S&W 22A

[GunGrey]

Anyone running one of these, I havent really been looking around for a .22 pistol but i want to pick one up. And from what the grand ole internet has shown me is that it's a fairly inexpensive 22 with pretty good reliabilty. Ive been thinking about getting a 22/45 but the only problem is that no one out in western mass has one and ill have to have it ordered. On a college budget a brand new 22/45 is kinda pricey. I probably need to make the rounds


Any opinions on The Buckmark while we are at it?

 

[drgrant]

22/45 pricey? IIRC all that stuff is about in the same price class.

I have a 22A. It works great if you keep it clean. It's accurate enough.

The best part about the 22A though is it will be far easier to clean than any of the rugers.

I will warn you about a few downsides though....

-.22 rimfire smeg tends to work its way into the trigger, which might make it crunchy with extended firing. This is easily fixed by taking the grip off. (Which BTW, you can take the ghey MA block of wood grip off of it and order the rubber/plastic ones, if you want. )

-If you use ammo that is too weak, it has the annoying tendency to just plop hot brass right on top of your trigger finger, if you're right handed.

-The plastic buffer thing will eventually destroy itself. You can always get S+W to send you a new one, though.

Buckmarks are really nice but they are hard to come by in MA.... as are magazines, etc.

-Mike

 

[Kaos116]

Ive been thinking about getting a 22/45 but the only problem is that no one out in western mass has one.

Not sure where in WMA you are, but Nicks Sports Shop in Palmer has a few.

http://www.nickssportshop.com/listing/listing.shtml

 

[GunGrey]

Not sure where in WMA you are, but Nicks Sports Shop in Palmer has a few.

http://www.nickssportshop.com/listing/listing.shtml

ive found some rugers MKIII but i want a 22/45, mainly i like the grip better even tho its plastic

I have completely forgot about nicks, next time im out at my grandpas ill stop buy. I just need to get out and actually look for these guns instead of sitting on the computer

 

[Taipan01]

I have the 22S with a 5" bull barrel. It's the stainless version of the 22A. I'm not sure if it's even offered anymore. I've gotten a few extras for it. I sent to S&W for the 7" barrel to mount a scope on and I also took off those wooden blocks they call a grip and got the plastic ones to replace them. I can hit golf balls at 50 yards with the scoped barrel and the 5" is no slouch either using irons. It's an accurate, inexpensive pistol. The take down and reassembly takes about a minute to do both. A very simple procedure. Mine is not picky at all with ammunition, it seems to like it all. Would I buy it again, yes.

That's for the S&W. Another reason I'm posting is to let you know that Ruger about 6 months or so ago came out with the 22/45 with interchangable grips. The last time I looked it wasn't MA compliant. How long it'll take to be compliant I don't know. I've wanted a 22/45 and was looking at buying one at about the same time it released so I'm willing to wait now for this model.

 

[TBalls]

...Another reason I'm posting is to let you know that Ruger about 6 months or so ago came out with the 22/45 with interchangable grips. The last time I looked it wasn't MA compliant. How long it'll take to be compliant I don't know. I've wanted a 22/45 and was looking at buying one at about the same time it released so I'm willing to wait now for this model.

I'm in the midst of a grip mod for my 22/45. It involves grinding down the molded grip & installing grip screw bushings There are quite a few people who have done it, and so far it has proved quite doable. I will of course post pics once it's complete.

 

[vellnueve]

I bought a 22/45 Mk III and a 22A on the same day. I still have the 22A - the 22/45 is long gone to another member here.

 

[DavidC77]

Ware Gun Shop has a 7" S&W 22, he only wanted alittle over $200 for it, I almost bought it but I need to do some gun work to a few of my other guns so I didn't.

I was told by them that the only S&W 22A that is MA Legal is the 5" Bull Barrel.

Myself I would buy the Ruger, get the 22/45 as you want to, it's a nice gun, I have one and love it. Check around like at the shop that was said in the other post or at Dave's in Pittsfield. They have Rugers almost every time I've been in there.

Enjoy

 

[flugie]

i have a 22a and love it.trigger is a little rough but can be dealt with im sure.its inexpensive,shoots nice and pretty darned accurate.I did a little sanding and grinding to those tree stump grips to fit my hand-shoot lefty- and now really like them alot.a buddy of mine in N.C. also has one -but w/the "normal"grips and I think i like mine better now that they fit my hand better. Ive put prob.6k rounds thru it and plastic buffer is holding up well so far.

 

[infidel]

My s&w 22s is the bees knees my friends! Rugers suck! They are tough to take down and put back together, crappy triggers and lousy cycling! The 22a or 22s is cheap, is easy to take down, extremly accurate, has a nice trigger, and is reliable. Save your money and get an S&w...

Btw, my 22s is one of my few guns that will never be 4sale...

