How to take down Smith 422 for cleaning?

[Northslope Nimrod]

My uncle just picked up a Smith & Wesson 422 .22lr. It is the 6" model and is in excellent condition. The price was right.....at $30. I told him I would clean it for him.
Thus, how do I take it down for general cleaning purposes?

Also, what is the value of a 422 6" in excellent condition?

 

[Shear_stress]

1. Make sure gun is empty.

2. Lock slide back. Remove magazine.

3. Take empty .22LR casing and place it in the gap between the front of the opened slide and the rear of the portion of the receiver above the barrel. Orient the casing so that the rim points "forward."

4. Close the slide on the casing so that the guide rod its into the mouth of the case. This will push the recoil spring back slightly. The recoil spring "plug" on the top of the slide should now be loose.

5. Remove recoil spring plug from top of slide. Recoil spring and guide can now be removed.

6. Slide can now be removed.

Reattaching the slide is a little trickier, but still pretty easy:

1. Place the slide back on the receiver.

2. Put recoil spring and guide into the front of the slide. Guide will not be held in place by the plug yet and will extend out of the slide under spring pressure. Pull slide back as far as it will go without it coming off the frame.

3. Using three hands, pull recoil spring back and place the mouth of a fired .22LR casing around the recoil spring guide. Let recoil spring guide/.22 casing extend fully into the gap between slide and reciever.

4. Push the slide forward until the you can see the "relief" in the spring guide in the "window" on the top of the slide. This may take a little fiddling. Place "legs" of recoil plug in window such that they are captured by the relief in the spring guide.

5. Pull slide back and empty .22 casing will fall out. You're done.

 

[Onmilo]

The guns include a factory Delron rod for takedown when they are new.
Most people lose these in no time flat but you can make one out of plastic or brass rod real easy.
If you use a .22 cartridge case make sure the rim faces towards the chamber, not the muzzle.
The detent will just pop into the end of the cartridge case and not depress if you put the cartridge case in with the rim towards the muzzle.

 

[Shear_stress]

The detent will just pop into the end of the cartridge case and not depress if you put the cartridge case in with the rim towards the muzzle.

Interesting. Mine always seemed to reassemble better with the rim toward the muzzle. This allows the slide to close all the way on the cartridge and seems to make it easier to line the plug up with the relief in the guide rod. I haven't had a problem with the rod going all the way into the empty casing.