In my last post I conveyed my first impressions and range report of Smith's new .22 Magnum pistol. This time I took it a lot further, and here's why. I got this for my wife. She has frozen shoulders and it is very difficult for her to hold anything with much weight at arms length. So when it comes to a defensive pistol around the house, it has to be very light. She used to carry a micro .380 when she was out, but that has recently been downsized to a .32 because the .380's recoil really started hurting, and accuracy became non-existent. For around the house, I wanted something with a little more firepower than a pocket. 32, yet light and easy to handle. I had considered the Kel-Tec, but my experiences with them left me with more concern than comfort. So when I got the new Smith, it was with this purpose in mind that decided to torture it.
Today at the range I put several hundred more rounds through the M&P. I dug up some really old and some really nasty stuff, along with more of the CCI and Winchester ammo used last time. While I was at it there was some informal accuracy testing, though it was not a primary concern. I tried 7 different brands of ammo, (first pic) some of it was new and clean but a lot of it was older and tarnished. One brand was even spotted with corrosion and extremely dirty. That's a good one to start with! If you haven't noticed, I'm not going to do anything to help this little M&P out. If it's going to fail, I want to know now. Running with the crud still in it from the last outing and no new lubrication, I loaded two magazines with the nasty stuff and let 'er rip. After emptying both mags, I moved through each of the remaining brands with two magazines each, and then a couple more mags of my favorite performers. After over 400 rounds through the little M&P with NO malfunctions and Zero issues, I feel comfortable putting it into it's intended role.
As for the accuracy testing, most averaged about 3 inch groups at 10 yards (second pic.) The worst was the PMC, which couldn't group less than 5 inches. The best was the old Federal 50 gr. load which grouped 2" easily and was the softest shooting ( 3rd pic.) The CCI was still by far the loudest and flashiest, the others were mostly noisy with little flash and the 50 gr. Federal had zero flash and slightly less noise.
Today at the range I put several hundred more rounds through the M&P. I dug up some really old and some really nasty stuff, along with more of the CCI and Winchester ammo used last time. While I was at it there was some informal accuracy testing, though it was not a primary concern. I tried 7 different brands of ammo, (first pic) some of it was new and clean but a lot of it was older and tarnished. One brand was even spotted with corrosion and extremely dirty. That's a good one to start with! If you haven't noticed, I'm not going to do anything to help this little M&P out. If it's going to fail, I want to know now. Running with the crud still in it from the last outing and no new lubrication, I loaded two magazines with the nasty stuff and let 'er rip. After emptying both mags, I moved through each of the remaining brands with two magazines each, and then a couple more mags of my favorite performers. After over 400 rounds through the little M&P with NO malfunctions and Zero issues, I feel comfortable putting it into it's intended role.
As for the accuracy testing, most averaged about 3 inch groups at 10 yards (second pic.) The worst was the PMC, which couldn't group less than 5 inches. The best was the old Federal 50 gr. load which grouped 2" easily and was the softest shooting ( 3rd pic.) The CCI was still by far the loudest and flashiest, the others were mostly noisy with little flash and the 50 gr. Federal had zero flash and slightly less noise.
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