S&W M&P 22 Review

I wanted to do a quick firearm review.

Recently I purchased a Smith and Wesson M&P 22 pistol.  This pistol is a .22lr version of their popular M&P line of pistols.  I good buddy of mine is a police officer in Charlotte and he carries the .40 cal version of this pistol.  After getting a chance to shoot his, I knew I had to get one.

I decided to go with the 22 simply because of the cost per round.  In bulk, a .22lr rounds can be picked up for around 3-4 cents each.  Compared to around 27-28 cents per round for .40 cal.

In short, this means a lot more rounds down range for a lot less money.  Since this is my first pistol, I wanted something I could shoot A LOT.

The M&P 22 offers the same shape and fit as it's larger caliber brothers.  It fits most of the same holsters.  Personally I went with the Blackhawk Serpa, as recommended by the friendly Charlotte cop.

The gun fits perfectly and tightly.  The button needed to release the firearm automatically places your trigger finger in the safe position when the gun is pulled out.  Great design, totally worth the $35 you find it online for.  

I also went ahead and purchased an extra 10 round magazine, which I promptly converted to a 12 round by removing the plastic spacer.  For some reason, these magazines are impossible to find so they cost about $30 themselves which is ridiculous.  Hopefully someone starts making some aftermarket ones soon.   

I have fired CCI's, Golden Bullets, Federals, and Winchester rounds through it; all in "bulk packs" (>250 rounds).  Out of approximately 2000 rounds through this gun I have had 6 failure to fires, 4 stovepipe jams, and 3 failure to chamber the next round.  

All in all, not bad.  The failure to chambers only happened with the Winchesters, and I have no idea why.  Perhaps the shape of the bullet?  No idea.  I'm not going to complain.  99% of the time, when I pull the trigger, the gun fires.

I will say, the Golden Bullets, made by Remington, are truly terrible.  They are cheap, but that's about all they have going for them.  First, they are absolutely filthy.  Firing 25 of them makes the inside of the gun look like I fired 200.  Secondly, they are definitely the least accurate of the aforementioned list.  Admittedly, I don't expect much from any of the bulk rounds.   If I was looking for accuracy, I'd pay more money.  But still, I had more "fliers" with Golden Bullets, than any other brand.  

The gun is only as accurate as who's holding it, and that's definitely true for this gun.  The Safety trigger that is only this firearms, in my opinion, accentuates poor trigger control.  I found myself for the first 300 rounds shooting low and left.  After asking for some advise from my gun enthusiast friends, I improved greatly.  

15 Yards, Grouping Left

I'm not a great shot and I don't ever claim to be.  I like to shoot, and would be more than capable of defending my household if needed, but I am not putting 1" groupings down  at 25 yards with this gun.  (Not even 15 yards, unless I'm really, really trying!).  I think I drink too much caffeine; a little too jittery.  

15 Yards, Much better!

All in all I would highly recommend this gun to anyone looking for a reliable .22 semi auto in a full sized frame or anyone looking for a cheap to shoot understudy for their M&P 9/40.