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The newest Smith & Wesson pistol in the Military & Police (M&P) line-up is the most unique. The pistol chambers the .22 Magnum cartridge. It is old hat these days to test a reliable .22 Long Rifle. Dirty powder and heel-based bullets aside the M&P .22 KelTec P 17 and Taurus TX 22 run fine. The .22 Magnum has been mastered as well. Smith & Wesson has created a fun gun of the first order. As a plinker, small-game hunter and perhaps even a self-defense piece this is an interesting handgun.
But first a few words on the cartridge. The .22 Magnum is more reliable than the .22 Long Rifle by design. The magnum features a jacketed bullet crimped in place, while the .22 LR is heel crimped. This means the bullet is simply pressed into the case. Self-loading firearms did not exist when the .22 LR was invented. While we have whipped reliability concerns with the .22 LR for the most part, the .22 Magnum is the more reliable cartridge. Cartridge integrity is superior. Rimfire cartridges will never be as reliable as a centerfire cartridge. All of us experience a misfire or two or three in a brick of 500 cartridges, sometimes more. Although quality control seems to be getting better all the time from the old days.
A group of friends and I fired 1,600 cartridges from three different handguns—three brands of ammunition—and did not experience a single failure of any type. That has to be something of a record. The .22 Magnum also seems more ignition reliable than the .22 LR. I have to confess my surprise at the performance and reliability of modern .22 Magnum ammunition with the 30-, 40- and 45-grain loads all provided solid performance. I have always preferred 40-grain loads, and I must admit, my education grew with this test. It is good even for us older guys to broaden our horizons.
The S&W M&P .22 Magnum may be the most reliable .22 Mag. self-loading pistols yet. A common problem in most early generation semi-auto .22 Magnums occurred in feeding follow-up rounds. Quite simply, due to the length of the cartridge and its narrow circumference, the rounds tended to jam when cycling. Today, most .22 Magnum pistols such as the KelTec and Walther versions use a type of recoil retarding action. The S&W pistol uses a Tempo barrel of a similar design for the company’s 5.7 x 28mm handgun. The two-piece barrel is actually a barrel within a sleeve. Gas is bled off the barrel near the muzzle. The barrel remains locked until the bullet exits the barrel. A neat trick is a rotating barrel. Rotation is not as sharp an angle such as on the Beretta Storm but it rotates. Not only does the Tempo system improve reliability by gas operation, but the rotating bolt applies torque to the cartridge case to free the case from the chamber and eject it. The system seems to run relatively clean.
The pistol is a polymer frame handgun with a nicely textured grip and an accessory rail for mounting combat lights. The pistol isn’t striker fired; it is hammer fired. The trigger features a safety lever in modern fashion, and the controls, including the safety, are ambidextrous with a slide lock and safety levers well suited to right- or left-hand shooters. Overall, with a trigger action breaking at 4.0 pounds, the trigger pulled clean for a rimfire pistol, which added to the pistol’s accuracy potential.
The weight of the gun is comfortable to hold or to carry at only 22 ounces unloaded, while the overall size of the pistol stretches out a full 8.4 inches and is 5.9 inches tall with a width of 1.14 inches. The barrel is 4.35 inch long. This is a good barrel length for a balance of compactness and performance.
The slide is black-coated stainless steel so corrosion should not be an issue. Other features include a fiber-optic front sight and notch rear sight that are well-suited to shooting chores. A red dot can be easily mounted if desired.
A well-designed magazine is at the heart of a pistol, and this one doesn’t disappoint as it comes with two 30-round magazines. Loading the magazines isn’t difficult at all. I usually loaded 25 in each magazine, because I was using 50 round ammo boxes.
