s&w model 22a

[gate76]

if any of you have a 22a,
what kind of problems are you having??????
i know s&w has a recall on some of them,
would any of you buy another one??
i am thinking about picking one up and i am worried about some of the comments
on the internet.

thanks

[FishnHunt]

I don't like the front sights on mine. too big/bulky. overall nice solid pistol. just the sights.

[FiremanBob]

I'm so glad I avoided buying one. Heard too many stories direct from unhappy owners.

[canopis]

I've had one for a few years. Never a problem. Big, heavy gun, but solid target pistol. The sights suck, as has been mentioned, but a little day-glo orange paint on the front sight ramp helped a lot. Or just put a cheap red dot on the integrated rail.

[Tom-ADC]

I've put hundreds if not thousands thru mine with nary a hitch. I did put a red dot on top figured it had a rail why not.
Yeah if I was looking for another 22 pistol I'd look again.

[Izzy43]

Had mine for 5 years, never a hitch, shoots any ammo (although I don't use hyper velocity, too hard on the pistol). A breeze to clean, accurate after mounting a Bushnell TRS-25 red dot sight. Only complaint is the front iron sight is too thick but the red dot fixed that. Many of the SW-22s had frame issues but the 22-A1 fixed that issue. Lifetime warranty with S&W if anything goes wrong. I like the pistol.

[Bikertrash]

I have 2 and I like them both enough to use them and keep them regularly. 1 of them is a 22a-1 with the green fiber optic front sight and all black frame. I like shooting them better than my other 22 pistols (Sig, Walther, High Standard, etc...)

[bbodybill]

I have one along with a Ruger 22/45... The 22a is on its FOURTH frame (always repaired with NO cost by S&W)... I enjoy shooting both equally...

[jazman]

Good guns, I like them.

[tmh1]

Had one. Only put a few hundred rounds through it with no problems. I also painted my front sight blade for a better sight picture. My sister shot it, loved how accurate it was for her, and I ended up transferring it to her. She doesn't shoot all that often, but the pistol is still running strong for her. I doubt that she ever even cleans it, but that is another story.

Never really liked the mag release on the front face of the grip.

Also, I don't know whether this was a temporary thing which has since been fixed, but probably 3-4 of our magazines (S&W branded) broke off their plastic floor plates. We never did any "tactical training" type shooting with that pistol, so these mags were never allowed to drop the the ground. Normally they would break off when using the heel of your hand to seat a new mag. Just seemed like the the design of the floor plate resulted in the plastic being too thin in some areas, and definitely not "robust". IIRC one of the first ones to break came with the gun (brand new) and was either broken as received, or broke during the very first range session. S&W replaced that one N/C. Fortunately, as I recall, these magazines were pretty cheap to purchase.

[beerman]

Good gun for the money. I recommend them.

[Webologist]

Good gun for the money. I recommend them.

Agreed, great gun. Mine is about eight years old and has introduced many new shooters to the sport. No issues ever. I would buy over again, no regrets.

Likes:

• Absurdly accurate.
• Reliable, no ammo issues ever.
• Easy to clean.
• I kinda like the cheap plastic buffer. (S&W will mail you several free if you ask)
• Excellent trigger

Dislikes:

• Not pretty
• Oddly placed mag release
• Safety is effective, but cheaply constructed.
• Front sight is hard to see indoors against black target.
• Barrel paint is cheap

[Tri750]

I got mine for free about 5 years ago. By free, I traded work on a motorcycle for it.
It's old. Like from the 80's old and has the stamp showing it went back for the really old recall.
2 factory mags came with it. This thing had thousands and thousands of rounds through it.
I little picky about ammo until I polished the chipping powder coat off the ramp with a Dremel.
About 2 years ago, I loaned it out and it somehow came back with the rear lug broken off the barrel assembly.

Bought a new old stock barrel for 100.00 from gun broker, it previously was a 4 1/2" (?) inch, the one I found was a 7".
In a perfect world, I would like the 5" barrel.
None of my mags have broken after countless rounds.

They are ugly as a butt, but when I shoot it, it makes me laugh. I would happily buy another.

[ga4boats917]

I am tempted; Palmetto has had them on special for $199.99 for a while. However, I already have a Mark III and a Mosquito; don't know if I need 3.

[Nosynchro]

I have the 5" inch bull barrel model. It's a great pistol. No problems on the frame, I have fired about 3000 rounds through it. Cleaning is very easy. Putting it back together is a little finicky but manageable.

The only real annoyance is the plastic floor plate on the magazines. The tolerances between the opening of the mag well and the magazine floor plate can be tight. And the mag floor plate can shift out of its place by 3-4 mm which will cause an interference when inserting the magazine into the mag well. You will instinctively slap the mag to push it in place. The thin plastic of the floor plate will crack and break off. I have to force myself not to slap the mag in and check that the mag floor plate is seated in correctly on the magazine.

S&W will send you spare floor plates no problem if you ask for them.