M&p 22 Compact - Last June I wrote a post on finding the ideal compact .22 pistol to pair with the new Silencerco Sparrow silencer. Not particularly happy with the current manufacturing options, I ended up with the discontinued and somewhat obscure S&W 2213 model. I've also had some time to pull the trigger on the pistol since I wrote that post, and that's okay. But it still doesn't scratch the compact 22 itch.
Turns out it's been a few months since the official release of the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact I've really been looking for. When I first heard about this pistol, I wasn't very interested. I tried the full size M&P 22 from a few years ago and wasn't too impressed. The trigger is not very good and has the "toy-like" feel that 22 other pistol reviews have complained about. Surprisingly, production of the full-size M&Ps was contracted out to Walther, which had the least reputation for being particularly rugged.
M&p 22 Compact
Conversely, the new M&P 22 Compact is manufactured in-house by Smith & Wesson and features a durable aluminum slide. This caught my attention. If you've seen many of my previous videos here on the Lounge, you've probably noticed that I'm a big fan of the full size and compact 9mm M&P pistols. M&P series. If the 22 M&P compact is as good as its centerfire cousin, you'll really get used to it. So let's see what we have...
S&w M&p 22c
Like most .22 LR pistols, the M&P 22 Compact fires from a 10-round magazine, two of which are included in the gun. It lacks the interchangeable backstraps of the rest of the twin-stack centerfire M&P pistols, but that detail is far less important in a light blowback.
The sights are the painted white 3 dot variety but the rear is fully adjustable for height and movement so it always looks good on the 22. I plan to paint the rear dot black and replace the front sight with a red fiber optic sight from Dawson Precision. If not, I'll take advantage of the extra front rail to mount one of the smaller Crimson Trace Railmaster lasers. because... "Kelysh" laser beams!
When you say "pew pew," the M&P 22 Compact comes from the factory with a threaded muzzle covered by a barrel cap. If you're not looking for this, you could easily miss it, as Smith & Wesson didn't include any mention of threaded barrels in their owner's manual, or provide an appropriately sized wrench to remove the barrel cap. After much cursing and gnashing of teeth, I ended up stripping the cover by modifying a small key taken from another thread gun.
You may have noticed that I did not include a close-up photo of the barrel cap. The reason is that after I did what I had to do to get rid of it, the picture didn't turn out exactly right. It has since been replaced with a threaded adapter which is needed if you want to attach a muffler or other muffler. I ordered mine from EWK Arms to extend and convert the M&P's 3/8”x24 threads to standards like 1/2”x28.
Smith & Wesson M&p22 15rd High Capacity Magazine Upgrade From Nictaylor00
Same shape as M&P with compact centerfire. The Original Compact shares the same dimensions as the full-size M&P, with a shorter barrel/slide and shorter grip. The 22 Compact, on the other hand, has the same dimensions as the full size, but is 15% smaller. The end result is a pistol that size and that feels much closer to an M&P single stock than other M&P offerings. At 15.3 ounces, it's a bit lighter than the Shield's 19 ounces, and we really wish it was a few ounces heavier to help keep the scope steady for longer shots.
That said, I like the size overall. It's small enough for people with very small hands, but the grip is long enough for the average person to hold all their fingers. The 3.56-inch barrel is long enough to provide a good sighting range, but not too long for its light weight.
I'm not sure why rimfire pistols are always overloaded with unnecessary safety features, but the M&P 22 compact is no exception. It has an ambidextrous manual thumb safety that mimics the optional thumb safety found on standard M&P pistols. It's large, easy to use, and unobtrusive, especially if you're used to the 1911-style thumb safety.
That doesn't really matter. The safety features I am against are the magazine release safety and the internal "lockout" safety that uses a small key to disable the pistol. I've already expressed my thoughts on the S&W revolver's internal lock, and I can't think of any reason to prefer it over a semi-auto. As for disconnecting the magazine, I think it actually makes a gun.
Unprepped S&w M&p 22 Compact W/safety
Sure. If you are going to shoot the pistol for practice, you don't want to put a magazine in your gun as much as possible. The requirement that the magazine be present only serves to give you one more opportunity to accidentally end the round when the chamber should be empty. But you know...lawyers and stuff.
Good. Safety features aside, we still think the M&P 22 Compact is a great little beater. The trigger breaks at about 6 lbs, which is on par with M&P's latest and improved centerfire triggers. When handling and shooting the 22 Compact
It's like an M&P, albeit a slightly different size than the existing pistols in the series. Accuracy wasn't bad either. As I said in my Sig P938-22 review, this lightweight compact .22 LR pistol is no substitute for more traditional target pistols, but for what it's worth, I had no problem shooting 20-inch groups. Yards using match grade ammunition and a bench seat.
One complaint when using the M&P 22 Compact as a self-defense training tool is the slide lock lever. Left-handers will immediately notice that it is not double-firing like the original M&P pistol. The slide lock levers on my other M&P pistols were stiff at first, but all loosened up after the first few hundred rounds. The 22 Compact's levers don't move anywhere like they did out of the box. At this point, you can't force it down even after the slide lock without using multiple fingers. For proponents of the 'energy kick' method of recharge, this is just another point.
Smith & Wesson M&p .22 Compact Review
Realistically, I'm less likely to use the M&P 22 Compact as a serious training tool for myself and more as a fun range gun and something to get new shooters started on. That said, the M&P 22 Compact is more often than not equipped with a silencer that looks right at home. With the Silencerco Sparrow, it sounds at least as quiet as a bunch of full-size silencers I can remember. I also found that the short barrel, at least with the loads I tried, did not give the high-velocity 22 ammo enough room for the bullet to reach supersonic velocities.
The .22 LR is still in limited supply, so I didn't shoot 12 rounds through my little M&P for review like I would have liked. However, we have managed to salvage some boxes from our warehouse's damaged box reject stock. I shot about 300 rounds of the CCI mini-mag (after sorting through the shredded remains of small plastic CCI boxes to find cartridges that didn't inexplicably break) and fired a couple of magazines from the Commonwealth Champion Bulk Pack Lead Round Nose. Some Eley Subsonic Hollowpoints.
We then dipped into a supply of 22 target grades for review and tested each of the Federal Gold Medal Ultramatch and the Wolf Match target for accuracy, both with the aforementioned excellent results. With just a few drops of lube added to the slide rails, the M&P 22 Compact went over 500 rounds right out of the box without a single malfunction. Not small for a typical .22LR pistol.
If all this talk of 22 rounds is making you jealous, Smith and Wesson is coming to the rescue. If you buy an M&P 22 Compact in the next few months, you can send in a receipt and get 222 rounds of Winchester ammo for free. But don't forget who gave you a warning after you burned it and needed a backup. That's where the Smith & Wesson M&P .22 compact handgun comes into play.
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