One point to consider is that some brands of ammunition are not recommended for an auto-loading .22 Magnum. I recommend CCI MaxiMag for reliable function. I have fired other loads with good results in both the KelTec pistol and CZ autoloading rifle. The problem if you’re going to have one appears to be the occasional hang up of a case that has been dented. Evidently the cartridge cases on some other brands are not as thick as the CCI loads. Other loads are not dangerous, they simply may not feed as consistently as optimal. The hot little .22 Magnum S&W ate up “off brand” loads although I had a couple of Fiocchi cases take a big dent and cause a jam. Ultimately, use what the maker recommends if anything. If you find a good deal on cheap .22 Magnum rounds—I am still looking—it will be fine for plinking though you can expect the occasional jam; at least in this handgun.
I experienced exactly two short cycles during the entire test. The slide failed to fully close twice in the first magazine. I will write this off to break-in short cycles. Other than the thin case tie-ups attributed to the ammunition that was the only malfunction I experienced. The Smith & Wesson ran through every round of .22 Magnum in the house, 250 cartridges, and then I patiently waited for FedEx to deliver more.
This is a fun gun that I enjoyed firing. Emptying a magazine into a target or taking aim for range debris at long range, the pistol never failed to disappoint. You should be able to take out small game and varmints handily and quickly. As for absolute accuracy, I got around to that as well.
Firing from an MTM Caseguard K-Zone shooting rest, I settled into gauge the pistol’s precision. (It is my favorite all plastic rest—suitable for both rifles and pistols.) A good trigger, good sights and good ammunition are advantages. I suppose a few decades of shooting skill first taking instruction and then becoming a certified instructor added up as well for I managed to shoot a couple of 2-inch groups with the CCI 40 grain loads and a very nice 1.8-inch group with Federal Punch ammunition designed for personal defense were the payoff. Bench rest testing doesn’t mean as much in a personal defense scenario, however. For a small game gun, however, it means a great deal and the pistol is accurate enough to fill that role. The M&P22Magnum will prove a fine small game pistol and pest popper.
I wish .22 Magnum ammo didn’t cost as much as 9mm rounds, but it does and you can burn through it quickly with the 30-round magazines that make plinking so much fun. As for personal defense, many carry adherents will take a pass on a round as small as the .22 Mag., though the ability to control your shots, the generally compact size of the gun and the penetration it is still capable of delivering make it certainly an acceptable option to carry for some people. That is a decision each of you will need to make. All in all, the Smith & Wesson M&P .22 Magnum is a useful handgun for many chores big and small.
Smith & Wesson M&P22 Magnum
- Type: Internal hammer-fired semiauto
- Cartridge: .22 WMR
- Capacity: 30
- Barrel: 4.35 in.
- Overall Length: 8.4 in.
- Width: 1.3 in.
- Height: 5.9 in.
- Weight: 22 oz.
- Finish: Black Armornite
- Sights: Adjustable rear notch, fiber optic dovetail front, optics cut
- Trigger Compression 3.0 pounds
- Contact: Smith & Wesson, (800) 331-0852, smith-wesson.com
Where To Buy
Velocity readings
CCI 40 grain JHP 1430 fps
CCI 40 grain FMJ 1390 fps
CCI 30 grain Maxi Mag TNT 1630 fps
Federal 45 grain Punch 1350 fps
Ratings
Fit and Finish ***** Comments: Excellent!
Reliability ***** Comments: I had an issue with off-brand ammo and a break-in malfunction. The pistol will run CCI, Federal, and Hornady flawlessly.
Concealment ***** Comments: This is a very nice sized gun if you wish to carry a .22 Magnum.
Accuracy ***** Comments: The .22 Magnum may not be designed specifically as a “target” gun, but it shoots like one.
Overall ***** Comments: This should really sit at 4.5 stars, but in the end is a lot of fun to shoot, and you should have one.
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This seems like it’d be a neat survival pistol. You could carry a lotta 22 mag easily for the weight and bulk and a eat well but be able to deal with a social situation in a pinch.
This is an M&P with absolutely no application whatsoever for any military or police unit. Even a Shield M&P might possibly be carried by an undercover officer.
This puppy is purely a fun plinker, a trail gun, a big out pistol, and possibly a defensive gun for the arthritic, elderly, or other extremely recoil shy people.
It just shouldn’t be labeled M&P. Just call it an S&W.
