New M&P 22! Maybe a little info please!

[George9]

Hello,
My wonderful wife got me a Smith& Wesson M&P22 for my birthday. We picked it up yesterday. It's sits unfired. maybe next week we'll take it to the range and break it in.. I'm not use to the hole aluminum deal for the slide I'm 55 and still old school with how guns should be made IMO .. Only thing I really don't like about it is the Safety lever. plastic and no distinct click like on my 1911's will this come in time.. Can you guy's give me any info and insight on how you all like this gun? What it does like or don't like for ammo! any other info that would get me into a good break in of the gun. I am kind of strong and am also in fear of braking the trigger if I give it a good pull with the safety on or mag out.. Could this happen? or is there a fail safe so it won't.
Really any info good or bad will be useful and welcome!
Thank you All! George

 

[Shooting Padre]

I have had one for a couple of months now, and I love it. It did have ammo problems, and from what I've read they differ in personalities and ammo likes. The gun needs to have rounds through it for a break in period. Lots of rounds, but then, that' why we buy them. I found I had to keep it well lubricated also. I actually use 30w synthetic auto oil and it works great. The safety has given me no problems, and I also have a strong grip and have 'tugged' the trigger with vigor, the safety held. I shoot Winchester Wildcat, Federal 550 bulk and Remington Thunderbolt in mine and they now run very well. The Federal seem to have slightly more problems, but still very few. Just give the gun time to work in. It is the nicest .22 auto I've ever shot, so I give it three thumbs up!

 

[George9]

Thank you so much for your reply! I feel a bit better now as far as the trigger and safety goes, but I would still like to feel a click on and off with it.. I'll tell you the gun shop had a Colt gold cup 1911 in .22 nice gun that I was familiar with much more so they the M&P. 1911's were my gun of choice.. Other then the place in my heart for 3d gen Smith's.. In any case the M&P I found out was is made by Walther for Smith and Wesson but so was the Colt gold cup. about a $50 increase over the M&P. I did dry fired the M&P once in the gun shop after asking if they would mind.. I think it had the smoothest cleanest ball bearing break cleen, like glass trigger I ever did feel on a factory gun..All and all fit and finish was much better then the colt 1911 22. Thought it was time for something new. Besides the wife likes it too. Maybe she will get into shooting too. She has very bad arthritis in her hands and wrists so I think a big .22 was the way to go. What kind of accuracy are you getting with your M&P22? George

 

[Shooting Padre]

I think it is very accurate, but I'm not the guy to ask. My eyes are 65 years old and look through tri-focals. when I sight the gun it looks like I'm in a nodding contest. I am impressed that the gun is much more accurate than I am. I would like to see a better rear sight on it, but there are other posts on that subject. I looked closely under the rear sight notch and found a little dot left by the manufacture's mold. I cut off a round toothpick to match the diameter of the dot, dipped it in white paint and touched the little dot. As close to Henei Straight Eight sights as I could come, and this helped me quite a bit. Good luck with your new gun, you can PM me if you need more help. God bless.

 

[Earnest P]

since initial problems with light primer strikes resulting in numerous failures to fire was corrected we've put close to 1,000 rounds thru our M&P22 in the past month without so much as a hiccup. Remington, Winchester, Federal, and CCI all function fine.

 

[JaPes]

I've owned my M&P 22 for almost two months.

First thing you have to do is clean the grease Walther applied to the M&P 22 to protect it during shipping. Mine had a viscous, almost Vaselene consistency grease everywhere. Get as much of it off as you can.

Second, you'll need more magazines. It's annoying that the M&P22 is only issued with one.

44MAG.com - Smith & Wesson - Smith & Wesson M&P-22 Pistol Magazine .22lr 12rd

The rear sight is another minor annoyance. Why couldn't S&W tell Walther to mount a 2 dot rear sight? I've contacted S&W and they state they have no alternate rear sight for the M&P 22. They also advised me to not drift on a 2-dot iron rear sight because it could damage the aluminum slide. Some people here have drifted on a rear sight from a M&P center-fire pistol without issue. I'm not going to risk it.

Other than that...

For break in, I purchased 200 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags. My M&P 22 functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds. I switched to bulk ammo and saved the remaining 100 rounds of CCI.

Since break in, mine has successfully cycled Winchester 555 36gr bulk copper washed, Federal Champion 36gr 550rd bulk, CCI Mini-Mag, CCI Tactical, and my father's 40-year old left-over .22lr ammunition.

I think I must have about 3,500 rounds through mine now. I've stopped keeping track.

Because I am familiar with a 1911, the M&P 22's safety feels natural to me. No issues. When the safety is on, I've tugged on the trigger and it doesn't move. The safety isn't loose either. It takes deliberate action to engage & disengage it.

