"Victory is mine"

[xl_target]

I hope it's better than SIG's, not that that would take much.

There is usually no one home during the day and I don't want the common carrier to leave a package on my doorstep. I can't get it returned to work either, so I contacted my local gun store and they sent it in for me. I had it back in exactly two weeks and a day.
So counting shipping time there and back, I'd say that Smith & Wesson only had it for a week or less.

S&W replaced the extractor under warranty.
S&W was willing to send me a call tag, in which case it would not have cost me a penny in shipping charges.
However, due to the method that I chose to ship it, the charge incurred by me was the shipping fee charged by my local gun store.
It should also be remembered that I did not purchase this pistol from them (and I told them that) but they were gracious enough to help me out.

Both businesses have exceeded my expectations.
I will definitely be doing business with both in the future.

[Vikram]

Pleased to hear of your positive experience, XL.

[Baljit]

Wow !! very nice XL.......
Keep it up...


Baljit

[xl_target]

After much waffling, I finally got a Vortex Venom on it.
However, life has kept me from attending any of my club's matches lately but initial tests on single targets look promising.

Here's what it looks like:

Simple up/down buttons control the brightness of the dot.
There is also an auto mode that increases or decreases the brightness of the dot depending on the ambient light.


From the shooter's point of view. On the higher settings, the dot is bright enough to be seen in full daylilght.


The sight comes with a removable standard Picatinny mount.

[xl_target]

Here is a better image on the Vortex red dot sight

you can see the light sensor on the front face of the sight, the adjustment screws and the top of the battery cover.
With the battery cover on top, you don't have to remove the sight to change the battery, unlike some of the other red dots. So you don't have to re-zero the sight after changing the battery.

I finally managed to get a range session in on Sunday.
Here is a quick group with the Vortex Venom mounted on the Victory

Five rounds, handheld at 21 ft.
Not my best but good enough for Government work.
However, the speed of acquiring, aiming and firing is increased quite a bit.

Conclusion:
So I thought I had found my perfect .22 LR pistol.
Accurate, not finicky with any ammo so far, easy to clean and good looking.

Of course, then Ruger announces the Mark 4 and it is priced to match the Victory.
I've always liked the looks of the Ruger. It reminds me of the Luger but most of the Mark series, especially the Mark III are a pain to disassemble and clean.
The Mark4 has a single button on the back that you push to take down!

Sigh!!! The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?

[Vikram]

XL,

I like Vortex optics. I think they offer good return for the money. That is excellent shooting.


Best-
Vikram

[TC]

XL,

Another lovely possession and what a great review. Logged in after a long time and here it was. A Lovely pistol this is and surely not a "plinker"

You could try putting on a pair of walnut panels

Happy shooting

Your's sincerely

TC

[xl_target]

You could try putting on a pair of walnut panels
TC

I've certainly considered that but I am having a hard time making up my mind.
There are several options available to me. I can't decide if I should choose plain Walnut or if I should pick a darker wood to match the controls on the pistol. I'm leaning towards the latter.
Here are some of the options available:
Altamont's S&W Victory grips

I'm trying to decide between these three
.
I keep drifting back and forth between the first one and the second one.

One has to be careful here. Continuously adding geegaws to a $350 pistol can turn it into a $1000 pistol in a hurry.

[ckkalyan]

XL,

You could try putting on a pair of walnut panels

TC

Here is a suggestion xl_target - try taking a dozen or so whole walnuts to the range next time and 'plink' them off with this gorgeous handgun! Then examine the results at close range and select your shade of walnut from the largest piece left!

When one is as gun-crazy as we all obviously are, who cares about a few hundred or, even a thousand here or there - right?!

P.S. I like the second one - that discrete, tasteful, touch of metal does it for me.

[AgentDoubleS]

If there was a voting button I would have pressed the dark walnut one.

Great shooting there xl_target!

Cheers,
SS

[sa_ali]

Mine is super dark walnut

This beauti is seriously making me droooooooooollllllllll like anything.

This is also really giving me a compelling reason to try my hand in pistol shooting to be able to own a beauti like this of my own

[hvj1]

I say XL Old Chap, how very fortunate you are! I mean you feel like buying a new pistol, well, all you have to do is probably go around the block and pick up the best that they have to offer. Happy shooting!
Best Regards

[Alab Arsalan]

Congratulations
beautiful gun

[xl_target]

I say XL Old Chap, how very fortunate you are! I mean you feel like buying a new pistol, well, all you have to do is probably go around the block and pick up the best that they have to offer. Happy shooting!
Best Regards

hvj1,
That's pretty much it.
The shortest time that it has taken me to purchase a firearm is 15 minutes from walking in the door.
The only thing limiting what you can buy is the size of your checkbook.

No TR for me, I won't be coming home

Mine is super dark walnut

I liked that too.
However, since it is a pistol that is mostly used in competition, I decided to go with function over form and install TandemKross's rubber ""Hive" grips.
Once you wrap your hands around it, the handgun does not move around in your grip.
An interesting aside is that this pistol is fast moving in as the most commonly seen .22 LR pistol. At least in the steel shooting events in my neck of the woods.

Congratulations
beautiful gun

Thank you.
It has fast become my favorite handgun to shoot.
Being in .22LR, I'm able to send a lot of ammo through it.

Long Term Review
I have been shooting this handgun through two seasons of weekly steel competition at my club and during range sessions every Sunday.
I had intended to keep a log of how much ammunition I ran through the SW22. Well... I've run so much ammo through it that it was not possible for me to keep track. A conservative estimate would be about 8000 rounds.
With it's sweet trigger and decent reset, it has cut my time for a stage by a significant margin.

I can now hold, offhand, on an eight inch plate at 100 yards and hit it everytime. That is providing, of course, that we don't have gale force winds.
Apart from the few hiccups in the beginning, this handgun is now rock solid reliable and I can't remember when I had the last failure to feed, fire or eject.
For any firearm that uses .22 LR ammo, that's saying something.

This pistol has surprised the "you know what" out of me.



As she is today.

[Vikram]

I can now hold, offhand, on an eight inch plate at 100 yards and hit it everytime. That is providing, of course, that we don't have gale force winds.


As she is today.

Wow!