S&W 422

[Bucksnort1]

I have a S&W 422 with a 4.5” barrel and three S&W 12 round magazines. While sitting in my garage man cave, I noticed the slide does not stay open when manipulating it by hand for the three magazines. I have not fired the gun in a long time so I don’t recall if it stays open after last round is fired.

22 long rifle.

Comments:

 

[Metric]

The mags and gun probably just need a thorough disassembly/cleaning.

Once a decade, whether it needs it or not.

 

[Sevens]

If you are asking if the pistol is designed to lock open upon last shot, the answer is yes it is.

It has been my experience that depending on the particular pistol and depending on the particular magazines, some do not lock open with soft, easy, casual handling.

You might find that if you were to snap that slide open with an empty magazine in place, maybe it does indeed lock open as designed.

Comments:

The S&W 422/622 series was S&W's first real attempt at a budget friendly rimfire family-shootin' fun plinker pistol. These were made from 1987 to 1996. I think these are terrific guns and I also believe that every pistol that "replaced" these in the S&W line-up has been much, much lesser. The 22-A series was a downer and the S&W Victory has had a rocky introduction with plenty of QC issues.

This series of guns included the later 2206 (full stainless where the 422/622 are alloy frame) and the 2213 and 2214 compacts.

These guns share magazines with the Model 41/46, so you can always try new mags for them, but note that the orange follower 12-round capacity magazines were only offered for about two years. All of the million other 41/46/422 magazines are 10-round capacity except for the 2213/2214 magazines which are 8-round capacity.

There has been a renewed interest in these pistols in the last decade as the odd low-barrel design has found itself to be a decent suppressor host.

 

[Bucksnort1]

Sevens and Metric,

I will do a thorough cleaning as soon as I can go to my garage man cave with the temperature below 116 degrees (valley of the sun - Arizona). Actually, 116 isn't bad with low humidity but we are in the monsoon season so humidity is not really low.

I will also try the more rigorous opening.

Thanks to both of you.

 

[totaldla]

There is a stamped metal part that can get bent from folks confusing the safety for the slide release. I've included a link to a writeup that shows the part, but for a different function. You'll have to stare at the part to see how it works as a magazine disconnect, understand how it works as a slide lock. A very complicated mess that S&W designed. It's not nuclear rocket surgery.

https://sites.google.com/site/hobbyhintstricksideas/sw622-extraction-ejection-diagnosis

 

[Metric]

Most likely, there is a thin layer of gum/residue adding a bit of friction in two places.

1) The magazine.

2) The slide stop on the gun.

This kind of stuff builds up in a 22 over time -- gummed lubricant, burned wax from bullet coatings, etc. Not enough to prevent the gun from working, but just enough to counter the last fraction of ounce of force needed to properly engage the slide stop.

If this is the problem (and it probably is, if it was shot substantially and then sat around for years), the solution is a deep cleaning. As in, take the mag apart and fully scrub and degrease the parts individually (especially the inside of the mag body and the mag follower), with brake cleaner or equivalent. Some people like to soak it. After it's clean and dry, apply a light lube with a light oil, and reassemble.

For the slide stop on the gun, probably just field strip, remove the grips, and clean/degrease the slide stop area by hosing out with brake cleaner or equivalent. After dry, re-lube generously and re-assemble.

Worst case scenario, if this isn't the problem, the gun will end up nicer/cleaner/smoother than it's been in 30 years.

The 422 is a fine firearm. It deserves a nice thorough clean once a decade or so.