Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum, Reviewed and Examined

I knew from the second I heard in regards to the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum that I used to be going to take pleasure in capturing the pistol. What I didn’t understand was the hazard it posed to my ammunition funds and provide.

The M&P 22 Magnum is the most recent rimfire from S&W and is, with out query, one of the vital entertaining weapons I’ve shot this 12 months. Chambered in .22 WMR, the pistol holds 30 rounds in every of its two magazines.

That’s a powerful fusillade to have on faucet in a transportable bundle. Although the body dimensions put it within the full-sized class, it’s mild sufficient (1 kilos, 6 ounces) to comfortably carry in your hip or in a ruck sack.

As a path gun it is likely one of the high obtainable choices. Woe unto the rattlesnake, cottontail, or spruce grouse that finally ends up trying down its barrel. Primarily based on its capability alone, and a number of the extra stout projectiles available within the Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge, it’s no slouch within the private safety division both.

Actually, the M&P 22 Magnum, like different firearms chambered in .22 WMR, is sort of versatile due to the broad vary of bullets loaded for that cartridge. This consists of Winchester’s 25-grain NTX polymer-tipped bullet on the lighter finish of the spectrum, and Federal’s 50-grain JHP bullet on the opposite, with the most typical bullet weight being 40-grains.

• Caliber: .22 WMR
• Capability: 30+1
• Motion: Semiauto, inside hammer fired
• Barrel: 4.4-inch, bull profile, stainless-steel
• Dimensions: 8.25 inches lengthy x 5.5 inches excessive x 1.125 inches vast
• Weight: 22 ounces (with empty 17-round journal, measured)
• Body: Polymer
• Slide: Stainless-steel with Armornite black nitride end
• Optics: Accepts Protect RMSc footprint optics
• Controls: Ambidextrous security and slide cease, reversable journal catch
• End: Black
• Grip: Polymer grip module, laser-etched stipple texture
• Sights: Fastened with fiber-optic entrance put up, rear is drift adjustable
• Set off: 3 kilos, 10 ounces (measured)

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Walkthrough

Earlier than taking a deeper take a look at the pistol’s utility, let’s first take into account its design. Externally, the pistol isn’t very stunning, which I imply as a praise. It reveals most of the finest options which have grow to be commonplace on in the present day’s semiauto handguns.

Polymer Body

The body on the M&P 22 Magnum is molded polymer that’s executed fairly nicely. It features a substantial accent rail on the mud cowl with 4 cross slots for mounting a light-weight or laser.

Ergonomically, Smith & Wesson did a superb job with the body. The rear of the set off guard is relieved, and matched with the body’s deep beavertail the shooter is ready to get a excessive and stable grip on the gun.

The whole body has a sandpaper-like texture that’s practical and cozy. The grip itself has a texture that’s like 120-grit, whereas the remainder of the body sports activities one thing akin to an 800-grit end. It supplies a stable connection to the gun, even when moist, however isn’t sharp or jarring so even essentially the most tender-handed shooter received’t discover trigger to complain.

Ambidextrous Controls

The Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum is lefty pleasant. It has ambidextrous controls for the protection and slide launch which are simple to achieve and manipulate with both hand. That mentioned, the low-profile, snag-free security is a bit simpler to maneuver into the “secure” place with the precise hand than the left. However taking the gun off secure is clean and easy from each side, which is what actually counts.

The journal catch might be swapped from one aspect to the subsequent with nothing greater than a slim slot-head bit. The screw head within the magazine catch meeting must be rotated simply 90 levels and the entire thing slides out. Simply set up it on the opposite aspect and switch the screw head to lock it in place and also you’re executed.

Iron Sights

The iron sights on the S&W M&P 22 Magnum include a fiber optic dot in a sq. put up up entrance and a square-notched rear that adjusts for windage. My pattern would have benefited from a contact of elevation adjustment, as the purpose of affect was a hair decrease than I desire.

A typical 6 o’clock-hold, the place the entrance sight sits simply beneath the meant level of affect didn’t work with mine. I wanted to position the intense inexperienced dot on the entrance sight over my goal, after which give it only a contact extra on high of that.

This didn’t diminish my expertise with the pistol in any significant approach—I used to be nonetheless capable of get correct hits with it at lengthy distances—nevertheless it does require the shooter to adapt to the gun somewhat than vice versa.

Optics Prepared

Thankfully, the Smith comes optics appropriate, so you’ll be able to forgo the irons. The slide has a plate held in place by two 5/64^th Allen screws and when eliminated the plate exposes the Protect RMSc sample mounting holes. (Eradicating the plate additionally exposes the firing pin mechanism and the inner block which is a security that stops the hammer from hitting the firing pin except the set off is held all the way in which to the rear.)

Whereas I’m an enormous fan of reflex sights—take a look at my in-depth assessment of the very best red-dot sights in case you’re available in the market—I opted to do all my capturing with the pistol’s mounted irons.  

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum’s Set off

The set off has a tab-safety within the heart of the set off shoe. When depressed it permits you to take up the set off’s 3/8-inch of slack. My pistol’s set off weight measured 3 kilos, 10 ounces, with a constant crisp break with little discernible creep. The reset is sharp as nicely, giving good tactile suggestions.

