Smith & Wesson M&P .22LR Rimfire Pistol

Today, ammunition is not only hard to find, it is expensive. While for some reason .22LR is one of the harder-to-find calibers, it’s still available in bulk packs with a high round count at prices that are more reasonable than anything else.

I’ve always been an advocate of the .22 as a training tool. In fact, I believe many shooters would progress faster with a rimfire pistol than with the centerfire they eventually plan to shoot. The light recoil and noise of a .22 reassures new shooters and allows them to focus on sight picture and trigger management without fear of a loud report and recoil. A rimfire can provide everything but recoil management skills.

One of my favorite striker fired pistols is the S&W M&P series. They are reasonably priced, they have good triggers, and they’re as reliable as anything on the market. When I found there was an exact copy in the form of a rimfire, I was jazzed. The first time I handled the Smith and Wesson M&P .22LR Rimfire Pistol, I liked it.

I got my version the same week my friend Chris Cerino, of Cerino Training Group, got his. We were spending family vacations together and shot them every afternoon. We both agreed they were great guns. One of the reasons was the trigger. It was consistent and precise and it instilled confidence when you shot the pistol. Though lots of pistols are similar or better in accuracy, I just like the way the M&P operates and it seems the easiest to shoot well. Of all the look-alike rimfires I’ve shot, and I’ve shot most of them, it is the most likable.

I use the M&P .22 as a trainer, using it in the same holster as its bigger brother and working on draw and accuracy with paper and plate targets. Students like it because it’s easy to use and fun to shoot. Since it shoots like other striker fired guns, it works well as a trainer for almost any striker fired semi-auto. Chris Cerino likes them so much he has a fitted case with eight M&P .22 pistols and extra magazines. He uses them in novice classes for Cerino Training Group.

The S&W M&P .22 also is a hero in the ammunition department, it ran all the ammo I’ve tried in it without a burp. The magazine looks flimsy but it works really well. It will eat anything. This is a very good gun; it looks like there are no bugs to work out on this one.

Lewis Creek Shooting School

Dick Jones is an award winning outdoor writer and a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association Board of Directors. He writes for four North Carolina Newspapers as well as regional and national magazines. He’s hunted and fished most of his life but shooting has been his passion. He’s a former High Master, Distinguished Rifleman, and AAA class pistol shooter. He holds four Dogs of War Medals for Team Marksmanship as shooter, captain and coach. He ran the North Carolina High Power Rifle Team for six years and the junior team two years after that. Within the last year, he’s competed in shotgun, rifle and pistol events including the National Defense Match and the Bianchi Cup. He’ll be shooting the Bianchi, the NDM, the National High Power Rifle Championship, The Rock Castle AR15.com Three Gun Championship and an undetermined sniper match this shooting season.

He lives in High Point, North Carolina with his wife Cherie who’s also an outdoor writer and the 2006 and 2011 Northeast Side by Side Women’s Shotgun Champion. Both Dick and Cherie are NRA pistol, rifle, and shotgun instructors and own Lewis Creek Shooting School.