Someone who knows nothing does a review of the S&W Victory 22 (SW22)

[StevieTimes]

That's me.

I'm new to firearms as of maybe a year ago. A neighbor whose kid played with mine is ex-military, firearms safety instructor guy, and took me out shooting a bunch of times. I've been having a great time, and so that's the level I'm at. Consider me = knowing next to nothing, really, but I'm learning.

I got a chance to try out a new Smith and Wesson Victory 22. It was the normal barrel, not threaded. It had the Tandemkross charging handle and extractor. It has the stock rail on it, with a $23 red dot from Amazon on it. This was at an indoor range.

I haven't been excited to shoot pistols. They aren't fun for me. I like rifles, give me "iron sights"! Growing up, we shot a LOT of BB gun rifles, almost every day, so I really got comfortable with those kind of sights. I never had a scope.

I got excited about pistols the last time I was out at an outdoor range. The neighbor had his cousin with. He had brought a 22 pistol, now I wish I would have paid attention to what it was, but dang we were having a hoot with that thing! He had a plastic "ball" type of a thing, that you would shoot around. He was good, he could keep it moving. It was fun to try! It had iron sights like I like.

So now the Victory experience; I thought the pistol was very accurate. It seemed easy to hit what I was aiming at. I tried to hit the target from 25 yards, holy cow, I can hardly even SEE the bullseye from that far away! No fun, I pulled it back and tried various distances in between.

(The wild shots above are from me trying to sight in the red dot. I'm sticking to that excuse.)

Also, the red dot thing is cool. I can see how a guy could get on target quicker (than iron sights). Maybe not, I haven't seen any studies, but I'm already a big fan. That seems like something my mom could use.

It was fun to shoot. My biggest complaints are:

1. Only 10 rounds per magazine, I'd like 15. Even with two loaded mags, it seemed to go fast. Maybe two more magazines would make me feel better? I know there is a +1 out there, that doesn't seem like enough. This must be a common issue with most pistols, I would imagine you guys just have more magazines.

2. I am a wuss, and yowch, the magazine load release button hurts after awhile. Buy an Easy loader/SpeedLoader, whatever you want to call them: Speedloader for Smith & Wesson S&W Victory SW22 .22LR, Magazine Speed Loader | eBay I heard about the "sore thumb" thing, so I tried it a bunch of times in the living room, pushing it up and down with nothing in it. I was like "What are these wusses compaining about?" Then with real-world use I felt the ouch.

(NOTE: I got a sore spot in my thumb from 200+ rounds in one sitting. The part above is on order, so I didn't get a chance to test it yet to make sure I'm happy with all aspects of that design, so I can't 100% recommend it yet. I'll try to come back and update this after I check it out.)

So it was easy to shoot and easy to take apart. I put an o-ring under my "take-apart" screw, and it stayed put over 200 rounds. I had some failure to fires with some browning ammo, none with CCI mini mags (the same ammo was giving me the same occasional failure to fire in a Marlin Model 60 rifle as well). I accidentally dry fired the Victory once, I hope I didn't hurt the firing pin!

So this fun little pistol cost under $450 all in, all accessories/FFL cost included. That's with the Tandemkross extractor, charging handle, Victory trigger (not yet installed), and Amazon red dot sight! I'd like to point out that I could have gotten stuff even cheaper if I'd been smarter and more patient!

I say thumbs up!

 

[brjr51]

Good to hear you like it, I really like mine too. I've installed the Tandemkross Hive grip and extractor on mine and just put a Vortex red dot on it. I've been using the loader they sell too, it's just a plastic ring but it helps a lot. I've only run about a thousand rounds through it but haven't had any issues so far.

 

[Denton Dog]

Now have 2300 rounds through mine. Very happy with it. Occasional FTLs, apparently due to too much lube. Cleaning it up solves the problem. Also found that the recoil spring has to be accurately placed into its seat. One very good reason behind the 10-round magazine is that in some states larger mags are illegal. At least that's true for Maryland.

 

[Sevens]

You'll find that most .22cal semiautomatic pistols have magazines that are 10 rounds or less for a couple reasons...

Mostly, because the case has a rim, you cannot easily stack a huge supply of them easily in a size and shape that still fits the pistol well. When you are ready to explore a full size 9mm handgun, you'll then get to take advantage of 12, 15, 17 and 18 round magazines.

The other reason is simple manufacturing and distribution ease... with so many states limiting magazine capacity, it's easier for gunmakers to produce one model that can be distributed everywhere. Silly of courae, as laws continue to get more restrictive. A S&W rimfire pistol in 1988 shipped with 12-rd magazines.

 

[ExRanger714]

I've got a little plastic thing called a "thumb-saver" that clips over the follower button on my Rugers (I know, sacrilege) that makes all the difference.

 

[Barrie]

StevieTimes Welcome to the Forum. Glad you like the Victory but 10 rounds is all you need in any magazine. Once you get to be a Good shot with it you will understand why. When you are ready to try a M41 which is a vast improvement over the Victory in shooting feel and quality as well I am sure you will like it a lot as well.

 

[sparkyvega]

OP makes interesting point. No 22LR pistol comes to mind that has 15 round capacity. Anyone know of one?

 

[Barrie]

The only one I have ever seen is for the Ruger 10/22 ranch rifle which can hold up to 100 rounds in a plastic drum. I have never seen any made for a pistol other then some older 12 round magazines that I believe S&W put out years ago now. Anschutz also made some 12 round magazines years ago for some of their rifle models.

 

[cjt50]

OP makes interesting point. No 22LR pistol comes to mind that has 15 round capacity. Anyone know of one?

Full size MP22 can use 12 round magazines and the Beretta 92-22 uses a 15 round magazine.

Unless they changed the design of the 10 round magazines for the MP22; there is a removable spacer that will give you the 2 extra rounds. Full size only, not compact.

 

[StevieTimes]

Yah, I think the thumb-saver would have done the trick nicely. I tried the speed loader, it seemed nicer too. I "only" went through around 100 rounds, so not the same test, but no sore spot on my thumb.

I googled M41, and THAT is a nice pistol! I don't think I'll be able to afford that any time soon!

It would be nice to have bigger magazines for sighting in the pistol, I know, boo hoo, poor me having to switch magazines, but switching takes time away from being able to sight it in. Not a big deal, really, just would be nice to have 15 or more.

 

[AveragEd]

I know I'll be chastised for this but after doing literally months of research on the Victory and Ruger's Mark IV Competition, I ordered a new Competition from Ruger yesterday. Their media price was a bit higher than S&W's but I just saw a lot fewer negative reports about the Mark IV than the Victory and frankly like the Mark IV's looks better. But that's a very subjective thing about which many may disagree with me.

One can never have too many 22LR firearms so a Victory might be added to my collection in the future. I have an S&W 22A-1 Talo edition that I'm kind of afraid to shoot very much for fear of the frame cracking as so many have. The last I heard, S&W had no replacement frames left in inventory so they offer you a different model in exchange. I like the 22A-1 a lot and it is very accurate, especially for its price range.

Ed

 

[JH1951]

Welcome to the forum from Pennsylvania, Stevie. I'm glad you're enjoying the sport! You are at a good place for advice!

 

[wproct]

Congratulations on your new S&W Victory pistol. I have had mine for about 6 months and absolutely love it. I have installed the Tandemkross trigger in mine and that makes a significant improvement on an already decent trigger pull. The Victory is a very nice pistol for the money, but if you are like the rest of us forum members, you will find that just one .22 target pistol is not enough. The Ruger line of pistols are very nice and as another poster said, the S&W model 41 is in a class all of it's own.

Welcome to the shooting sport! Be safe and have fun!

