Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory 10201 22 LR

Few firearms offer as much pure fun as a good 22 LR. Recoil is almost nonexistent, and the noise level is greatly reduced. Then there is that budget thing. Even in today’s economy, a good box of 22 LR is much less expensive than even cheap 9mm. And always remember that the skills the shooter needs to master to run a HiCap Master Blaster 9mm can be practiced with a good 22 LR pistol with less damage to the wallet or to the wrists and elbows. So, we decided to take a look at three of the best affordable 22 LR pistols available right now.

The first is the Browning Buck Mark Field Target Model 051528490, $448. Ours sports a 5.5-inch bull barrel with a full-length Picatinny rail on top and gorgeous rosewood-colored laminate grips. Our second gun is a Ruger Mark IV 40101, $499. Ruger recently took a great pistol and modernized it with a new, much simpler to operate, barrel latch system, new safety, and new slide stop. Our third handgun is a Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory Model 10201, $434, which comes with a 5.5-inch barrel that includes a half-length sight bar. The rear sight is removable to allow access to the top of the action, which is already drilled and tapped to accept a Picatinny rail. Here’s what we liked and didn’t like about each gun in more detail. 

Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory 10201 22 LR,

$434

Gun Tests grade: A- [our pick]

With the Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory, everything shot well, every time. With the lighter barrel profile, it was just a touch slower target to target, and we graded it down half a letter for that. 

Smith & Wesson recently announced the discontinuation of the Model 41 target pistol. One of the premier semi-auto 22 LR pistols around, we fear that the hand-fitting needed on the 41s, therefore, the production costs associated with the line, are driving the Model 41 the way of the original Python. If you have a Model 41 in your safe, hang on to it — the price just went up.

But the Model 41 is not the only 22 LR semi-auto pistol in the S&W stable. The Model 22 Victory has has been on the market for about 10 years, and we wanted to see how well the current 22 LR pistol shot. We never expected it to shoot great, especially in comparison to the Model 41, which means we were very pleased with the results. Especially at the lower price.

We grabbed the SW22 Victory out of the box and saw a polymer grip, along with a lot of light-colored metal. Frequently with lower-pressure firearms, that indicates the inclusion of aluminum, which is fine. Give a good 22 LR pistol a steel chamber and bolt, and things should be fine. Some of the parts on the Victory Model were machined, and some were cast, but almost all of the metal parts were stainless steel. We noticed that the trigger and the front sight were alloy, while the rear sight base was polymer. The rear sight itself was steel.

That stainless-steel top end starts off with a 5.5-inch barrel, which is long enough to provide some sight radius and accuracy while still being maneuverable. With the barrel miking right at 0.86 inch in diameter, the Victory is not quite as thick as the Browning, but it didn’t miss the Buck Mark’s width by much. In fact, the S&W, though the lightest of the three tested, was only 2 and 1 ounces lighter than the Browning and the Ruger, respectively. We would speculate that a bit more weight savings came via the polymer grip versus the metal grips of the other two samples. The Victory Model barrel is threaded at 1⁄2×28, the only one of these pistols to be ready for a muzzle brake or suppressor.

Smith & Wesson had a different take on the way they wanted to do their sights. The front is an aluminum base attached solidly to the barrel and sporting a green fiber optic. Wide enough to hold a proper light pipe, it was very easy to see in the sunlight or the shade. The rear sight starts with a polymer base attached to the top of the receiver. The steel fully-adjustable rear sight also presents two green fiber-optic pipes that looks like they could prove to be harder to replace. Also, the entire rear-sight assembly can be removed, thereby accessing holes drilled and tapped for a Picatinny rail.

The receiver is a stainless-steel rectangular shell that mates to a collar that is then attached to the barrel. Disassembly requires the removal of a single Allen screw that attaches the front of the frame to the barrel. Everything lifts off, and the bolt can be removed to the rear. Somewhat like the Ruger, the S&W’s bolt is almost totally contained within the action and provides little surface area to grab onto. Also like the Ruger, the rear of the bolt is serrated and flared, allowing the shooter to use a thumb and index to pinch, then pull the bolt to chamber a round. 

Controls are, once again, left side only. We are reasonably sure that some left-handed shooters like 22 LR pistols, but you couldn’t tell it from the design. Must come down to that cost thing again. The Victory model provides a checkered magazine release that was easy to operate. The slide release and thumb safety are also on the left side. Both appear to be polymer, and both were easy to activate. The thumb safety, while pivoting forward, which can be one of our common complaints, was easy to operate with the pistol securely in our right hand. We would like to see it extended from the side of the grips, but that is being picky. Within the magazine well is a small projection that must be depressed to deactivate the magazine disconnect safety. Also, the S&W’s magazine release is spring loaded and actually ejects the mag when the release button is pressed. No hung magazines with this pistol.

The trigger was wide, curved, and serrated and comes with an overtravel screw. We thought that it had the most movement of any of the triggers in the test prior to sear release. We also thought that the movement was soft, smooth and predictable, leading partially, we believe, to the accuracy we achieved with this S&W.

Smith & Wesson has learned a few things from their M&P line that also show up in the Victory Model. The panels are nicely stippled with the front strap and the back strap showing a fine checkering. The result is a grip assembly that feels like a 1911 with texturing that assures a good grip without being overly abrasive. 

The Victory Model was the slowest of the three pistols tested in the speed drills, but not by much. We had just a bit more trouble picking up the sights, and the lighter front end allowed just a hair more recoil. That said, with a draw and across hits on five plates, the Victory was less than a quarter second behind the number-one Browning. Bench accuracy on the S&W Victory was very good. Only one group printed more than an inch wide. Many were in the half-inch realm. Combined average across all three ammo types was 0.79 inch. Normally, we take pictures of good groups showing what the firearm is capable of. In this case, we took a picture of the entire target. No flyers. No “oops.” Just nine great groups. The favorite ammo for the S&W was the Eley Match, which averaged 0.55 inch. 

Our Team Said: Placing a higher value on the accuracy in this case, we declared the Smith & Wesson Victory 22 our winner. Were we to rearrange those priorities, the Browning Buck Mark would take the win for its speed results. The Ruger Mark IV just did a very good job on everything.

From low ready, fire five shots at 4-inch plates at 9 yards. Averages are for three repetitions.

Our speed tests are not designed to show how fast a firearm can be fired, but to use the same test on multiple guns fired by the same person to look for differences in the guns’ capabilities. We employed a CED7000 timer (Amazon.com, $140) for the speed tests.

We tested at American Shooting Centers in west Houston. We fired for accuracy at 15 yards by shooting multiple five-shot groups from a well-sandbagged Caldwell Pistolero Shooting Rest (MidwayUSA.com 517357, $28) assisted by a Mini DRC Fortune Cookie from Wiebad.com (MINIFC, $75). We used a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph (Amazon, $600) to measure velocities. 

Written and photographed by Joe Woolley, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT