Smith & Wesson’s newest offering in a .22 rimfire is a delight! But then a quality .22 should be a joy to fire and use. Smith & Wesson also offers the Victory Model more of a traditional metal-frame target pistol. The M&P 22X is a polymer-frame, hammer-fired handgun with a 20-round magazine capacity. This pistol fills the same niche as the FN502 or SIG P322. If you own a S&W 9mm handgun, the M&P22X makes a fine understudy- but it is a great shooter no matter what the primary armament. It is a good choice as a first handgun. Let’s take a hard look at this handgun.
The pistol is harked as a trainer and an understudy for the 9mm service pistol. That’s fine but the 22X is also a pleasant recreational shooter. Just get the .22 out for no reason and blaze away from time to time. You will enjoy it. I seldom see small game hunting mentioned in a review of the modern polymer-frame .22. They are not as accurate as a Victory Model or Browning Buckmark, but they are plenty accurate in terms of a minute of squirrel or rabbit. They are useful for pests and some predators given good shot placement.
The M&P22X is a larger version of the popular M&P 22 Compact. A family resemblance to the S&W 5.7 pistol is there. The immensely interesting .22 Magnum self-loader bears a close resemblance. The pistol is strong on human engineering. The grip is small enough to fit most hands well but will not be a problem for adult shooters. It will not be a challenge for teens learning safety and marksmanship. The controls are ambidextrous. The slide lock and manual thumb safety are easy to operate with either hand. The safety is positive in operation and lies correctly under the thumb for rapid manipulation. The magazine release is reversible for either hand. This makes for easy manipulation when practicing shooting with either hand. The grip frame is large enough to provide a stable firing platform. The grip offers a good texture for firing. While the pistol is light at 16.5 ounces unloaded and just over 20 ounces loaded, it isn’t whippy in the hand. The balance is good and stable. Not a fifty-yard target gun- that would be a high-end version of the S&W Victory- but a pleasing handgun to fire in a variety of scenarios. In the modern fashion, the slide is optics-ready, and the frame features a light rail. The pistol features good high-visibility sights. The front sight is a fiber-optic type. The barrel is 4.1 inches long. The barrel is threaded for suppressor use. My sole complaint with the M&P22X is that the thread cover was very difficult to remove. This should be addressed. Most shooters will need to take the pistol to a gunsmith for help. The pistol is a single-action, hammer-fired design. The single-action trigger breaks clean at 5.5 pounds.
Disassembly is similar to center-fire Smith & Wesson handguns. Unload the pistol and be certain the magazine is removed. Lock the slide to the rear and rotate the takedown lever. The slide runs to the rear up and back off of the fixed barrel. Mounting an optic is simple with the RMSc pattern optics mount. Remove the slide cover, then go from under the slide and remove a screw holding the rear sight in place. Clean all lubricant from the slide and install the thin washer that rides between the optic and the light. I used the new Riton Tactix MPRDXL. This is an interesting development. Like all Riton sights, this pistol-mounted optic is priced fairly for it’s performance. While the RMSc footprint fits in a narrow slide- Glock 48, SIG P365, and others- the sight window is RMR size. This makes for excellent hit probability. Some of us fare better with a green dot. This green dot sight offers three reticle settings: dot, circle, and dot in a circle. I used the dot in a circle for most of my work. Like most quality optics, the Riton features a battery shut-off and shake-aware feature. This is a service-grade optic in my opinion based on experience with other Riton optics. Too much for a .22? Not at all. The shooting experience is what counts.
Firing Tests
I might say that there were two distinct compartments to the test, first with iron sights and then with optics. It all depends on your needs and preference. Intrinsic accuracy is there with the pistol in either case. Practical accuracy is improved with a dot sight- in this case, a green dot. There is a learning curve going to carrying optics. For help with this, please order and read my new book from Gun Digest. Optics Ready Red Dot Sights for Modern Handguns by Robert Campbell.
There is nothing better than a reliable .22 with a good-quality optic mounted to begin the path to mastering the carry optic or pistol-mounted optic. I began the test with a good range of 40-grain high-velocity loads. Some .22s, once broken in, will function with standard velocity loads as well, but no promises. There are finicky .22s out there, and the old adage ‘load it with Mini Mags’ is true. But there are often good buys on all types of .22 ammunition and it is good to have a pistol that runs with all types of ammunition. This pistol ran well with a wide range of loads. The Remington Golden Bullet was a standout, delivering good accuracy and function. I had a lot of fun firing this pistol but never lost sight of the evaluation’s goal- to determine the pistol’s accuracy potential and reliability. At just over 900 cartridges, the pistol has proven reliable. Like all .22s, function will become sluggish around 500 rounds. Clean the pistol. Load the magazines properly, one cartridge at a time. Keep the pistol lubricated. There was the occasional failure to fire. The case rim took a good hit from the firing pin but that is the nature of a rimfire cartridge. Ignition simply isn’t as reliable as a centerfire. A couple of failures to fire in a thousand rounds of ammunition is average. So far, my top showing is 1,600 cartridges of .22 without a failure spread among four handguns. Use CCI, Federal, or Remington loads and the chances of a misfire are considerably less. You need not worry about cleaning the barrel very often. Copper-washed Mini Mags run clean as far as leading goes. .22 Long Rifle powder is sometimes dirty, and that is another thing. For reliable function, clean the pistol’s bearing surfaces every three to five hundred cartridges.
Accuracy Potential
The S&W M&P22X is a blast to fire and use! I went over the ammunition budget considerably. But it didn’t hurt the wallet too much as the .22 rimfire is an inexpensive number. The pistol feels something like other Smith & Wesson products but has its own unique, friendly feel. Practical off-hand accuracy is very good. As for absolute accuracy, this is important in any handgun. The M&P22X is plenty accurate for squirrel hunting unless you have a very tall tree. From a solid bench rest firing position, with the shooter taking every advantage for accuracy, the pistol printed several two-inch five-shot groups at 25 yards. Some were slightly larger. A single group went into 1.5 inches, and the author could not repeat this performance. With the Riton optic mounted, accuracy came more easily. Dialing in with the dot option only cancels out any advantage or disadvantage of sight radius. Focus on the target and superimpose the dot on the target. With this combination, accuracy was slightly better, with averages of 1.8 inches per group. The real advantage of the dot is in speed.
The Smith & Wesson M&P22X was also fired with the Dead Air Mask suppressor. With CCI’s Quite .22 Semi Auto function was ideal. Accuracy is excellent, and this combination is unequaled for fun shooting. And for ridding the homestead of pests without frightening the neighbors or local livestock. Even just as issued without an optic or suppressor, the S&W .22 is a fine choice. It just depends on how far you want to go and how much fun you want to have.
Specifications
Width 1.13 inch
Height 5.75 inch
Length 7.25 inches
Weight 16.35 ounces weighed
Barrel Length 4.1 inch
Sights Fiber optic front, black rear
Action Single-action, hammer-fired
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