After about 2000 rounds the 22A is showing some wear that concerns me. I detail that in the video. The Custom wood grip broke for no clear reason…perhaps exhaust gas from a bad shell casing or some other malfunction stressed the wood and broke it.
I have since repaired the grip with super glue and it’s holding up so far. I changed out the grip screws with some button head allen screws that have threadlocker on them and plastic washers to help them crush down on the wood grip without damaging it.
Overall I think the S&W 22A is a good plinker. I like how easy it is to break down for cleaning (which the Ruger Mark II is not) and I like the fact the internals are held in place so removing the grips for cleaning is not an ordeal (like it is with the Browning Buckmark).
But I am concerned that the extractor is wearing the barrel. Barrels are not cheap to replace. And I have put at least 5000 rounds through my Buckmark and it shows no sign of wear…nor did my Mark II. So there is clearly a flaw here in the choice of metals. You can’t have a hardened steel piece rubbing on a softer piece of steel without damage to the softer metal. I think one of the reasons the 22A is cheaper than the competition is cost saving measures like this (and the plastic trigger etc).
Still a great daily shooter. I’ll keep running rounds through it till it malfunctions.
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