Those velocities look pretty legit.
Thanks for reading. You are spot on
I knew a cop that carried an AMT .22 Automag as a backup piece, convinced me to buy one, 6-inch barrel, polished stainless steel, custom Rosewood grips early Irwindale model, pretty gun, downside is the 10-round mag… Gave a hundred bucks for it 25 years ago… Replaced the extractor the ejector and the firing pin, very few failures nice to shoot, only eats Winchester .22 Winmag reliably spends most of its time in the safe now might be okay for in home use, loud as hell sounds way bigger than it is… Worth a whole lot more than I paid for it, guy had two wish I’d bought the other one too…
Maxx, I have the same version of Automag, feed it the same ammo, and take it out from time to time and it runs without problems. Between it and my 30Carbine Blackhawk, there’s no better way to empty out an entire range for your own solitary use – I’ve been told either one is as obnoxiously loud as my 15″ 308 XP100 is.
P.S. to anyone whom doubts that the old AMTs are anything but a POS, they are finicky as to running ONLY Winchester through it…it has not only the correct pressure curve but also the required dirtiness to run as designed through the radially drilled chamber. Fired cases are easily identified as being shot through this pistol.
Hopefully this M&P is more accepting of the many more modern 22WMR offerings.
Style and operation/function is M&P not who would use it.
Sounds like a possible move up from a .22LR for a house gun. With a threaded barrel and suppressor and 30 rounds this might be fun.
Question is whether the added mass of the suppressor would interfere with the rotating barrel action the review describes.
If S&W will market a threaded version (similar to their 5.7 handgun) the thread will reside on the barrel sleeve and NOT the barrel itself. It will be a while, -IF- it ever occurs though.
It would be educational to get feedback from 5.7 M&P owners that would be willing to twist a suppressor on their gun. The supersonic ‘crack’ that will be evident in any 5.7×28 loads kinda’ eliminates most advantage of a suppressor though.
-Nearly- every .22 WMR load would be evident of that also, but there -IS- an ammunition that might go slow enough to take full advantage of a suppressor, but without testing it’s sort of hard to say positively.
I have the M&P 5.7, and although I have not fired it suppressed I have read a great deal on people who have 5.7 it suppressed and when dialed in they claim it to be amazing. There is some data from the PSA Rock 5.7 as well. I personally don’t care much for suppressed handguns, it eliminates the point of concealed carry when you have an extra 6 inches or more protruding from the barrel, not to mention the added weight. That being said, I do use a suppressor on my .308 and .300blk rifles and I wouldn’t even consider going back to non suppressed.
Quick tip, Federal bought CCI sometime back so any Federal 22 magnum will be using CCI sourced cases and primer compound.
“…occurred in feeding follow-up rounds.”
haha, yeah. that would be a significant issue in a semi- auto. kind of makes it a single shot.
I’m sure the handgun is fine, but I always considered .22 WMR in a handgun to be a very loud .22LR. Years ago I owned a Colt New Frontier with interchangeable cylinders. It had a 7 1/2″ barrel If I remember correctly. Except for the cost and noise I couldn’t tell the difference in performance on small game. Except for one thing. When you touched off one of the .22 mag rounds you weren’t going to see any more squirrels for a while.
I have a very old Remington .22 single that is more accurate than I can shoot it. I went squirrel hunting with a Nam vet buddy of mine. The agreement was we would clean each other’s catch. He showed up with a blowgun made out of aluminum tubing. I never cleaned so many squirrels before that day.
Love me some 22 mag
one of the few.
was considering a bolty as all my lr’s are semi but i’ve been discouraged by commenters here. single six has the mag cyl but i never use it and i’ve read accuracy is compromised to accomodate both. like the a17 plenty…
nuts. someone should make .22max.
Been waiting yeas for this to be manufactured by S&W, now they make it; my Infringing State won’t allow it, due to more than 10 round capacity! 🙄🤯
I’m sure it is loads of fun, my PMR-30 is quite a blast (acquired before capacity limits took hold here); and even without a bench rest, the accuracy is amazing!
