Recently, Smith & Wesson has been introducing a number of novel platforms, from the M&P12 shotgun to the M&P FPC folding carbine. But one of the most fun and interesting recent launch is the M&P 22 Magnum, which provides plenty of capacity in a fun-shooting platform for plinking or varmint control. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" Rifleman Review segment above to see the details of this unique .22 WMR semi-automatic.
"For many years, Smith & Wesson's line of double-stack Military & Police pistols has covered the bases of all the major self-defense cartridges. Your 9 mm [Lugers], your .40 Smith & Wessons, .45 ACPs, 10 mm Autos, and they actually even had a couple .357 SIGs there for a while," American Rifleman Senior Executive Editor Kelly Young said. "But in 2023, the company started thinking smaller, moving instead into a pair of two light-recoiling .22-cal. designs. First came the M&P 5.7 chambered in FN's 5.7x28, but later in the year came this guy, the M&P 22 Magnum chambered in the much more economical and easier to find .22 Winchester Magnum rimfire."
Measuring about 8.5" in length and 6" in height, the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum is not a small handgun, but because of its size, it has an impressive capacity, holding 30 rounds of .22 WMR in its detachable box magazine. The gun also weighs only 22 ozs., thanks to the weight reduction made possible by the unique Tempo Barrel gas system used in this gun's operation.
"This gun's design incorporates a two-piece barrel, essentially with an inner sleeve that has a top mounted gas port within a a larger barrel shroud, and the use of that gas port actually just delays separation of the slide in the barrel slightly just long enough for pressures to drop and to allow extraction to occur safely," Young said. "It's the use of the Tempo system that allows these slides weight to be kept to a minimum, which is of course an asset not only just to keeping the overall weight down, but it also decreases recoil as well."
The other benefit of the Tempo Barrel system is that the increased reliability of operation makes it easier to add a mounted optic without any adverse impact, and the M&P 22 Magnum slide is milled to accept all Shield RMSc-footprint red dots. For those who choose to not run an optic, the gun comes with a set of drift-adjustable iron sights, with a fiber-optic sight at the front.
"It really is just a blast to shoot on the range, and I mean that literally." Young said. "Not only is this gun a ton of fun to shoot, but given that this is a rifle cartridge being shot through a handgun, there's a ton of flash. Big fireball, and boy, is this puppy loud."
In terms of controls, the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum is equipped with a bilateral manual safety located at the top-rear portion of the frame, as well as a bilateral slide-stop lever located just above the trigger. The push-button magazine release can be reversed for use by left-handed shooters. There's also a four-slot Picatinny accessory rail on the frame's dustcover to accommodate the mounting of lights or lasers.
"So whether you're looking for something more practical, like a, you know, maybe a varmint control gun or just, you know, something a little out of the ordinary for the range, the Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum's ample capacity and total lack of recoil make this something that you're really going to want to shoot a lot," Young said. "And given how much money you're gonna be saving by using rimfire compared to centerfire, you might actually have the ability to shoot it a lot."
Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum Specifications
Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson
Action Type: gas-operated, locked-breech, semi-automatic, rimfire pistol
Chambering: .22 WMR
Slide: stainless steel; black Armornite nitride finish
Frame: polymer
Barrel: stainless steel; 4.35"
Magazine: 30-round detachable box
Sights: optic ready; dovetailed, square-notch rear, fiber-optic post front
Trigger: hammer-fired, single-action; 3-lb., 12.6-oz. pull
Overall Length: 8.4"
Height: 5.9"
Width: 1.13"
Weight: 22 ozs.
MSRP: $649
To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/videos/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.