 

[RGVshooter]

I'm going to be the odd man today and say that I sold my Victory 22 pistol after processing it for 2 out of the 6 months I've owned it. When it worked, it worked great! But never in my life had i ever had to deal with such a finicky pistol. I had to send mine back to S&W not even a month after owning it for a missing ejector/spring assembly that went AWOL during a steel plate match. S&W had it for nearly 3 months. When it came back it was perfection. For about 2 weeks before I had more issues. I became so frustrated with it I sold it right there on the spot to another shooter.
I used the funds to purchase a brand new 6" 617. Now my problems went away and I'm actually able to enjoy myself at the shootin' range.

 

[StevieTimes]

If I had unlimited funds, I'd get the Ruger Mark 4, the Browning Buck Mark, the M41, and a High Standard. I know we're on a Smith and Wesson forum; but probably like others, I like what I like! Maybe as time goes on I can "add to the collection". The next one I want is another 22 rifle, so when my kids get old enough, they can both shoot at the same time. I am in no hurry, they are still quite young.

My red dot is hardly visible in bright daylight. That's probably what you pay more for, is a brighter dot.

I'm hoping to get out again on Saturday afternoon! First I'd like to go dirt biking, then go shooting. I also hope the neighbor's cousin comes with again; he let me shoot his pistol last time, I want him to shoot mine. I'm all proud and stuff, but I'll likely be even happier when MY Tandemkross trigger comes in!

Here's to hoping I don't run into issues like RGV!

 

[Leftofcentre67]

I used to own an SR40 and GP101 4.2" .357.
My SR40 would have extraction problems. My GP101 I tried Critical Duty Hornady Ammo. And despite my cleaning of the cylinders the nickel would stick to the sides and be a pain to get them out.

Got rid of both of them. With my Ruger experience, I bought a SW22 Victory. I've been happy as hell with it. Accurate, and I think even stock with no dot scope it looks great. I have a lot of fun at the range with it.

 

[StevieTimes]

So I put around 450 rounds through her today! We had some of those "plastic balls", that aren't really balls, but things you shoot and they tumble around the ground. Those are great fun!

Yes, that loader I got helped immensely with my thumb. My thumb was not sore at all afterward. Score: A

For a lot of those rounds, the thing was being fired nearly constantly. My neighbor brought a friend, who brought his two boys. The oldest tried my Victory. I taught him how to use it, like switching magazines, and he would just keep firing at the "balls". I would load up the next magazine as fast as I could. I could usually keep up with him, so there was not much of a break in the firing for a huge percentage of those rounds.

It only had a few issues, no failure to fires at all. Each time, we cleared it and kept on going, easy peasey. I was using my cheap ammo. It just kept humming along. The kid was able to hit what he was aiming at a lot of the time, so he was having a blast. He learned a bit about safety, too.

His dad tried it and loved it too. He asked how much it cost; now he wants a Victory too!

She did great today. When it was just humming along, no issues, firing accurately, it was just what you want in a fun pistol. Round after round, magazine after magazine, hitting what he wanted to hit.

 

[AveragEd]

Well, my Mark IV Competition arrived Friday and yesterday, I found time to clean and lubricate it. Unfortunately, handling it just that little bit showed me that the Ruger's grip frame angle causes discomfort in my arthritic wrist. I should have known that would happen because I had to change the grip on my Precision Rifle to one with a 1911 angle for the same reason.

So the Competition will probably be up for sale and life will go on. It's a shame for the gun appears well-made and is attractive.

Ed

 

[huntsman22]

Buckmark, baby.......

 

[AveragEd]

It took three minutes to sell my Mark IV Competition. Now I'm going to buy a (used, perhaps) 1911 on which to put my Advantage Arms 22LR Target conversion kit so I'll have another 22LR pistol I can shoot comfortably. I love my Talo Edition 22A-1 but worry about cracking the frame since S&W has no more new frames and offers a replacement gun as the "repair." It's good of them to do that but I really like my 22A-1.

Ed