Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory Target Pistol Part 1

Added to the Smith & Wesson lineup on January 7, 2016, the SW22 Victory is a rimfire autoloader destined for popularity. Jumping ahead of the story to make a few salient lead in points, the Victory offers solid performance, ease of disassembly and maintenance and a modular design that welcomes aftermarket component integration.  Ten days ago….

Spec Box Narrative

The S&W Victory, as a 22 rimfire, single action autoloader has a comfortable and familiar feel. Even with the bull barrel, the CG is at the trigger and the grip kicks back at a 22º angle, measured from bore centerline through the centerline of both grip screws.

The grip, textured side and checkered front and back strap is comfortable and long enough to support all fingers and cut high and deep enough at the back to create natural sight leveling. The side panels are also removable to facilitate the use of aftermarket target grips such as those available fromVolquartsen.

The trigger pull is clean, short in pretravel, minimal creep, a clean let of and minimal overtravel. Overtravel is adjustable. Trigger pull is appropriately light for its intended applications, width is approximately 0.3″ and the trigger face is grooved for precise control.

The manual safety, bolt stop and magazine release  are within easy reach of the gripping hand. Actuation is positive, but not overly stiff. S&W scalloped the bottom of the grips to facilitate magazine removal. Nice touch, how I would not frame the pistol’s ejection of a magazine as inhibited. There is a caution in the manual regarding using excessive force in driving home a magazine. The suggestion is that if you pound a magazine home, my use of the word “pound” not S&W, there is a change to slide would close and chamber a round. I see this caution come up with frequency these days for almost all autoloaders, regardless brand. The underlying thought is for people to learn how to handle a pistol properly and don’t be abusive to the machinery.

With the right grip panel removed, the magazine disconnector linkage is exposed. A small tab on the magazine lifts the connecting linkage when inserted and permits the trigger to function. I am glad that S&W made this decision for this competitive shooting firearm and I am glad the pistol has a manual safety. Good prevention against accidental discharge born of mishandling and I like the fact that the gun is rendered inoperative by removing the magazine.

The SW22 Victory is supplied with a second 10 round magazine, a hex wrench for disassembly and a light weight, fiber filled poly, Picatinny rail that can be installed in place of the adjustable rear sight to mount a favorite red dot, scope, laser, or other top accessory dujour. The rail also provides a rudimentary, non-adjustable rear sight.

The 1/8″ hex wrench included with the Victory fits the takedown fastener that secures the barrel to the frame as well as the set screw that secures the barrel to the receiver and routinely handles the task well. However, initially customers may find removal with the supplied hex wrench a bit problematic. An APEX hex bit, 1/4″ drive adapter and a 1/4″ ratchet wrench make the task easy and it makes it easy to install with a little snug effort on reinstallation.

I did have a S&W customer service agent cough up a torque spec for the fastener, however, when I restated the value for conformation, I could hear a scuffle ensure, the muffled sound of a voice attempting to break through a covering hand and then the phone went dead. When I called back I was told to just keep the threads clean and to snug it down a bit and, yes, a drop of temp thread locker could be used. The subject pistol was disassembled and reassembled and did not work loose with no thread locker used.

With the takedown fastener removed, the barrel is lifted up and forward, then the slide pulls out of the back of the receiver.  A very simple process and a big help when cleaning. There is a small recoil spring and guide rod inside the housing of the bolt that is removed by slightly compressing and lifting out of its contained position, a well documented and simple procedure in the manual.

Loosening the set screw at the bottom of the receiver, same size hex head as the takedown fastener allows the barrel to be pulled free of the receiver. The barrel stub surface under the set screw is cone cut to draw the barrel back into proper alignment when reinstalled.

Volquartsen currently offers a lightweight, carbon fiber, 6” barrel and a 6” stainless steel match-grade barrel. The latter features a removable forward-blow compensator to helps control both muzzle rise and noise by directing the blast forward. S&W also offers holsters, open and enclosed red dot sights, cases and other useful accessories for the Victory, so it is a complete system.

The 10201 SKU version of the Victory has a threaded muzzle to facilitate installation of a compensator or to allow suppressed operation as in the configuration pictured above.

As they say in the old neighborhood, So-wada-we-got?

The S&W SW22 Victory is quite a departure from the rest of the Smith & Wesson lineup of rimfire revolvers and autoloaders in materials, appearance and modular design. The Victory performs as received, but it is intended to be open to the creative talents of aftermarket suppliers. The longer the Victory is out there, the larger the installed base, the longer will the list of third party participants grow.

The S&W Victory is hand filling and balanced, heft not unlike a steel 1911. The exterior finish on the subject pistol is flawless, evenly textured and clean lines. Internally, parts fit is precise and each part is cleanly finished.

At $429, nearly one-forth the price of the more specialized S&W venerable Model 42, the mass appeal Victory target pistol is an exceptional value. By comparison, the Browning Buck Mark Field Target Suppressor Ready lists for $599, which means the Victory can get its owner into competitive shooting at a significantly lower cost and with enough left over for required accessories. By the same token, the Victory has a low entry cost for recreational target shooters and varmint and small game hunters.

On a preliminary basis, accuracy is excellent and function is reliable. Rather than rush that conclusion with general statements, we’ll be back with an in-depth Part 2 that addresses live fire results with various types of ammunition… Be back soon.