S&W .22LR recommendation

[HM2PAC]

My 22A has been flawless. I run the thing more than any other pistol I have anymore. Federal Bulk Pack all day. And accurate to boot.

 

[MMMike]

I had a few feeding problems with my 22a when I first got it.

I polished the feed ramp to a mirror finish, it's been great ever since.

I have the 6" stainless version. It doesn't look or feel cheap (IMHO) . Nice and heavy and VERY accurate.

Keep it lubed and clean and it should treat you right.

 

[Storm]

I looked at a 422 today. it was the only one in the area (I'd rather buy it in person). A few shops said that they rarely get them used as people seem to hang onto them. It had the wood grips and adjustable sight. It was a little dinged on the slide at the muzzle and otherwise in nice shape. It didn't come with a mag. They wanted $289. I passed, for now. How does this price sound?

 

[Onmilo]

For an example with no magazine the price is too high.

If the shop doesn't know this, the 422 takes standard, readily available, Model 41 magazines.

Convince them that magazines are impossible to come by and offer $150.00

 

[Storm]

For an example with no magazine the price is too high.
If the shop doesn't know this, the 422 takes standard, readily available, Model 41 magazines.
Convince them that magazines are impossible to come by and offer $150.00

I agree. We think alike, but there was no moving on the gun. They know that the gun is pretty scarce in these parts. If it sits there long enough they may deal on it later. Besides, I'm thinking that I may hold out for the stainless 2206 which I will sneak up on eventually. I think for now I will put a 459, 559 or 469 on layaway as that fills a niche in my 2nd Gen Smiths.

 

[Headless]

I love my 659 30k rounds and counting! Beautiful gun. Get one, IMO

 

[Storm]

I love my 659 30k rounds and counting! Beautiful gun. Get one, IMO

I would have loved to get a 659. The stainless/stainless combo is tough to beat. A 659 or 559 would have been nice as well. They did have a 669 but the alloy frame was pretty bare and pitted. The coating was pretty much gone. I ended up with a 469. Internally the gun is great and the slide is in outstanding condition. There's some wear to the frame, but I've had good luck with aluminum blackening products. If that doesn't work and the wear bothers me I can always have it Dura Coated, but I'm inclined to leave well enough alone and enjoy this one as a shooter.

I took another look at the 422 and i again decided to pass. I will wait for a 2206. I'm in no rush for a .22 and I can always go with GunBroker.

Thanks again for all of the info. At least I ened up with another Smith, if not a .22.

BTW, if you get a chance, in the next day I will be showing a before and after (and how-to) on a finish re-furb on a S&W 4516-1. It will be in the gunsmithing section.

 

[Storm]

Just by way of an update I went with the S&W 422 that I referred to earleir in this thread, the one without the mag. Although I wasn't able to try the trigger as there seems to be a magazine disconnect, I decided on the gun as it;s a known quantity in hand. The 4" model has the adjustable sight, so I find that to be very desirable as well as the wood grips. The few small dings at the muzzle (quite minor) can be touched up with Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black. If it's the same alloy that Smith uses on their other guns they will take the black well.

On the way home from putting the 422 on layaway (I was a bad boy with two other Smiths so I could only do layaway) I stopped at a shop I knew to have Smith mags to see what they had for my 669 and 469. Of course it was the one shop that I hadn't called about a 422 and they had an almost brand new 6" 422 for not that much more than I will paid for the 422 that I had put on layaway only minutes earlier. D'oh! But, that one doesn't have adjustable sights and has the newer plastic grips. At least that's how I'm rationalizing it. Plus, the shop doesn't do layaway, so there wasn't much I could do anyway.

I suspect that the 4" 422 will be just fine. Mags are available, but not cheap.

 

[Storm]

As an update, I still have the 4.5" Target 422 on layaway. The more that I thought about the pristine 6" Field 422 the more that I knew that I'd have to grab it. Today I brought it home. I walked into the shop, pointed at it, and said "I'll take it". I have to admit that I've visited it a few times since I first saw it to see if it was still there. While filling out my 4473 I asked the shop owner about the previous owner.

It was the exact same account as I had been told before by a shop employee. A widow came in and sold it. Her husband had owned it and had fired it a few times and put it away in a drawer. She didn't want it on the house. I know, it sounds like the little old lady who only drove the car to church and to market, but by the looks of this gun I have no doubt that its true and would have no reason to doubt this shop as they are stand-up guys. It came with no box and one mag. There was one tiny scratch on the aluminum frame and a little Birchwood Casey Alumium Black took care of that. How could I pass this one up?

The trigger is actually darn nice. It's light with just a tiny bit of creep before a crisp break. It's smooth with no grittiness. While I have kept dry firing to a dead minimum using a spent casing, I'm 100% satisfied. The gun looks to be very high quality, something that my former P22 seemed to be lacking.

I have now been told by numerous shops, as well as the one that I bought the 422 from, that these guns locally are pretty much unobtanium. Three shops told me that they hadn't seen one in at least a couple of years. If this is a gun on your list I would get one sooner than later.

With my P22, despite having put a lot of rounds through it, realibility only approached an acceptable level with hot (and more expensive) ammo. In this respect, is the 422 picky about ammo in terms of reliability?

 

[gb6491]

...In this respect, is the 422 picky about ammo in terms of reliability?

Nice grab
Mine runs fine with everything I've put through it; that being mostly Federal and Remington Golden bullet bulk packs.
Regards,
Greg

 

[Storm]

Mine runs fine with everything I've put through it; that being mostly Federal and Remington Golden bullet bulk packs.

That's good news. I had a good amount of CCI MiniMags for my P22, but I also had stocked up a large amount of Remmington Golden and WWB that as it turned out was abysmal in the Walther. I've always liked CCI MiniMags but I really don't want a gun that requires them.

 

[.38 Special]

I don't recall any misfires with mine, regardless of ammo. It's been a few years, but I'm pretty sure I just bought whatever was on sale and never had any troubles.

I pick my Model 41 up on Tuesday.

 

[Storm]

I pick my Model 41 up on Tuesday.

That's a darn fine gun, but probably more than I'd spend on a .22 plinker.

 

[brhodes]

I bought a 422 right after they were first made (I got the first one my dealer had sent to him, in fact). I've shot many thousands of rounds through it. It's been reliable, and it's reasonably accurate (I have the 6" fixed sights version). There's almost no recoil, barrel is fairly long so noise/flash is lower than with, say, a P22. It's easy to take apart and clean, and it's light weight so it packs pretty easily. If you're teaching younger folks how to shoot, it's a good gun for that. It has the "red means fire" dot on the safety and all that.

I haven't taken it out in years, though, and I may next time I'm at the range. In fact, I ought to see if there's a way to get my Gemtech suppressor to screw on to the end where that barrel bushing is...