Victory Problem Child

[PattonWasRight]

Apparently Smith & Wesson can't figure this one out, so seeking help from you guys

I have 1,070 rounds through it and all well, until about 900 rounds and the slide stopped locking back at all on the last round

Already tried different ammo & mags

Interestingly, the range's rental Victory does not lock back on last round either

There is some metal deformed at the top of the slide catch, where it meets the front of the slide. You can see the corresponding wear on the front of the slide.

When operating manually, the slide stop rises quite far up, well past the deformed area, so it wouldn't seem that little bit of wear is enough to keep the slide from catching, but who knows

Sent it back to SW already, just got it back. They replaced the magazine. Whomever sure didn't test it because again it doesn't lock back on last round. Not happy with that level of "help" to resolve the problem. I could have told them it wasn't the mag, which now that I type that I did say I tried both mags, diff ammo etc

Nothing at all mentioned about the deformed area I pointed out.

So, it seems like with a moderate number of rounds this gun loses lock back, given mine and the range's rental having the same problem

It's frustrating because shooting this with my kids & friends, you try to keep count of the rounds fired, otherwise, you're dry firing a .22, so not good

This after having the barrel bolt come loose repeatedly every hundred rounds or so, and oh yeah, when I bought it and befoe I even fired it, it had a very visible burr/tooling/whatever gouge in the barrel. It had to go back to SW before I even fired a shot

I want to like this gun, because of its accuracy and ergos, but having a high maintenance/needy lemon was not what I was looking for

Anyone figured this out yet? Is this becoming "a thing" with this gun?

 

[PattonWasRight]

Come on men. 100 views.

Input appreciated.

 

[huntsman22]

Input? It's not hard to count to ten.......

 

[PattonWasRight]

Input? It's not hard to count to ten.......

Nice.......

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

You could replace it with a Buckmark or MK11. Personally I don't like the victory in style or function.

 

[NYlakesider]

Come on men. 100 views.

Input appreciated.

My wife has one and as of now no slide lock back problems. I would say she has in excess of 3,000 rounds put threw it. I have done about 300 myself.

We did have the loosing screw problem. At first we use lock tight but then found out about the screws S&W would send us and no problems. She called and within a week got the new screw! I would guess we have about 1500 rounds fired and have taken the gun apart many time since we got the new screw.

 

[PattonWasRight]

^^^ A signature line to be proud of

Well, doesn't look like anyone's been down this road yet

I'll call SW customer service Monday ... going to be a nice, polite guy and see how they handle this

 

[fiasconva]

If they tell you to send it back do so with a detailed explanation, in writing, of the problem you are having. It can't hurt to send a pic too if you can. Good luck!

 

[PattonWasRight]

If they tell you to send it back do so with a detailed explanation, in writing, of the problem you are having. It can't hurt to send a pic too if you can. Good luck!

Thanks, I will be doing a detailed write up. I like the idea of taking a close up pic and circling the knarled up slide stop edge and slide contact area. I wrote of it the first time.

I just have to figure out how to make sure this gets a valid look see rather than the "drive by" glance it got this last time

 

[yellowtr]

My SW22 is over 1 year old and most likely over 2k rounds without a problem. No loose frame or barrel. Always locks after last round. I use Federal Auto-Match or CCI Stingers both 40 grain. Never a problem removing the take down screw with the wrench supplied. I love this pistol! And I am getting much better with my accuracy.
One thread mentioned putting a bit of oil on the frame and barrel screws before tightening them down. Says you can get a bit more torque. Now mine is the KRYPTEX version. Not sure how that could make a difference.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Perhaps S&W could quietly resume manufacturing the 22A and the 22S.

 

[Denton Dog]

Sorry you've not received help from S&W nor this forum. There is one other thread discussing the same problem: Victory 22 Slide Problem

 

[len917]

Is it possible that you changed ammo? Maybe a higher velocity round would help-it would send the slide back harder and maybe catch after last round.

 

[BigDog48]

My Victory has been fine, since I got S&W to get the danged screw out. They replaced the screw with a newer version and it has been perfect since. Sorry you've had this experience, but evidently not a lot of others have or you would have gotten speedy and high volume helpful feedback without begging.

 

[PattonWasRight]

Sorry you've not received help from S&W nor this forum. There is one other thread discussing the same problem: Victory 22 Slide Problem

Thanks, that's the exact issue, same attempts to deal with in usual manner ... different mags & different/hotter ammo.

QUOTE=len917;139881259]Is it possible that you changed ammo? Maybe a higher velocity round would help-it would send the slide back harder and maybe catch after last round.[/QUOTE] Sure, but I started not locking with the same ammo .. Federal 1250 FPS 40 grain. I and the gun range/store where I bought it tried other / more hot ammo including CCI Stinger. It'd be encouraging if it sometimes locked back, but as it is now, it simply never locks back.

I should be able to get hold of SW service rep tomorrow and we'll see

 

[fiasconva]

Please keep us updated if you don't mind. I'd like to find out what happens.

 

[Barrie]

As a suggestion on the loosening screw problem you can put a No.61 O-ring on the screw which will Strongly help it stay tight and make it easier to undo when you are doing maintenance on it. Most hardware stores sell these washers very cheaply.

 

[RGVshooter]

I have mixed feelings about the Victory. I only had mine for 4 weeks before it lost the extractor, plunger spring assemble during normal shooting. I sent it back to S&W back in late November and I finally got the repair quote last week. They've had it longer than I owned it and now what seems to be a routine warranty work, they're trying to charge me. $67.50 for labor, $46 for inspect & range test, $3.50 replace extractor, spring assembly... I'm not happy about receiving a price quote for what IMO is a defect in workmanship. So now I'm in the process of playing phone tag with Roz at S&W.

I might just sell the thing when I get it back & buy a different 22. This is supposed to be my competition gun and I'm missing a lot of matches at our local club as a result...

 

[DBenn]

I've had mine over a year now. After about 1000 rounds when cleaning I noticed a bur on the slide release bar where it locks the slide back.
I was in the habit of using that to release the slide.
I started to pull the slide itself from the back and have had no more damage with over 5000 rounds through it now.

Two others at our range have the same issue as you and that bar is badly worn down from using it to release the slide.

 

[PattonWasRight]

Okay ... here's what the issue was, got it back from SW. They replaced the slide stop as it had taken a beating when the barrel nut came loose. I had a rubber o-ring on it, but that was not enough to keep it tight.

Soo ... I'll add the wrench to my range bag and check it before & during & after use. I usually shoot 200 rounds at a time, have 1,200 rounds through mine thus far.