Newbie to Semi Autos

[commonground]

I have had S&W handguns since I was a teanager (55 yrs ago) but, I have never owned a semi auto. All of my handgun have been revolvers. I just purchased a SW22 Victory and have started shooting it. Here are a few questions:

1. Are all 22s dirty? There seems to be a lot of residue buildup after shooting.

2. Are some brands of ammo cleaner than others?

3. Does it harm the firearm to "Dry Fire" it?

4. Are magazines prone to problems?

5. Should magazines be lubricated?

6. Does lubricating the slide as shown in the owner's manual attract more dirt?

7. Is there a better lubricant than gun oil (Hoppes)

I had a problem with the loosening of the take-down screw but have corrected the problem with a screw with a Nylock insert sent to me from S&W.

Thanks in advance. BTW the Victory seems to be nice addition.

Augie

 

[427mach1]

1. yes
2. yes
3. Absolutely yes. Never dry-fire a rimfire.
4. sometimes but often it is the ammo. What kind of problems are you having?
5. no (my opinion, others may disagree). Follow the directions in the owners manual. It should show lubrication points.
6. maybe but it is better than not having lubrication. Clean it after every shooting session to remove any dirt that has gathered.
7. No comment, this will only serve to open a can-o-worms.

Shoot, clean, enjoy......

I'll add that I believe in following the owner's manual instructions. These are generally written by engineers and they have tested the firearm and know it inside and out and they know what works for that particular firearm.

 

[32icon]

Congrats. I also have the same pistol and here are my thoughts on it:

1. Are all 22s dirty? Yes, they are. No way around that, despite the ammo you use in my humble opinion.

2. Are some brands of ammo cleaner than others? Again, 22 ammo is dirty, period. Some people don't clean after every range session because even if they only run 100 rds through it, it's gonna be dirty so they tend to wait until they start getting malfunctions before they clean it. Me? I prefer to clean after every session, but I also run about 250 rds through it each week so....

3. Does it harm the firearm to "Dry Fire" it? YES, YES, AND YES!! DO NOT DRY FIRE A 22LR unless the manual says you can, and even then I still wouldn't. You can go to home depot and purchase ribbed plastic anchors #4-6x7/8" that can be used as snap caps and it will preserve the firing pin. No issues at all.

4. Are magazines prone to problems? I have not found this to be true, but then again there might be a thread on this forum suggesting otherwise.

5. Should magazines be lubricated? I do not lube them, but I do wipe them down after I'm finished cleaning the gun. Usually the cloth has a little oil on it from cleaning it so it works just fine.

6. Does lubricating the slide as shown in the owner's manual attract more dirt? I always put a drop here and there on the slide and work it in. I find that it makes it easier to operate when shooting, especially when metal is rubbing against metal. As for dirt, it's going to be dirty regardless of whether you oil it or not, but it's best to do so for it to run smoothly.

7. Is there a better lubricant than gun oil (Hoppes). I don't use Hoppes on the stainless steel. I use CLP (cleans, lubricates, and preserves). Can't ever go wrong with it! Also, with Hoppes you have to make sure that everywhere you use the cleaner, you must also use oil to stop the cleaning reaction; otherwise over time you will see the cleaner eating away at the finish on the grips. You'll start see light spots everywhere. It's best to use CLP because it's an all in one bottle, but I'm sure you can find other options with a little research.

Lastly, I haven't used the Nylock insert. I just use blue loctite, but I might call S&W so that I don't have to use it each time after cleaning. I enjoy my .22, but I am a lefty so I have other issues with inadvertently hitting the safety lever. Once Volquartsen makes left handed grips this quarter, this problem will no longer exist! Anyway, hope this helps!

 

[427mach1]

7. Is there a better lubricant than gun oil (Hoppes). I don't use Hoppes on the stainless steel. I use CLP (cleans, lubricates, and preserves). Can't ever go wrong with it! Also, with Hoppes you have to make sure that everywhere you use the cleaner, you must also use oil to stop the cleaning reaction; otherwise over time you will see the cleaner eating away at the finish on the grips. You'll start see light spots everywhere. It's best to use CLP because it's an all in one bottle, but I'm sure you can find other options with a little research.