 

[Tim L]

I have a 22A It is accurate, but often has FTF I wouldn't buy another one.

 

[GunGrey]

Ware Gun Shop has a 7" S&W 22, he only wanted alittle over $200 for it, I almost bought it but I need to do some gun work to a few of my other guns so I didn't.

I was told by them that the only S&W 22A that is MA Legal is the 5" Bull Barrel.

Myself I would buy the Ruger, get the 22/45 as you want to, it's a nice gun, I have one and love it. Check around like at the shop that was said in the other post or at Dave's in Pittsfield. They have Rugers almost every time I've been in there.

Enjoy

I from western mass and ive never heard of Dave's in pittsfield, i might have to take a ride out there an see what they got. Also I wouldnt shop at ware gun shop. Now nicks/whiskey hill/ tombstone anytime but ware no thanks ill spend my money where i get customer service even if its a little more

 

[Seamsealer]

I've got a 7" 22A and I live in Mass. I also have a Ruger Mark II with a 5" bull barrel. Both guns shoot well.
Thumbs down on the Ware Gun Shop, bad experience there, only once, never been back.

 

[BaldAssCat]

I love my 22a but it is pretty fickle about its ammo. It will FTF on just about anything but bulk federal. Since I can use the ones it didn’t like in my rifle I’d have to say it’s a light strike but it leaves a pretty good dent. Since federal is cheap and easy to come by I don’t see it as a huge issue.

 

[Seamsealer]

I love my 22a but it is pretty fickle about its ammo. It will FTF on just about anything but bulk federal. Since I can use the ones it didn’t like in my rifle I’d have to say it’s a light strike but it leaves a pretty good dent. Since federal is cheap and easy to come by I don’t see it as a huge issue.

My 22A will shoot anything, Remington, Federal, Winchester, CCI and the list goes on. Guns are strange sometimes.

 

[DavidC77]

I from western mass and ive never heard of Dave's in pittsfield, i might have to take a ride out there an see what they got. Also I wouldnt shop at ware gun shop. Now nicks/whiskey hill/ tombstone anytime but ware no thanks ill spend my money where i get customer service even if its a little more

I've got a 7" 22A and I live in Mass. I also have a Ruger Mark II with a 5" bull barrel. Both guns shoot well.
Thumbs down on the Ware Gun Shop, bad experience there, only once, never been back.

Ya I have never bought a gun from them (Ware Gun Shop), the only thing I have ever bought was a magazine for my M&Pc the last time I was there, I think that was only the 3rd time I was in there, I agree they don't give off a very good customer vibe, I only stop there on my way back from Worchester when I come back on Rt 9. As I said I stop at Tombstone (real nice guys there) and R&R (OK shop).

Dave's is right in Pittsfield, it's a nice place, he had (or still has) an indoor archery range that I shot at a few times, I remember hearing something about him putting in a indoor gun range but I'm not sure about that. I've bought a few things from there over the years at fair prices. Here's his webpage: http://www.davessporting.com

I did most of my buying with Tim at Valley Sports untill the Gov. shut him down this year.


PS: I just remembered B&G Sporting in Westfield also, nice shop, mostly into fishing stuff but they also have a nice archery section and not a big selection of guns but it's not bad either.

 

[KMM696]

I from western mass and ive never heard of Dave's in pittsfield, i might have to take a ride out there an see what they got. Also I wouldnt shop at ware gun shop. Now nicks/whiskey hill/ tombstone anytime but ware no thanks ill spend my money where i get customer service even if its a little more

If you make a run out to Dave's, you might also want to hit Pete's Gun Shop in Adams. Sort of in the neighborhood.....


I picked up a 22A from Valley a couple of years ago - I like it. Mine isn't ammo fussy, easy to take down. The big blocky wood grips that S&W ships them with are excellent raw material for making grips that fit.

 

[drumenigma]

I was lucky enough to buy a 22A from Basspro while they were selling the ones with the thin black grips and not the wood target ones. It has been running like a champ through many rounds. The one gripe I do have is it does seem like every now and then a small fleck of hot something will hit my hand and burn for a second due to the design of the guns slide but other than that it is great.

 

[john_h]

Bought a used 22A. Love the accuracy. It is picky about ammo though. I found subsonics or SV to be better behaved. Still get FTFs every so often though. CBs are fun as well except for having to manually cycle it. Avoid hollowpoints due to a magazine quirk.

 

[PixelPusher]

I've had a 22A since '98ish.
Was a real PITA for the first few thousand rounds. Almost never made it through a magazine with out a FTF.
Now it runs like a champ. I have a FTF once and a while (usually when I haven't cleaned it in a while).
Call up S&W and ask for more recoil buffers. They will just drop 'em in the mail when you ask. Replace them every 2k rounds.

I love mine.