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Smith & Wesson M&P22 Review In this part of the review I'm going to cover some of the internal features of the Smith & Wesson M&P22 Pistol. I have tried to add photos showing all sides of the assemblies and parts so you could see as much detail as possible. Since I have covered many of the external features in Part 3, I will focus my comments mainly on the internal features. Throughout the review, you can click on any photo to bring up a higher resolution photo showing the details.
Slide Assembly The slide is made from some type of aluminum alloy (most likely 7075-T6) with a black anodized finish. The slide includes a steel pin at the rear of the slide stop slot to prevent wear from occurring on the aluminum slide and it provides a smooth surface for the slide stop to bear against when releasing the slide forward. The interior of the M&P22 slide appears to be well machined with an anodized coating. The bottom of the breech block is polished where it contacts the hammer when the slide is moved rearward to cock the hammer. At the rear of the breech block on the right side of the slide is the hammer block safety that is pushed up out of the way when the trigger is pulled. The slide assembly has a steel breech block as shown below. Although it is hard to tell in the photos, the extractor has a sharp point and a slight hook like shape to grip the rims of the cases. Also note the steel pin that I mentioned above which is located at the back of the slide stop notch. This photo below gives you another perspective on the hammer block safety at the rear of the breech block. Frame Assembly Although there are many parts that makeup the frame assembly, I think there are three primary structural components. The first is the polymer frame portion that you see externally. The other two are the metallic frame side plates. Unless you study this carefully, you may not pickup on details that the metallic frame is two pieces. The easiest place to see this is at the rear of the frame where you see the "L" shaped split behind the hammer. Since the M&P22 is made by Walther, I believe that Walther used the same MIM (Metal Injection Molding) cast zinc alloy for these frame side plate as the Walther P22. Another place you can see this is where the barrel block rests against the frame. The barrel is actually housed in the right side plate which also contains the serial number markings. In the photo below I have labeled these features; A - Ejector, B - Slide Stop Tab, C - Magazine Safety Tab, D - Hammer, E - Hammer Spring Transfer Rod and F - Sear. Also note that the hammer is in the de-cocked position. In the photo below you can see the magazine safety lever (G) and the hammer spring (H). I added this photo to give you a close up view of the left side with the hammer in the de-cocked position. The takedown lever pushes the guide rod and bushing forward when in it's normal position. Rotating the lever and pulling it out allows the guide rod and bushing to move rearward which allows an additional travel of the slide during disassembly so that the rear of the slide can be lifted out of the channels in the side plates. These next several photos give some more overall views of the M&P22 frame assembly. Barrel The barrel is actually a steel insert with an interface block attached and the barrel measured 4.13" in length. The barrel has an outside diameter of 0.316" and includes an M8x0.75 threaded portion on the end which is 0.38" in length. The barrel comes with a proof mark on the left side along with the caliber markings "cal. .22 lr.". Barrel Sleeve The steel barrel sleeve measured 2.76" in length with and outside diameter of 0.472", The sleeve has a notch on one end that lines up with a mating feature on the inside of the barrel mounting hole in the metallic frame. The other end of the barrel has a counterbore that mates with the barrel nut. Barrel Nut The steel barrel nut includes and O-Ring to help center the barrel sleeve around the barrel and remove any freeplay. Guide Rod The guide rod also appears to be the same MIM cast zinc alloy as the metallic frame (side plates). Guide Rod Bushing The guide rod bushing is made from some type of polymer material and has a counterbored recess for the recoil spring. Recoil Spring Fully relaxed, the recoil spring measured 3.75" in length and 0.37" in diameter.
Thoughts There are some clear similarities (barrel & metallic frame) between the Walther P22 Pistol and the Smith & Wesson M&P22 Pistol, but I don't think you could say that the M&P22 is a copy of the P22. This review isn't intended to be a comparison, but if you want to checkout the Walther P22 you can see an exploded view by looking at page 15 of their Operating Instructions. After putting this pistol under the microscope for the past month, I can't wail to finally send some lead down range. For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page. The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review.
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