Rock Island XTM-22 is nice for an all metal (1911 style) option, but cleaning/take down is a bit different than your typical firearm.
The XTM-22 had some operational issues early on in it’s existence, same as Keltec did with PMR-30. Improvements to them both have made them reliable firearms. My XTM-22 was actually replaced at no cost to me, with the improved model.
One of my favorite 22WMR rounds is the Federal 50 grain, and as mentioned here, the 45 grain Hornady. Remington rounds 40/50 worked fine too, but for some reason, typically more costly than Federal and Hornady.
This could be it.
30 rounds, light weight, fairly accurate. Corrosion resistant.
This summer I’m planning a kayak trip, living off the land and grid for awhile.
A rifle is to bulky.
I like the idea of two magazines getting me possibly through the whole trip.
Still it’s hard to beat a basic .22LR.
probably more accurate than ar-7 too. but it don’t float.
10/22 takedown.
“…the pistol never failed to disappoint”
Say what??? That doesn’t sound like much of an endorsement…
“…the pistol never failed to disappoint”
‘Say what??? That doesn’t sound like much of an endorsement…’
Indeed. What would be the attraction?
(as if I never screw up a comment)
oh well
meant never failed to impress
Thanks for reading
“meant never failed to impress”
In case you are new here, we will pick apart everything. Some for fun, some for humour, some for meanness.
It’s just the way things work.
we will pick apart everything.
Wait til the grammarnaz! shows up…
“brace yourself, colleen…”
I’d like to see the MSRP listed on reviews.
The question is, why get this when the 5.7 exists?
Just guessing. But I’m thinking the 5.7 is more expensive by the box than .22 mag. I stocked up on the mag round years ago and haven’t bought any since. Never have bought 5.7.
Would make a great sidekick to my Henry .22WMR.
I think it makes sense if you’re already invested in the caliber.
yup. but what bolt caliber choice if not, or get it anyhow?
i need a woodsman.
MSRP: is $649.00
Retail: Appears to be around $599.00
5.7 runs about $50 more… for S&W M&P only holds 22 rounds..
ME TOO YEP WISH 22WMR DIDN’T COST SO MUCH AS DOES ..
HOWEVER IS MADE BY S&W
LOW RECOIL OK I NEED ONE , ME TOO …
I have one of these M&P 22mag and so far it been reliable. Put a red dot one it and sighted it in and asked my wife if she wanted to try it. After 2 magazines I got to shoot it.
Only had one failure to eject and I think my wife limp wristed it. Put 110 rounds through it. It’s a real pleasure to shoot. Told my granddaughter about it and she said 30 shots without a magazine change I want it. I might loose it to her..
The barrel is not locked… Gas pressure taken from the hole at front section, simply pushes the barrel back within the sleeve to obtain a delay.
I take exception with the five-star reliability rating when the pistol failed to cycle properly four times. I have fired brand new semi-auto pistols which had ZERO failures in the first several hundred rounds during “break-in”. Since this pistol had two failures during “break-in”, it should not get a five-star rating.
Furthermore, we can debate whether the additional two failures due to dented casings should detract from its reliability rating. A truly awesome pistol would cycle reliably even with slightly dented casings. Were the casings “slightly” dented in this instance rather than severely dented (at which point we cannot fault the pistol for not cycling)? I don’t know. Would any pistol (even center-fire pistols) ever cycle reliably with slightly dented casings? I don’t know.
And the accuracy rating is suspect to me. The author mentioned a 1.8-inch group and a 2-inch group. At what distance? How many shots per group? Was it super slow and controlled fire? In order for a semi-auto pistol to get a five-star accuracy rating, I would expect something like a 1-inch group or better at 25 yards with super slow and controlled fire from an outstanding rest. And how do these groups compare to other groups that the author shoots with other pistols?