Hoppes also makes gun oil, not just the #9 cleaner/fragrance/cologne!

 

[32icon]

Hoppes also makes gun oil, not just the #9 cleaner/fragrance/cologne!

Right. I know that and usually they come in the same package. I was just letting him know that IF he uses the cleaner he will ALSO have to use the oil so that it doesn't eat away at the grips. He can't miss any spots on the gun at all. Whereas the CLP is an all in one so you're less concerned with missing a spot. That's all.

 

[commonground]

Thanks to all who replied. Good information. For the time being I will continue with the Hoppes Solvent and Oil. The screw with the Nylock seems to have solved the takedown screw loosening problem. I usually have a spray bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol and Compressed air cans available when cleaning also. The gun seems pretty accurate and it is nice to shoot a gun with very little recoil. Augie

 

[wwit]

1. Yes .22's ammo are dirty. Some worse than others. I took my Victory apart to clean/lube prior to putting a single cartridge in it. brand new it looked like it had been shot a thousand times. From the factory it was absolutely filthy inside the receiver.

2. Yes. Personally I have found that Federal HV Match 1080fps to be running very clean in my Victory. I clean my gun after every range session and find very little residue build up.

3. Don't ever dry fire a SW22. Like most .22's it was not designed to be dry fired. Typically only high end professional competition target guns(think Olympic Shooting) are designed to be dry fired. Use plastic snap caps only to hand cycle. Use aluminum snap caps for actual dry firing.

4. Potentially yes. The spring inside the Victory magazines is extremely tight. The feed lips are a little wide. This has caused some cases where the first cartridge in a fully loaded mag to be in a bit of a 'nose up' orientation. This can cause a couple issues. First some new shooters who aren't used to loading a magazine into the gun do so too gently and the magazine pop's back out as they aren't setting/locking it in. And some are having difficulties with getting that first shell into battery. I found that as long as I seat the cartridges in a bit, I don't have these problems at all.

5. IMHO No. Mags should only be used dry. But inspected and cleaned every now and then.

6. Not on mine. Its been fine. But as the manual notes, just a drop of lube. I wipe off any excess if I have it.

7. Hoppes is been around for a very long time. Are there better? That's been debated for a long time. I personally like CLP, but that's me. I also have a couple bottles of Hoppes on the shelf as well. I say, pick a lube and as long as it works for you, stick with it. As long as your firearms see regular after shooting cleaning/lubing, pretty much any brand should work just fine.

The Victory take down screw dilemma...lol. I have one of the new replacement screws with Nylock from S&W in my spare parts can. I am still using the original. Lots of debate on how to address the loosening problem.

When I was still in the buying decision process for a .22lr target pistol, I read countless threads about the Victory as well as the Ruger Mark III and Browning Buck Mark. So going in, I pretty much new what to expect from the Victory warts and all. A great shooter once a couple of new model growing pains get addressed. After reading all the different DYI fixes, the one that sounded the best to me was the rubber o-ring approach.

I use the plumbing size #61 o-ring and just a small @ 2mm dot of blue lock tight compound. I also use a Wheeler Fat Wrench and set the torque to 40 inch pounds. Except for the o-ring, I do the same on the barrel screw. This works like a champ for me. It does not come loose on its own and is easily disassembled when I need to.

 

[commonground]

Thanks wwit, I just got back from the range and it performed like a champ.

The Hoppes Solvent cleaned the action.
The Hoppes oil lubricated the moving parts.
The new take down screw with the Nylock, just snugged down, worked great.
The Halo charging ring that I bought this past week works great.
The Federal Match ammo in the bulk box fed and fired flawlessly.

I think that I will stay with that combination. Dad used to say, "If it ain't broke, don' fix it."

Even fired it this morning with deerskin gloves on to see how that worked.

Thanks for all the help guys. Augie

 

[DVDG]

Hi. Some .22 ammo, the cheap stuff, is dirty. I found CCI Standard Velocity shoots the cleanest and smoothest from my V22.