Match and End

Smith completed the stainless-steel slide of their sturdy Armornite black nitride. I’m very conversant in it, and may vouch for its sturdiness and toughness. The polymer body is likewise constructed for laborious use and may present years of service.

The match on the pistol is nice, however is a notch beneath the M&P 2.0 as an illustration. The 22 Magnum has a pronounced hole between the slide and body permitting for mud and particles to enter the works. The pistol additionally has a noticeable hole the place the journal and body meet.

The Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum’s Fascinating Motion

From the skin the 22 Magnum would possibly seem like a striker-fired pistol, however that’s not the case. It has an inside hammer that does the work of hanging the firing pin. An much more important departure from the striker-fired cookie-cutter template that characterizes so many semis is the gasoline working system it employs.

Understanding Blow-Again Design

Most pistols function on a blow-back design, the place the mass of the slide meeting is used to counter the mass of the bullet. The heavier slide strikes backward at a comparatively sluggish tempo, permitting the speedy bullet to exit the barrel earlier than it has traveled rearward any important quantity. As soon as the bullet is evident of the barrel, the stress gases generated by the ignition of the cartridge escape out of the muzzle (following the trail of least resistance).

This technique ensures that the brass case is supported sufficient by the chamber and breech in order that it doesn’t rupture and in any other case direct probably dangerous pressurized gasoline towards the shooter. Although it earns excessive marks for simplicity and reliability, this method additionally necessitates that the slide be heavy sufficient to counteract the pressures generated by the cartridge.

S&W M&P 22 Magnum Gasoline Piston

The 22 Magnum takes a special strategy. The barrel incorporates two items: an exterior sleeve and the precise barrel that sits on the within of it. The barrel has a gasoline port close to the muzzle and a collection of gasoline checks alongside its size.

As soon as the bullet passes the port, gasses movement into the house between the barrel and sleeve which push towards the checks, forcing the barrel rearward serving to to cycle the motion.

Smith & Wesson calls this their TEMPO barrel system, which in addition they make use of on the M&P 5.7. The 5.7×28, just like the .22 WMR, is a comparatively high-powered pistol spherical, so working a modified motion that delays the rearward journey of the barrel till the chamber pressures have dropped a bit is smart. With this gas-operated motion, the barrel doesn’t cam open till the bullet has handed the gasoline port.

This additionally permits for a lighter slide, which explains partly the 22 Magnum’s mild, moveable weight.

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Takedown and Upkeep

This gasoline system requires the shooter to maintain monitor of the variety of rounds put down the barrel. Smith & Wesson recommends cleansing no less than each 500 rounds.

One downside to the pistol is that the takedown process is a bit cumbersome. To take away the slide from the body one should transfer the slide rearward a couple of quarter of an inch after which use a punch to float the slide cease out of the body. It isn’t tough to do however in comparison with the vast majority of pistols on the market which have tool-less takedown methods it’s extra difficult.

As soon as the slide is off it’s simple to take away the barrel and barrel-shroud meeting to wash out no matter gunk has amassed. The pistol has a captured recoil spring in order that’s easy to deal with.

With the slide off the body, it’s simple to entry and clear the remainder of the works too. Smith recommends retaining the body rails lubed us, in addition to the piece on the set off mechanism that bears towards the plunger on the inner security block.

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum on the Vary

I shortly hit—and surpassed—the 500-round threshold my first day on the vary with pistol, and it saved ticking the entire time, although I did expertise a handful of stoppages and failures to feed.

General, the pistol is absurdly enjoyable to shoot. The dangerous information is you’re going to pay for the privilege. Twenty-two WMR ammo sometimes prices $.30 to $.40 per spherical, which interprets to $15 to $20 per field of fifty or—extra to the purpose—10 to 12 bucks per absolutely loaded 30-round journal.

I misplaced depend of what number of mags I put via the pistol. I meant to maintain meticulous notes of the spherical depend, however as soon as I received the gun working, I received caught up within the second. Judging by the glowing layer of empties I left at my gun vary, it was a pile.

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Accuracy

I began by capturing the pistol for accuracy at 7 yards. I had 5 totally different .22 WMR hundreds to check and did a collection of 10-shot teams with every. Right here’s what I shot:

All of the rounds grouped nicely, and it was throughout this a part of the analysis that I realized that POI was a contact low with the mounted sights. I shot these strings quickly to get a really feel for the pistol’s set off, recoil impulse, and normal ergonomics.

On common, the 10-shot teams ranged from 1.5 to 2.25 inches, which was loads good in my guide on condition that I wasn’t capturing off a supported relaxation.

I moved again to 25 yards and shot extra intentionally on the head of an MGM BC-C Zone IPSC goal. I had no bother holding hand-sized teams at that distance.

Going again to 50 yards, the pistol nonetheless carried out nicely. It turned in 10-shot teams that measured 6 inches, which is fairly good for offhand capturing with iron sights.

