi autos this extra force to chamber a round is often overlooked. In a bolt action rifle the difference is quite apparent.

I think the message I'm trying to convey is that you can look at your cases to see if you've got a short one brand in the bunch. Or clean the snot out of your chamber every time you change brands or variations. Sticky brass can lead to all sorts of problems, even feeding problems where the next round hasn't even come close to chambering. What's actually happening is that so much energy available to chamber the next round is being used to extract the spent cartridge that not enough energy is left to fully chamber the next round. Often in these cases, the last round slide hold open doesn't work. Sticky brass can be caused by a dirty chamber as I've mentioned above or there could be a tight chamber or there might be microscopic machining ridges left in the chamber. Of course, defective chamber repair would best be left to S&W. The feed ramp in the M&P22 barrel is an odd bird. It's not continuous as one would expect. It's very short as well. It does seem to work in the majority of M&P22s as reported by many users here. That doesn't mean yours doesn't need help. There's just not much there to work with.

If you're not willing to put up with the expense of CCI Minimags and would prefer cheaper ammo, I would suggest sticking with plain ole Walmart Federal 36gr HP bulk pack. I don't think many folks have issues with this ammo in their M&P22s. You may get more misfires with this ammo as compared to the Minimags, but that's the fault of the ammo and not the gun. If you can't get that stuff to run reliably, maybe a trip back to S&W is called for.

BTW, if you're interested. I did find the most accurate ammo for each rifle. And while the old aluminum cased CCI Blazer wasn't the best in any gun it was the best overall for all the rifles coming in 2nd or 3rd for each rifle. Amazingly the ultra expensive target ammo such as Eley Tenex and others kinda sucked. They did ok in some rifles but absolutely terrible in others.

 

[ffiallo]

Thanks again for the input. Anyone else has had any other experiences?
I will evaluate a couple more times, if not it's going back to S&W, I bought it for the cheap ammo to shoot, if I have to spend in pricey ammo I'm going back to shoot my 9mm Ruger, or the rifle.