I don't dry fire my M&P 22. I don't think it has a firing pin block like a Ruger MKIII series. I don't want to risk damaging it.

In my hands, the M&P 22 is not as inherently accurate as either of my Ruger .22lr's. Conversely, field stripping & reassembly of the M&P 22 isn't as complex as the Ruger MK series.

So far, I'm very satisfied with my M&P 22. It's fun to shoot.

 

[Martimus]

So far I've put about 250 rounds through my M&P22. I started with 100 rounds of CCI mini-mags and then followed up with 150 rounds of old Winchester Wildcat's. My next outing I plan to try firing American Eagle to see how they do.

I've sinced purchased 4 additional magazines so I don't have to reload quite as often. Oh and like Shooting Padre, I used a toothpick and some opaque white paint to paint dots on either side of the rear sight. They're not perfect but them seem to work OK.

After replacing the three dot sights on my Shield I've now got a spare set of three dots sights. One of these days I may just grab my sight pusher and try to install the 3 dot sights on the M&P22.

 

[George9]

Thank you all, So interesting to read! Yes I have old eyes also.. I like the idea of better sights. My old Beretta mod. 71 has the same sight picture as the M&P22 on that I just added a dab of white to the front sight just not enough room to add it to the rear of the 71. But On this M&P there may just be enough room to pre drill a light indent on each side to add a paint chip too. After we have some fun with it and if after that time it still bugs me I'll give it a try if the blade comes out. I think it does. I have a good setup with a drill press. I may have to use a tad finer drill bit then that used in the front sight..I think it can be done now after seeing Martimus, nice work with his tooth pick and paint. But boy oh boy it was sure nice to see at least one white dot on the gun.. Any tips on having my wife fall in love with shooting. again I picked a large .22 do to her arthritis in her hands and wrists,It's just painfull. not sure it will be with a .22. I think that this is the biggest reason for her not shooting. May be more so then this short story that she experinced.
I what this to be fun for her. Also many years ago "before us" she had dropped a old single action non hammer block model 6 shooter Ruger loaded with magnum .22's one round went off went in her lower leg below the knee and traveled through her then changed sided then went up her leg. bullet was found in other hip just below the skin.. Let me tell you cleaning and rehab was a bitch for her...Someone else had loaded the gun that she was transporting they should have known better. I think that turned her off to guns and shooting. Though when I'm handling mine she has no issues..Long sorry! George

 

[George9]

PaPes, Thanks! any chance you can send me a working Promo Code? After getting the gun we are really short on money. Anything we can save would be great! Thank you for the url! That's a little savings! George

 

[M&P Freak]

Congrats, you have a good woman with very good taste. What a great birthday gift.

At first I was hesitant about the aluminum slide, but not anymore. Like any .22, you have to keep it lubed or you'll have feed issues. The sights on mine were dead-on from the factory. Most people dislike the sights, but I've learned to get along with them just fine. As others have mentioned, you will want to get additional magazines. I now have five and am considering ordering more. Another good idea is a magazine loader to avoid blisters on your thumbs. Here is a good one : SWMP22ML Smith and Wesson M&P 22 Magazine Loader

I'm with you, don't care for the safety. I just don't use it. My other M&Ps don't have thumb safeties, I just ignore it. I do, however, like the magazine disconnect safety. Your .22 will not fire without a magazine inserted. If you want the safety on, pop the magazine out. Simple.

I use CCI MiniMags almost exclusively. It's what my other .22s prefer so I just go with the flow. It burns the cleanest in my opinion, and that is a good thing.

One thing is for sure: the M&P22 is a whole lotta fun to shoot.

 

[George9]

Thanks for the url on the loader. If I can make up some steal targets I'll hopefully we'll be shooting a lot. I just like the movement and conformation sound rather then tight groups on paper.. But must admit I do enjoy that at times too! Ya going to get more mags as soon as we can afford them. Just one more would have been really nice. Like most other gun makers do. Some even give away easy loaders.. Looking at some guy buying a Glock 3 mags and a speed loader.. Nice! OkOk I'll not say the G word again! George

 

[Old cop]

I've had my M&P 22 for a few months and have shot almost every brand of .22 you can find w/the exception of Remmington. The Remmington ammo is very iffy even in revolvers so I stay away from it. As to how I like the gun, it's a keeper. As a revolver guy (I also own a Model 18) this is fun to shoot and more accurate than I am (I'm 65 and wear glasses).

Enjoy your .22. As to getting your wife into shooting it sounds like she had a very bad experience so I wish you luck w/that. My wife dislikes everything about firearms so I go shooting w/a few buddies.

