If a 22 mag for bear defense…

[Formidilosus]

Check my above post for the symptoms. I edited to add it. The ammo was Hornady V Max 30gr.

Almost guaranteed that was the issue. 40gr round nose, solids, or HP’s; Gold Dots, Hornady Critical Defense, and Federal
punch all feed much better.

 

[Lawnboi]

It does feel like a toy…

The m&p is worth it even if it’s just for a range gun. I havnt tried a lot of different ammo yet but part of the draw to it is that it’s supposed to handle everything because it uses some gas to eject the case.

If you can stomach 5.7 prices, that’s a sweet little gun, and the mags don’t have me wondering. Wish they would make one without the stupid threaded barrel

 

[TheCougar]

The m&p is worth it even if it’s just for a range gun. I havnt tried a lot of different ammo yet but part of the draw to it is that it’s supposed to handle everything because it uses some gas to eject the case.

If you can stomach 5.7 prices, that’s a sweet little gun, and the mags don’t have me wondering. Wish they would make one without the stupid threaded barrel

I can’t stomach the 5.7 prices. The 22mag is half the price, so twice the shooting practice. I’ll have to try other ammo and see if it works better.

 

[TheCougar]

Almost guaranteed that was the issue. 40gr round nose, solids, or HP’s; Gold Dots, Hornady Critical Defense, and Federal
punch all feed much better.

Do you have a recommended practice ammo that feeds well?

 

[Formidilosus]

Do you have a recommended practice ammo that feeds well?

In all the newer PMR30’s that I’ve seen, Federal and Winchester 40gr have been easy.

You do have to make sure that the rim of the top cartridges is in front of the rim of the one below it- for all 30 rounds.

 

[Lawnboi]

Do you have a recommended practice ammo that feeds well?

Gold dots at powder valley are on sale, and they have free shipping through today

 

[Nomosendero]

It dosnt feel like a rimfire pistol. For a poly framed gun it feels very good. I’m impressed enough with the platform that I’d consider another, though probably get a 5.7, I’ll add why below. It’s very easy to handle and shoot, I can shoot this better than any other poly framed pistol iv ever owned. Same can be said for my wife. It’s accurate enough that I’d consider grabbing it for varmints and not have any worry about hitting a fox at 25 yards for back yard predator duty. It’s easy to shoot fast and has an awesome trigger as well. 30 round magazine, with an extra in the bedside safe leaves us with 60 rounds ready. Slide is easy to rack, my wife has no issues with operating the pistol.


I currently have 300 rounds through the gun. Mostly gold dots and Hornady CD. The gun had some hiccups in the first hundred, like lots of handguns do, but has been flawless the last few times shot it. I have yet to clean it, though I’m sure will have to eventually as it’s partially gas operated.

My only hang up on the guns is the mags. They are a little finicky to load. I’m assuming most reliability issues with this pistol will come down to the mags. They are plastic and with 30 rimmed cartridges in there they take a little patience and attention to get loaded. That said I havnt had mag issue in the last 250 rounds. So I cant say it’s a problem yet, just something I’m keeping an eye on.

Alternatively the 5.7 is the exact same platform, and the mags are metal and give me a little more confidence, nice stiff spring, metal. The 5.7 recoil is near exactly that of the 22 mag, everything else about the pistols is near identical. If I were purchasing another I would get a 5.7, I’d feel a little more comfortable with centerfire reliability and a more robust magazine. I’d have zero concern carrying the 5.7 all the time if that’s what I had. That said I don’t regret the 22 mag, got 750 rounds coming to hopefully get my wife up to speed. Worst case it becomes a training gun for the 5.7 I will probably end up with eventually.

As for how she likes it. She’s not a pistol fan, she dosnt like shooting them and that shows especially when putting a subcompact 9mm in her hand. She has shot the 22 mag and while shooting a pistol isn’t fun for her, she can actually hit stuff with it fairly easily. Currently debating on getting her an optic on it or not. I’ll have a lot more to say in a few months about it, we had a couple situations that have lead to my wife wanting to be a little more comfortable with a pistol, and she’s showing more interest in becoming proficient. This is the pistol I plan on her training with.

Good info, thanks!
I noticed you said, "awesome trigger", I wonder if S&W improved those?
I am looking at getting the 22 mag. My brother bought one shortly after it came out and the trigger is VERY hard. I wonder if the trigger was improved by the time you got yours?
MCarbo has some trigger springs for various M&P's but last time I checked they did not show anything on the 22 Mag.
What blew me away was when we could get a good rest and really concentrate (trigger) it would shoot amazing groups.

 

[Lawnboi]

Good info, thanks!
I noticed you said, "awesome trigger", I wonder if S&W improved those?
I am looking at getting the 22 mag. My brother bought one shortly after it came out and the trigger is VERY hard. I wonder if the trigger was improved by the time you got yours?
MCarbo has some trigger springs for various M&P's but last time I checked they did not show anything on the 22 Mag.
What blew me away was when we could get a good rest and really concentrate (trigger) it would shoot amazing groups.

It’s the best poly framed pistol trigger iv ever shot, atleast that’s how I feel.

 

[Lawnboi]

Well bulk ammo didn’t do it for me quite as much. Federal as cheap as I could find.

I guess my wife has 500 rounds to practice malfunctions with.

Got more gold dots coming so I’ll be doing more testing but so far I havnt had any issues with gold dots.

 

[Nomosendero]

What about CCI Maxi Mag, solids and HP ?

 

[Lawnboi]

What about CCI Maxi Mag, solids and HP ?

Im shooting federal HP, which is just cci. I have had some hiccups with it.

I’m 250 gold dots in and 200 Hornady CD without issues.

 

[Lawnboi]

An update for those wondering.

The s&w 22 mag is getting pulled from bedside duty. Been shooting more drills with it in the yard and having an occasional malfunction. I have a thousand or so rounds though it and it’s just not reliable enough to trust.

The 5.7 I had to test fed reliably and I would have considered that if it wasn’t for the fact that I just couldn’t make the grip work, it’s a hair wider (front to back) than the 22 mag and I just couldn’t grip it like I would like. If s&w put a changeable grip on it so I could widen it up I could really get along with that gun.

I’m going to get rid of it and give an m&p bodyguard 2.0 a try for my wife and myself for a small carry gun, and likely try to work her up to a full size 9 for bedside.