New S&W .22 Pistol "Victory" SW22

[The Heretic]

As light as possible - something lighter than my .44 mag

I don't care for the Rugers - I don't like the way they takedown for cleaning.

I am saying that the manufacturers should offer lightweight versions so I don't have to buy an expensive barrel or upper to get the weight I want. we see all kinds of lightweight handguns in centerfire chamberings, but not many, if any, in rimfire.

 

[etrain16]

As light as possible - something lighter than my .44 mag

I don't care for the Rugers - I don't like the way they takedown for cleaning.

I am saying that the manufacturers should offer lightweight versions so I don't have to buy an expensive barrel or upper to get the weight I want. we see all kinds of lightweight handguns in centerfire chamberings, but not many, if any, in rimfire.

I'm willing to be the main reason they don't bother with too many lightweight offerings in .22's is that they aren't typically carry guns. The centerfire pistols, in many cases, are for carry, so weight becomes a critical factor.

And I know you don't care for the Rugers, but the 22/45 Lite doesn't require you to purchase another barrel/upper to save weight. Out of the box it comes in at 23 oz compared to 31-45 ounces for the MK series (depending on barrel size). And as for the somewhat difficult takedown, since mine isn't a carry gun, I really don't worry about it. I can clean it with a spray cleaner and it keeps running and running.

 

[Mistman]

Having had a MKIII, a 22/45 and shot a few Buckmarks I'm going to say the Victory is a better pistol in my opinion.
Now I know not everyone has issues w/the Rugers but IMO they can be pretty sketchy in terms of reliability. I've seen many examples that couldn't even get through a mag, I'm sure it's ammo dependent but never the less pretty disappointing. I have 2 friends who pull them out once in a while but not a go to gun. Take down is ridiculous. Buckmark quality seems lacking in some of the examples I've played with, they feel cheap to me though I'm a Browning fan.
I like the Victory weight, it's one of the nice things about it, recoil is nil and it's not that heavy. I have a red dot on mine and unless you've got noodle arms it's not going to wear you out due to weight. Sure makes it a tack driver and a steady shooter. W/the red dot I've got a 10 shot group that 9 of holes are overlapping w/1 out of the group by 1/4" @ 25 yds off a bench. I took it sage rat shooting and was busting them with little effort out to 50 yds. Take down isn't even worth talking about, it's that simple. The bolt slides out the back of the carrier for cleaning. Excellent design. It's not really a good carry gun IMO, especially w/optics. A shoulder/chest type rig would probably work best. I would probably strap it on around the farm if I had a holster to accommodate it but for now have other ones that work better for carrying.
While I think it may be one of the best semi auto .22's out there it does have a couple issues. The 1st and main one is that the freaking take down screw backs out, like consistently. I tighten it up before shooting, within a couple hundred rounds it's backing out. It's an easy fix I just haven't done yet, a star washer or lock washer would probably take care of it. Don't want to lock-tight it. The rear sight hold down screw that's used to replace the sight w/the rail also backs out but I did lock tight that one in. The 2nd thing it the trigger, not the best out of the box. Not as bad as some but still not very precision. I took off the grip panels and removed the magazine disconnect which rides on the trigger rail then polished any contact areas. It cleaned up a lot, still a little creepy but it's smooth and easy to pull cleanly. The last thing is the magazines. My SR22 has a tab on each side of the mag to pull the spring down, you can do it with either hand and they are large enough to use your thumb. On the Victory it's only on the left side and is small, I have to use the thumbnail on my right hand to pull it down and load w/the left. Once you get used to it it's not so bad but does hurt your thumb if you use it rather than the thumbnail, my 7 yo can only load about 5 rounds before his thumb it trashed.
2 things sold me on it, the ease of take down and the fact it comes with a rail for optics. I absolutely love the way it feels in my hand, the grip angle is very near perfect. I also really like the heft, probably weighs as much as my K22, which is excellent. Build quality is very good, Smith goodness. Another very positive attribute is the aftermarket barrels you can swap out yourself. If it's too heavy, get the carbon wrapped barrel to compensate for optics or the fluted barrel. I'm sure there will be even more options once there are more out there.

 

[The Heretic]

The weight is a factor for me not because I can't hold it out while shooting, but because every ounce counts when backpacking or hunting. If I am going to be carrying firearms in the woods, at least one of them is going to be a .22 rimfire, preferably an accurate handgun with a bit of barrel and quite possibly optics. The optics adds weight so a lighter pistol to start with compensates for that.

Yes, a lot of people just plink with their rimfire guns, and don't carry them otherwise, but I do, I consider them part of a necessary kit when in the field, often in addition to other firearms.

So I find it kind of incongruous that rimfire firearms are much heavier than they need to be, especially when you consider that shooters are increasingly putting optics on them.

 

[Brad in TC]

I went from a Mark III to a S&W 22A to a Victory. Each one was better than the previous, in my opinion. A number of my friends, after shooting mine, have gone out and bought a Victory.

 

[Mistman]

The weight is a factor for me not because I can't hold it out while shooting, but because every ounce counts when backpacking or hunting. If I am going to be carrying firearms in the woods, at least one of them is going to be a .22 rimfire, preferably an accurate handgun with a bit of barrel and quite possibly optics. The optics adds weight so a lighter pistol to start with compensates for that.

Yes, a lot of people just plink with their rimfire guns, and don't carry them otherwise, but I do, I consider them part of a necessary kit when in the field, often in addition to other firearms.

So I find it kind of incongruous that rimfire firearms are much heavier than they need to be, especially when you consider that shooters are increasingly putting optics on them.

Have you checked out the SR22? I pack that around the farm, it can hold a pretty good group, is easy to shoot and is lightweight. My kids love to shoot it, the Victory is a little heavy for them.

 

[coyote223]

Hard to believe that so many gun enthusiasts, can have so many issues with Ruger disassembly. After you do it a couple times it's simple, no tools needed. I really don't like guns that use a tool for disassembly. The only Rugers I like and will defend, are their .22's,,,

I'm a Smith & Wesson fan also, but meh, why. But that's just me, SMH,,,

 

[The Heretic]

Have you checked out the SR22? I pack that around the farm, it can hold a pretty good group, is easy to shoot and is lightweight. My kids love to shoot it, the Victory is a little heavy for them.

While it does have a fixed barrel (I think), my impression is that the accuracy is not on par with the Buckmark. Plus there are a number of different barrels you can get for the Buckmark.