So I shot a new S&W Victory yesterday............

[chief38]

One of my friends bought himself a new S&W .22 Victory last week and asked me if he could tag along when we went to the indoor Range yesterday. We braved the weather and went on our merry way.

He opened up his brand new S&W Victory, loaded it and proceeded to shoot it. I had to help him sight it in as he was barely hitting paper at 50 feet. After sighting it in, reasonable 2" groups were achievable but nothing better than that - although we were shooting Remington ammo so who knows.

There were no malfunctions (except for 2 "duds" - but that's Remington Rimfire ammo for ya) and groups were some what reasonable, but the Trigger on the Victory was horrible! Not only was it very heavy but it was sloppy as hell, lots of creep and almost felt like a DA Auto!

I made the mistake of letting him shoot my M41 and after that of course he was upset at his purchase. After I explained the Victory is a $400 gun and the M41 is triple that - he at least felt a bit better.

I am not trying to compare the Victory to a M41 here, but I will say I have been totally spoiled with owning a M41, shooting many Hi Standards over the years along with other .22's like tuned and converted Ruger's to Volquartsen's, Brownings, Colts etc.

I think after he shot my M41 he will more than likely look into getting a LG-Smith to do a badly needed trigger job - unless they make after market parts he can just drop in. To tell ya the truth, while I did not expect it to shoot like a M41, I was pretty surprised at just how bad the stock trigger really was - who knows, maybe he just got a "stinker".

I'm curious to know if those who own Victory's have had a better experience or was my buddy just unlucky? I'm not "bad-mouthing the Victory (as it IS only $400 bucks) just really curious.

 

[Targets Guy]

I bought one in 2015 and have over 2,000 rounds through it. Never shot any other target pistol so no basis to judge but I have no problem with the trigger.

I really enjoy it.

Typical day at the range for me. Hope to improve after my cataracts are remove sometime this year. That is a 7" diameter circle.

 

[Ceapea]

I just won a Victory, a few weeks back. Got a chance to shoot it just last weekend. Mine is great!! I like it as much as my 41. The trigger on mine is at 4# 3 oz. Great, crisp and no (or very, very little) creep. I did have to sight it in, but at 10 yd, I kept all 40 rd inside 3".
That one needs warranty attention. Then it will be great!

 

[VAPA]

I have no complaints with mine.

 

[fiasconva]

Sounds like he may have gotten a "stinker" but I'd give it a few hundred rounds more before I'd pass judgement. It just may need a little more breaking in. Some of them just need that. A change in ammo brands may help also.

 

[Frankenkj03]

I have had no issues with my Victory, several hundred rounds thru it. Love the trigger on mine

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[wproct]

I own a Smith & Wesson model 41 target pistol and several Ruger semi-auto pistols. I bought a S & W Victory pistol a couple of years ago just to have for plinking dutles and to check it out. The trigger pull on my Victory was not all that bad. Not as nice as the model 41, but definitely comparable to or better than my stock Ruger pistols. Like my Rugers, there are some after-market items that will make the Victory trigger pull even nicer.

 

[Amp]

Bought my SW22 and started a league shoot the same week. I do admit that I will need a few spare mags. The gun itself shoots way better than me.
Perhaps a good cleaning BEFORE you shoot it would help. The manual suggest that too. And then some oil.
I shoot Federal Match ammo but have also shot standard bulk ammo with no apparent difference at 15 yards.
Don't give up on the gun just yet.

 

[Frankenkj03]

I have had no issues with my Victory, several hundred rounds thru it. Love the trigger on mine

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Feeds any brand ammo I've put in, absolutely zero issues with feed/jams

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[Barrie]

Volqenson's I believe they are called have all kind of after market parts including full drop in triggers that are highly rated. Usually the trigger is quite decent in the Victorys. Yes I would send it in for repair as it will be a quick and Free repair for your Friend

 

[chief38]

Well, from the consensus here it would appear my friend's specific gun was made on a Friday at 4:45! I will suggest to him that he send it back to get it straightened out. Thanks for the responses. I was at least hoping that S&W hadn't stooped "that low"!

 

[627Pro]

Yes, if it is as bad as you say, it should go back for some adjustments. The SW22 Victory we bought used last year had a pretty decent trigger on it, a little free pull creep, a slight bit of mush, then a crisp break. Definitely not target grade but not at all bad. You no doubt spoiled him for life by letting him shoot your 41; that was just a cruel thing to do to a person with a brand new Victory.

The only problem we encountered was with the ejector arm that needed a bit of tweaking - the solution to which I found on this forum. No problems after that.

 

[RUT]

I have a tricked out Victory which, after the initial ejector tweaking, seems to work ok. Had I to do it again however, I'd have put the extra money into a Ruger MK lV Hunter with fluted barrel. It's simply a better made gun. But for the money, the Victory is OK.

 

[JM4151]

Smith & Wesson Victory

I have a Victory that I bought new in 2018. Great gun without any issues. I use it more than my 41 or my Ruger mark 4. You should suggest to your buddy that he buy a brick of CCI SV ammo and he should see a major improvement!

 

[chief38]

I have a Victory that I bought new in 2018. Great gun without any issues. I use it more than my 41 or my Ruger mark 4. You should suggest to your buddy that he buy a brick of CCI SV ammo and he should see a major improvement!

I make that recommendation to anyone shooting a .22. CCI is about the only ammo I will buy in Rimfire these days.

The main issue is the horrible trigger and last night I recommended he return it to the Factory for some TLC. I think he is going to listen.

 

[Barrie]

He should be quite Happy when it comes back as all he has to do is call them and tell them whats happening. They should issue him a shipping label and pay for postage and the repairs as well.

 

[bbqncigars]

Was the gun cleaned and lubed before shooting it? Hose it out with some One Shot gun cleaner/lube at the very least. I never take a 'new to me' gun to the range without doing that.

 

[muddocktor]

Like the others here, the trigger on my old SW22 (my wife's now) is actually damn nice for a relatively inexpensive gun. I would estimate about a 3-4 lb letoff with a little bit of creep, but totallhy controlable. Last time to the range I let my wife shoot it and she promptly claimed it as hers. So right before I left for work I ordered another SW22 from Grab-A-Gun along with 2 extra mags. With shipping included it came to right under $350 to my FFL. BTW, extra mags are selling for $18.99 plus shipping at Grab-A-Gun if someone is looking for extra mags.

 

[Shooting Padre]

My Victory absolutely hates Remington ammo. It runs great on Federal and others. I did put a Tandemkross trigger in and really like it. I've done a couple other small things, new grips and an aluminum pica-tinny rail. I really like this pistol.