Yes, the comment validates the platitude about common sense.
re: “slightly dented or severely dented”? “I had a couple of Fiocchi cases take a big dent and cause a jam”
re: “was it super slow and controlled fire”? “Firing from an MTM Caseguard K-Zone shooting rest…”
Unless one commonly does a mag dump from a shooting rest, a course in Reading Comprehension might be in order…
Dats ammo related and all rimfires are not reliable as centerfire.
A 1 inch group at 25 yards???? With a pistol? What you are shooting!
Les Baer, Nighthawk, Les Baer and Guncrafter dont guarantee that!
I have some significant arthritis in my hands. I bought one several months ago. Reasonably accurate and very easy shooting. First time out, went through two boxes of ammo without a hiccup or pain.
Anyone know which red dot sight is compatible with the slide’s footprint?
I have an AMT Automag II, a Remington 597 semiauto in .22 WMR, and a number of .22 magnum revolvers. My considered judgment is that I’m going to keep .22 WMR as a revolver and lever-action round. The case is just poorly designed for semiauto use — trying to accurately feed that long, narrow case at those speeds.
If I want a small caliber, low-recoil semiauto pistol I’ll get a 5.7 of some sort.
I love my .22 WMR revolvers and that’s good enough for .22 magnum handgun use for me.
My experiences with the Automag II are the same as MADMAXX and Pb_fan59 relate above. I’ll never sell it, but I’ll never rely on it as a personal defense gun.
Interested in hearing what .22WMR revolvers you like. I got a S&W 351C that’s a wild child.
I have a Taurus 941 stainless steel 8-round DA/SA revolver, 4″ barrel. Sturdy, accurate. The DA trigger pull is heavier than I like, but I’ve heard a lot of DA .22s suffer from that. No basis for comparison as it’s the only DA 22 I own.
Also three Heritage Rough Rider revolvers. One is the little carbine revolver rifle. A Christmas present I haven’t even fired yet so I can’t review (though I have bought a .22 magnum cylinder for it. It only comes with .22 LR stock), but the other two are great plinkers and it’s kind of fun that you can bling them up with an extensive selection of replacement grips and cylinders. They’re plenty accurate for the kinds of things you expect to use a little cowboy gun like that for. I carry them around the farm and horseback riding sometimes. I’ve used them with blanks riding in train robberies that a local ranch resort stages at a nearby historic train.
My middle daughter has a Chiappa Puma SA revolver that’s .22LR/.22WMR, but she only uses it as .22 LR. The interesting thing about it is that it’s not small framed like the Rough Riders or the Ruger Wrangler. It’s sized to fit the same holsters as a full size Colt .45 SAA. Like the Rough Riders, the Chiappa has a frame safety, but you need to use a key to turn it so we always just leave it off and always make sure to load-one-skip-one-load-four.
Last is a little NAA mini revolver. It is what it is. I never carry it anymore, but it works great. Can’t hardly hit anything at any range with the original tiny grips, but I have the Black Widow bigger rubber grips on it and they’re not too bad.
To JMACZ
The Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum uses a modified RMSc footprint a.k.a. K series footprint. This is a great footprint because it allows you to mount any of the Holosun K Series optics or any other micro compact red dot with a normal RMSc footprint.
Try TruGlo for an inexpensive red dot, be certain to check foot print
MADDMAXX, if you ever get the chance look at the price for the AMT automag now. Just checked it out on gunbroker.com – holy crap they aren’t cheap.
They saw how well ruger was doing by ripping off keltec, SW decided to rip keltec off too!
Had a few issues brand new out of the box, which was expected, but then no more jams and has been reliable. (Using one brand of S&W recommended ammo that was on its approved list.) What I dislike is the accuracy, 25yds should be the standard for accuracy test and this pistol fails miserably in that category. It was mentioned as a game getter, I guess it’s minute of rabbit at 25yds which is unacceptable when you need each round to count on hitting is intended target. Perhaps if S&W designed the barrel to accept gas rings or even durable o-rings that this can be tightened up and each shot can be made repeatable. Now if the user thinks accuracy is at 7 and 10yds and wants capacity and loud bangs, then this pistol will definitely do that.
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