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I took my 22/45 to the gunsmith for some trigger work which left me without a pistol...I spotted a new S&W 22A in the gun case and the price was right so I bought it. While I waited for it to be added to my permit (about a week) I heard so much negative talk about that model that I was sorry I bought it. Yesterday, with all the paperwork in order, I picked it up, cleaned it, put an Ultra-Dot scope on it and took it to thr range. It's a wonderful gun! I shot about 150 rounds without 1 jam (That was one of the problems I heard about). After it was sighted in, it put 5 shots in the 10 (using the pistol rest, of course).

All I can see is that it shoots better than I do and I am glad I bought it!

I don't have one of these but it looks to me to be S&W's answer to the Browning Buckmark. A little more cosmetically bold but basically a similar pistol.

Happy to hear it is working well for you. Not every owner has problems with a gun model, but it's usually those with problems that get posted for eveyone to see. Good to see an honest and postive model review once and a while too.

Welcome to Gun-Talk.

R,
Bullseye

I bought a 22A four months ago, bottom-end model under $200. I like the way it shoots, especially with a red-dot sight. The pistol is "sensitive" to ammunition and mine seems to like CCI standard velocity and Remington target 22 best It will do well with Federal High velocity hollowpoint (~$9 for a brick of 550 rounds and Walmart). Today I tried Aquila standard velocity and the ammo wouldn't even feed from the magazine. Had no problem with the first 150 rounds from with my Mark III Hunter, then the ammow wouldn't feed from the Ruger magazine.

The Mark III Hunter does better than the 22A, but only marginally better. It could be the longer barrel on the Hunter (6 7/8 versus 5.5") or the sights on the Hunter (my old eyes have some front-sight focus problems). It is going to be a tough decision which one I'll shoot more after the new wears off the Hunter. Nice to have both to shoot.

Bullseye wrote:
Happy to hear it is working well for you. Not every owner has problems with a gun model, but it's usually those with problems that get posted for eveyone to see. Good to see an honest and postive model review once and a while too.

Welcome to Gun-Talk.

R,
Bullseye

Whoe lot ot truth theer Bullseye, guys just keep shooting the good ones and say nothing, but they will tell everone they knopw and then some about the bad ones.
An old saying in the service business I learned many years ago. Always do a good job at a fair price and the customer may tell a friend or two, do a poor job or overcharge and he will tell EVERYONE he knows and half of the people he does not know.
I have 3 Ruger 22/45's they all work fine and rarely get cleaned tf they are still working and even a detail strip to install a new sear is not over a 10 minute operation and they still work when I get them back together.

Many pistols can be ammo sensitive and not just the low end models but the higher dollar ones too. It takes a reasonable amount of experimenting to find ammo that works reliably and accurately in a particular firearm. Every one is unique and requires sound testing to find the right diet for accurate and smooth operation. If ammunition sensitivity disqualified a gun as quality product, then I'd have tossed several of my Model 41's years ago.

R,
Bullseye

Think you are absolutely right about ammo sensitivity, Bullseye. Just find what works with the specific model and stick to it with that handgun. Nice thing about rimfires is that, unless you are buying expensive target ammo, you aren't breaking the bank if your pistol doesn't like the ammo.

jboyce wrote:I took my 22/45 to the gunsmith for some trigger work which left me without a pistol...I spotted a new S&W 22A in the gun case and the price was right so I bought it. While I waited for it to be added to my permit (about a week) I heard so much negative talk about that model that I was sorry I bought it. Yesterday, with all the paperwork in order, I picked it up, cleaned it, put an Ultra-Dot scope on it and took it to thr range. It's a wonderful gun! I shot about 150 rounds without 1 jam (That was one of the problems I heard about). After it was sighted in, it put 5 shots in the 10 (using the pistol rest, of course).

All I can see is that it shoots better than I do and I am glad I bought it!

jboyce, I bought a new 22a rather than the Browning BM yesterday and hope I made the right choice. My MKIII hunter is one of the best guns I've owned, but I had the itch for another 22. lol
Now that you've had your 22a for several months and had the chance to really break it in and check it out I'd be very interested to see if your pleased/satisfied with it's performance. Has it proved to be dependable/reliable? Is it finiky about ammo? Have you done any upgrades to improve it's accuracy, ie. trigger, hammer, etc.? Anything you'r willing to share about the gun I'd appreciate.
Note: Anyone else who wants to jump in is more than welcome.
Thanks,
Jim

I have a 22A and then about 3 months later bought a MKIII Hunter. Both have their plusses and minuses. The Hunter is a "better" pistol, but with a VQ tigger, sear and hammer it ought to be (~2.5 X the cost of the 22A).

The only problems I've had with the 22A have been either something I did or from using ammo it didn't like. The pistol is fun to shoot, is about as accurate as the Ruger. I fire it about as much as the Ruger. The 22A is a keeper, in my opinion. I'm not influenced at all by the fact that my wife prefers it to the Ruger and shoots it better than the Ruger. (Influence? Not at all. Not the least bit. No way). She prefers the balance, grip and feel compared to the Ruger.

I haven't seen the aftermarket upgrades for the 22A like there is for Rugers. The only one I know of for certain is the $108 7" barrel.

Have fun with yours. Give it a good workout, find the ammo it likes and every now and then give it a little TLC. I think you will be happy you bought it. If not, I'll send you an address for proper disposal.

OK I admit it, I'm one of those weid guys who started out with a 22A; at least it's the wepon I credit with getting me hooked on pistol shooting. Now don't get me wrong, I've been shooting sense I was a youngster, heck my Dad even bought a High Standard Duramatic at Gaylords Department Store back in sixty-four for us to shoot (it's still a fun shooter) but, the 22A was my first experience with a high volume plinker.

I picked it and a couple of other handguns up about 5 years ago from a guy who's fiance had small kids and didn't want any firearms in her house.

Anyway, me and my teenage son have run several thousand rounds through this little pistol and it has performed remarkably well. Oh sure, it has a ftf every once in a blue moon and sometimes it even gets a little picky about a particular batch of ammo and spits out a stovepipe or two but heck, so do my Mark IIs. I've got to admit all in all my experience has been great. The 22A makes for a really fun plinker. As a matter of fact it's my gun of choice when I take a newby to the range for the first time. A couple of magazines through this little baby and they're hooked too!

It's nothing fancy, just a stock model with a 7 inch barrel and S&Ws oversized laminate grips. There's no where near the aftermarket parts available for the 22A that there are for the Mark II so, unlike my Mark IIs I wouldn't really consider it a "target pistol". It's my plinker, and a heck of a fun one I might add.

Oh well, I didn't mean to ramble on so much. I guess you can tell I've enjoyed my 22A. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a plinker to any newby.

Welcome to the forum. There's no reason for anyone to think they have a substandard pistol in a 22A. It is a fine shooter for what it is designed for; plinking and informal target shooting.

R,
Bullseye

My 22A comes with one substandard part, the one that supports the grip, but I'm working on accurizing that part.