So we are now at 2500 rds with no cleaning and no lube, other than what came in it from the factory. I had a few malfunctions with some Bitterroot ammo, but learned that is the fault of the ammo, not the gun. I tried some in my model 48 S&W revolver and had to seat it with my thumb with quite a bit of force to get it in. All other brands just dropped right in.
So after 2500+ rds we have zero failures due to the gun. I can't take it anymore, I have to strip and clean this poor thing and see how bad it is. And you aren't going to believe what I found! I'll give you a hint, it ain't bad. It's getting late so I'm going to have to continue this tomorrow.
Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of...
M&P .22 Magnum Extensive Testing.
So after 2500+ rds we have zero failures due to the gun. I can't take it anymore, I have to strip and clean this poor thing and see how bad it is. And you aren't going to believe what I found! I'll give you a hint, it ain't bad. It's getting late so I'm going to have to continue this tomorrow.
Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of...
M&P .22 Magnum Extensive Testing.
Ok, so as I was stripping this M&P down for cleaning, there were a few "Ah-ha" moments that explained why this little thing is so reliable, AND why it stays so clean.
Clean? Rimfires don't stay clean!? Well this one did. Pulling the upper from the frame I was shocked at how clean it was inside. Just barely any "soot" around the magwell or trigger, and nothing back farther in all the lockworks. A light wipe with a cleaning cloth and a couple spurts of gun oil and the lower is good to go.
On to the upper where the ah-ha moments occurred. I removed the captured recoil spring assembly,and again just a light wipe with an oily cloth. Removing the barrel assembly, I noticed that this thing has dual extractors. Awesome! That explains why it never had an extraction issue, and also somewhat why ejection was so robust. Cleaning of the slide was mostly accomplished with the oily rag, and while not necessary, I used a soft brush on the breechface in the interest of expedience.
And then on to the barrel assembly. Having never taken this apart before, I was running on the assumption that this was a blowback operated system like all other rimfires. Boy was I wrong. This thing is a gas operated piston system, with the inner barrel serving double duty as the piston. It is machined with gas rings on it and rides in a "bore" in the outer barrel. About an inch back from the muzzle there is a tiny gas port on the inner barrel. This forces the inner barrel to push the slide back and and start the action cycle. When the inner barrel reaches its full travel, the gas is purged out the front of the barrel assembly and recoil takes over. This is why it is so reliable with so many different types of ammo. It doesn't rely on a certain amount of recoil to operate, it just needs gas pressure.
So, after this last moment of enlightenment, I started the cleaning, and this is the only area that I found any significant powder residue. Not excessive, but significant. I could feel it as I pulled the inner barrel from the outer. As I pulled the rings past their normal span of travel I started scraping carbon from the outer barrel bore. Not a lot, but enough to notice. Some solvent, a brush on the exterior of the inner barrel and rings and a .44 bore brush in the outer barrel bore and everything was good as new again.
And now I'm sure a lot are wondering about wear. When I started this adventure, I stated that I was not going to clean or oil this gun, but run it out of the box and see what it would do. 2500 rounds later and I am finding hardly any wear at all. Only a little polishing on the high spots on the frame rails. The slide rails still have their blue finish with no worn through spots. This is likely due to the gun running so clean and pushing all the carbon out the front.
Lastly, I just wanted to note that the little $35 ebay red dot is still running like a champ and holding zero. I have no complains with it at all.
That concludes my torture testing of this little M&P. It will now serve as my wife's home defense pistol and I have all confidence in it.
Clean? Rimfires don't stay clean!? Well this one did. Pulling the upper from the frame I was shocked at how clean it was inside. Just barely any "soot" around the magwell or trigger, and nothing back farther in all the lockworks. A light wipe with a cleaning cloth and a couple spurts of gun oil and the lower is good to go.
On to the upper where the ah-ha moments occurred. I removed the captured recoil spring assembly,and again just a light wipe with an oily cloth. Removing the barrel assembly, I noticed that this thing has dual extractors. Awesome! That explains why it never had an extraction issue, and also somewhat why ejection was so robust. Cleaning of the slide was mostly accomplished with the oily rag, and while not necessary, I used a soft brush on the breechface in the interest of expedience.
And then on to the barrel assembly. Having never taken this apart before, I was running on the assumption that this was a blowback operated system like all other rimfires. Boy was I wrong. This thing is a gas operated piston system, with the inner barrel serving double duty as the piston. It is machined with gas rings on it and rides in a "bore" in the outer barrel. About an inch back from the muzzle there is a tiny gas port on the inner barrel. This forces the inner barrel to push the slide back and and start the action cycle. When the inner barrel reaches its full travel, the gas is purged out the front of the barrel assembly and recoil takes over. This is why it is so reliable with so many different types of ammo. It doesn't rely on a certain amount of recoil to operate, it just needs gas pressure.
So, after this last moment of enlightenment, I started the cleaning, and this is the only area that I found any significant powder residue. Not excessive, but significant. I could feel it as I pulled the inner barrel from the outer. As I pulled the rings past their normal span of travel I started scraping carbon from the outer barrel bore. Not a lot, but enough to notice. Some solvent, a brush on the exterior of the inner barrel and rings and a .44 bore brush in the outer barrel bore and everything was good as new again.
And now I'm sure a lot are wondering about wear. When I started this adventure, I stated that I was not going to clean or oil this gun, but run it out of the box and see what it would do. 2500 rounds later and I am finding hardly any wear at all. Only a little polishing on the high spots on the frame rails. The slide rails still have their blue finish with no worn through spots. This is likely due to the gun running so clean and pushing all the carbon out the front.
Lastly, I just wanted to note that the little $35 ebay red dot is still running like a champ and holding zero. I have no complains with it at all.
That concludes my torture testing of this little M&P. It will now serve as my wife's home defense pistol and I have all confidence in it.
Attachments
Last edited:
Great thread. Your observations have convinced me to buy one. Any ideas on where the best deal is on one?
How difficult are they to find locally say Tulsa or OKC areas ?
How difficult are they to find locally say Tulsa or OKC areas ?
Looking on GB, I see one for $549 with free shipping. I might go look at completed auctions to see what pre owned ones are doing
Edit- found a used one that closed at $408. Found a couple dealers that had new ones for $479
Edit- found a used one that closed at $408. Found a couple dealers that had new ones for $479
Action Arms on Mingo in Tulsa was keeping these in stock. Not sure if they have any at the moment though.
Locally, Rapid Fire in Newcastle has one. And Jason is a great guy. Comes with range bag and 3 magazines for $625. I don't mind spending a little more with local vendors, especially smaller ones, they need all the help they can get. I saw one at the show last weekend for the same price.
Enjoyed the review and the peek at innards. This also why I prefer WMR over LR, it a far cleaner round and with enough giddy-up-and-go to assure postive function when all is not sparkling newer fresher whiter brighter improved clean.
Great report and info, thank you for all the time and effort to put it all together and post. Those Gowuter red dots aren’t $35 any more
I will be stopping by there to check these out, thanks
Similar threads
- Sub Category: Rifles
- Caliber: 338 Lapua Magnum
