By R.K. ‘Bob’ Campbell | Contributing Editor
If there is any handgun that offers good training in marksmanship it is the .22 caliber pistol.
The rimfire handgun will keep you shooting when purse strings are tight. Meaningful practice is always good.
The .22 is also a fun gun. Recently there has been a trend toward rimfire automatics with increased magazine capacity and an optics ready slide. These are polymer frame handguns, which keeps the price down, but they are hammer fired rather than striker fired.
Among the best I have fired and owned is the Smith & Wesson Military & Police MP22X. Similar handguns include the Glock M44, SIG P322, and the Taurus TX22. The Glock is a low capacity pistol that isn’t optics ready.
The M&P .22X is optics ready and features a 20 round magazine capacity. I have fired the original M&P 22 and it is an OK gun, the little M&P .22 Compact a good shooter for its size.
However, the new MP22X is the best .22 from S&W yet. This pistol checks all the boxes- polymer frame, optics ready, high capacity, fiber optic sights, and a threaded barrel. This is a good set up. While the magazines hold a double load of cartridges compared to the Ruger Standard Model or Browning Buckmark, these magazines are easily loaded. I load three or four cartridges at a time, shake the magazine and tap the rear of the magazine against the shooting bench. Do this and you will ensure reliability. Case rim lock may occur with rimfire cartridges you cannot simply drop cartridges into the magazine body. Two magazines are supplied with the M&P22X.
The pistol is all black and businesslike. This is a single action firearm with a manual safety and internal hammer. It looks somewhat like some of the other Smith & Wesson offerings, with a hard anodized aluminum slide. This allows function with the modest momentum of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge. Other Smith & Wesson pistols with this finish have held up well in hard use.
The grip fits most hands well, so there is no need for grip inserts. It offers good adhesion without abrasion; no need for abrasion with the light kicking .22 Long Rifle. The safety is ambidextrous while the magazine catch may be reversed for left hand use. The slide lock is also ambidextrous.
The pistol features a rail for mounting combat lights. This is a good feature for combat practice; mount the light and practice as an understudy for your carry gun. A light, however, is also a good thing to have if you are interested in ridding the property of pests or hunting treed raccoons.
This is a sporting gun as well as a plinking and training pistol, which is a good combination.
The front sight is from HiViz, a respected maker of high visible sights, while the optics cut will accept the RMSc footprint one of the most popular of all fitments for compact sights. Some Holosun sights fit as well.
This a light pistol at just over 16 ounces, yet the balance isn’t whippy, it is solid in the hand due to the handgun’s geometry. I like the balance and heft very much. The trigger breaks clean at 5.4 pounds without excess take-up.
Disassembly is simple enough. Unload the pistol rack the slide to the rear and rotate the takedown lever. The slide pulls to the rear and off the fixed barrel. Simple enough.
Firing Tests Times Two
These days I often divide firing tests into two parts. Not just target shooting and combat shooting with centerfire but often enough I fire the pistol with iron sights and then an optic. If the pistol isn’t reliable or accurate, there is no point in moving to optics on the get go.
I followed this outline with the M&P22X. The M&P 22X proved to be accurate enough for most chores. Best of all it runs well; sometimes .22 semiautomatics can be finicky. Don’t run them with anything but CCI Mini Mag ammunition and plenty of lubricant if you wish the pistols to function well.
That is true, but the M&P 22X ran well with a wide spectrum of ammunition, which is a good thing and not common in .22 semiautomatic pistols.
I fired the pistol to the tune of 320 cartridges in a couple of range sessions with excellent results. The pistol just doesn’t kick and with its nice bright sights makes for excellent practical accuracy. After running a brick or so through the pistol in rapid fire and offhand fire, I settled down on the bench at 15 yards and fired for accuracy. Potential is there as the pistol put five shots into less than two inches on demand with most types of ammunition. The following week things got even more interesting with a carry optic.
Riton Ups the Ante
Mounting an optic isn’t particularly difficult. Remove the top plate on the slide, and then remove the rear sight, which is held in place by a heavy-duty screw that attaches from beneath the slide. Clean all lubricant from the slide surfaces. Lay down the supplied washer and mount the optic.
My Riton optic was supplied with the proper screws. I have used Riton optics with excellent results for many months now. They have proven service grade and have good features. The new MPRDXL is an innovative design from this respected maker, featuring the compact RMSc footprint. This means it will easily fit a narrow slide.
But the sight window is large like an RMR. This makes for excellent hit potential yet the sight easily slips into a compact pistol slide. There are three reticle options- a dot, a circle, and a dot within a circle. I would say the dot for small game or the dot in a circle for defense use.
The Riton optic features a battery saving shut-off but also a shake awake sensor; just draw and aim and the sight comes to life.
The 4 TACTIXX MPRD XL features ten brightness settings. The dot is green. For some shooters green wavelengths work better than red. Overall, it’s an innovative design from a top maker. I could have gone with a less expensive sight on a .22—the Riton is affordable but not cheap—but I really like the performance.
With the Riton optic mounted things were more interesting. This set up allows me to mimic the pistol mounted optic set up I carry daily in one form or the other. Both eyes open and target focus—lay the dot on the target—and you have a hit. Speed is excellent.
The M&P22X simply laid the rounds in the X ring time after time. At about 550 rounds, the slide began to move a little sluggishly because typical .22 Long Rifle ammunition is dirty and powder ash had begun to build up. I cleaned the pistol and resumed firing over the next few days. I fired for accuracy again, this time at 25 yards using the dot setting. I fired three five shot groups with three types of ammunition and got an average of 2.2 inches for three groups at 25 yards. This dog will run and that kind of accuracy is useful for small game and informal target practice.
I tested the M&P22X with a Dead Air Mask sound suppressor. The M&P22x barrel thread protector was locked on solid. I drafted my young friend Kyle to break it loose, and this strong young veteran had some difficulty.
After the Dead Air Mask was installed, I enjoyed quite accurate stress free shooting. Accuracy slightly improved as it often does with sound modulation. Reliability with subsonic loads is spot on, an important part of today’s market.
My experience with the M&P22X has been positive. The final step was rounding up a Falco Airflow nylon holster to fit the S&W. That done I had a great outdoors set up. MSRP is $399. This pistol is well worth its price.
Specifications
Width 1.13 inch
Height 5.75 inch
Length 7.25 inches
Weight 16.35 ounces weighed
Barrel Length 4.1 inch
Sights Fiber optic front, black rear
Action Single action hammer fired