 

[George9]

Old cop,
Thank you for your input! LOL!! I got 3 bricks of Remington lightning bolt that the shop had on sale $21.98 less 10% that day I got the gun.. I have some CCI in round nose and hollow points.. maybe another 500 rounds or so. I think I'll get a fer hundred rounds through it with that first. it burns a lot cleaner for break in hitting it with some Remington spray lube with teflon from time to time.. if the Remington ammo don't work so well I'll use it in my Beretta mod.71 it will eat anything and everything.. Again thank you for your help and wiliness to take the time with me. I'm 55 fellow older guy too! George

 

[Lost Lake]

I had a set of sights from my M&P40 laying around so I took off the M&P22 rear sight and slid in the 40 rear sight. It slid right on with no trouble. Then I snugged up the set screw and it holds tight.

The M&P22 isn't real accurate compared to my Ruger Standard and S&W 41. Some of that could be in the sights. But it is a fun gun to rip off a few hundred rounds killing steel plates and balloons.

 

[George9]

Ya can't wait! I could go down the range right now but my wife was so nice to me I would like her to at least go down with me for the first time. I think it's only right. Who knows maybe she'll give it a try and love it.. Seems to have less recoil then other 22's I have see on the net in videos and looks to have less then my Beretta Mod.71 from what I can tell.. the 71 has a steal slide but is a much smaller gun.. On another topic with the M& P does that thumb safety feel or sound any better with use after lots of break in? if I put my ear to it I can hear a slight click. with some hope that will free up in a way we all like it too.. Also what general holster goes well with the? I have all Uncle Mikes Sidekick's for my Colt 45 officers mod. 15 but that seems a tad to small and way tight for the M&P 22.. I would like to carry under the belt rather then over.. Sujusstions? George

 

[Dixiejack]

Love my M&P 22, my M&P 9, my M&P co2 air pistol, and my M&P 15-22. 44Mag.com always has the the best prices on factory mags and I have never seen them run out of stock.
But we talking about the M&P 22. I'm old school, also. Don't even care for stainless (prefer the old factory blue job) and never could see myself buying a plastic gun. Hated the M16 and traded one for a M14 but couldn't bring it home. OK, I'm getting off subject. Don't know why I got into the M&P's other than they just looked cool. The 15-22 was the 1st and then came the M&P co2. I loved shooting the squirrels and and few strays so much (accurate) that I figured I would start a collection. The M&P 22 and 9 came at the same time. The M&P22 is the best "plastic".22 on the market. I am on my 4th brick and have had 7 jams. I believe they were caused by a couple of old Remington Thunderbolts and my fault for not giving the pistol a good cleaning after shooting a brick of Winchester/Walmart special buys. My biggest problem was the factory sights which I replaced with Hi Viz sights on the .22 and the 9mm. All this to say, you can teach old dogs new tricks. I haven't shot any of my other (older) S&W .22's since I got the M&P22. I take all my M&P's to the range every week and put plenty of fodder thru them. Some of my DD Society buddies have started calling me Rambo. Trying to decide if I want to buy a M&P 15 or a Ruger Mini14 Ranch rifle.

 

[George9]

Thanks for your reply. I like the idea of hi Viz sights. What kind did you use ? did you install them yourself? I have a ton of Remington Thunderbolts to go through. Years ago a lot of people didn't believe in cleaning .22 pistols. They use to say just spray it down with WD-40 and you know it worked for them! I always cleaned all my guns the same way regardless of caliber or value.. Clean is clean anything less then you just need to clean it again. I don't know I guess old school!

 

[Bill_Johnson]

Also what general holster goes well with the (M&P 22)? Sujusstions? George

I have a Fobus Paddle holster I use with my M&P 9. The M&P 22 I just got fit's it too! I really like it. But, you mentioned you wanted something UNDER your belt, so, in that case, this one is ruled out!

On a side note.... my wife "suggested" before I could buy yet another gun (this M&P 22), I had to sell off one. So, I traded in my Ruger Mark III (Basic model). I am VERY happy with the new purchase! The M&P doesn't compare IMHO with that particular Ruger. For one, it is MUCH easier to break down and clean!

 

[George9]

How does it compare with Ruger in accuracy also how do the triggers compare? I really liked the Rugers as I also looked at a Mark III! Also do you have a url to the paddle holster your talking about? I may go that way for the M&P, and get something a little more concealable for my 6906 or Officers .45. Depends on what the weather is and what I'm waring at the time in need. Thanks! George

 

[Bill_Johnson]

I am a lefty, so holsters for me are sometimes limited. The Fobus holsters are pretty common. Even Amazon.comhas them. I picked mine up at opticplanets.com.

The sites on my bare-bones Mark III Ruger were FIXED, so that was a bit a problem. My shots always seemed to hit low and left. Since I couldn't adjust them, it was frustrating. The trigger was good! I had no issues with that. I thought it had a nice, crisp pull. Overall, I thought it was a solid gun, but sites and the dis-assembly and re-assemble was a royal pain for me. (Thank goodness for youtube to help with that!)