When it comes to its work as a path gun, it’s minute-of-mouse at 7 yards, minute-of-grouse at 25 yards, and minute-of-coyote/jackrabbit at 50 yards. I’ve little doubt that with a red-dot put in it might be much more efficient in any respect distances.

Working a Spinner

One of many concepts behind a pistol just like the M&P 22 Magnum is that whereas every particular person spherical may not be that spectacular the truth that you’ve got 30 of them at your disposal makes up for it.

To check that notion, I made a decision to see how the Smith would deal with a full-sized spinning goal. For these with out first-hand expertise capturing a spinner, it’s one on of the finest coaching instruments for handgunning and even shotgun and rifle apply.

The fundamental concept is that it’s important to impart sufficient power to the goal with correct hits so as to get it shifting after which flip it over. It’s simple to explain and perceive however might be devilishly tough to make occur on the vary.

Calculating the Broadside

Even with a 9mm handgun it’s a problem, and a method to assist the trigger is to make use of heavier 147-grain bullets. With the .22 WMR you don’t have any bullets that come near that weight, so what you lack in potential power and momentum with a person projectile has to made up with quantity.

Within the days of sail, a typical strategy to choose the lethality of a warship was by the full weight of the broadside it may throw. A 36-gun frigate armed with 18-pound cannon may discharge a broadside of 648 kilos, as an illustration.

By this logic, a 9mm handgun loaded with 17 rounds of 147s, has a most “broadside” of two,499 grains. The S&W 22 magnum, loaded with 30 rounds of 46-grainers (the heaviest I had readily available) has a broadside of simply 1,380 grains whole on faucet.

A proficient pistol shot can flip a spinner with 7 to 9 rounds of 9mm ammo at 7 yards. That equates to 1,030 to 1,323 grains of lead heading in the right direction—practically all the pieces the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum has to supply.

It took me some time to determine the precise sample, however finally I used to be capable of flip the spinner with the 22 Magazine, although it normally took me 28 or 29 rounds—together with laser-like deal with the entrance sight—to get the job executed.

The preliminary mistake I made was hitting the highest plate too many instances to get the spinner going. After the primary three hits, further bullets on that small plate aren’t doing you any good and you should get after the underside plate to generate extra momentum.

I received the pistol branding-iron sizzling throughout this train as a result of not solely did it take me some time to determine the precise rhythm, however any glitch in your capturing—which means a miss or a feeding failure—meant failure within the drill.

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Dealing with

Aside from leaving me grinning like a idiot, and far poorer within the .22 WMR ammo division, the spinner revealed a lot with respect to the pistol’s efficiency.

Its ergonomics are wonderful. The pistol is a pure pointer and simple to manage. The total-sized body has numerous actual property to carry onto and it’s blessed with good contours, just like the slight scalloping between the journal catch and slide, that improve its really feel.

The recoil impulse is predictably delicate. That mentioned, there was a stunning distinction between how the heaviest bullet (CCI’s 46-grain Maxi-Max Clear Segmented HP) and the lightest (CCI’s VNT 30-grain Polymer Tip) affected muzzle rise.

Whereas the 30-grainer didn’t have sufficient oomph to show the spinner, it was extremely flat capturing—the entrance sight didn’t funds beneath recoil—and was essentially the most dependable of the 5 hundreds I examined. With its pointy profile, these rounds chambered each time, whereas the opposite bullets, that are blockier, would grasp up once in a while.

Often these had been failures to completely chamber and required a tap-and-rack to clear. As soon as, nevertheless, I additionally had a problem with the cartridges getting misaligned within the journal that introduced the pistol to a halt.

I’d say each third journal I shot had one feeding subject—so one out of 90 rounds. This was each earlier than and after I hit the 500-round mark, so throughout each the break-in interval and when it was soiled. That’s not horrible given how laborious I ran the pistol, nevertheless it does give me pause when desirous about utilizing the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum as a devoted private safety gun.

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Professionals and Cons

Professionals

• Wonderful dealing with
• Ultimate path gun
• A lot of firepower
• Broad number of bullet selections

Cons

• Costly to shoot in quantity
• Occasional feeding failures

Last Ideas on the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum

I feel it is a terrific pistol and one that may do nicely for Smith & Wesson. For capturing small sport and varmints, and as a normal path gun, it is a superb alternative. It additionally brings sufficient firepower to be an efficient private safety gun, although I say that with the caveat that you just would possibly need to obtain the 30-round magazines to twenty rounds or so to enhance the pistol’s reliability. (You’ll discover that the primary 20-something rounds slip simply into the magazines however from rounds 25 to 30 the drive required will increase considerably because the journal spring absolutely compresses.)

The pistol is at its most enjoyable when hosing down targets, which makes it an ammo maker’s dream as a result of it’s absurdly simple to burn via a topped-off journal in a flash, as I gleefully skilled again and again.

After all, you don’t have to go set off comfortable—and drain your retirement within the course of—to take pleasure in this gun. It’s a succesful and well-designed pistol that fills a terrific area of interest for people who desire a shootable and moveable handgun on this basic rimfire magnum.