UPDATE: Smith & Wesson 22A Pistol With Leaper Red Dot

[jfwright1955]

The most recent addition to my Smith & Wesson collection is the S&W 22A rimfire pistol, which is built for entry-level competitive shooting or just plain recreational fun. The pistol's available with either a 5.5" or 7" barrel. I opted for the 7" barrel given that a longer barrel should equate to a higher-level of accuracy as long as I do my part.

Weighing in at almost 39 oz (versus about 35 oz for its 5.5" barreled brother) it's not light by any means. However, its mass certainly subdues whatever minuscule, residual recoil is produced by a .22LR round so it's as smooth as glass when the trigger breaks and it goes BANG. In fact, if it weren't for the bang and the slight puff of smoke exiting the barrel I could barely tell anything had even happened. The holes showing up in the target reassured me that something, indeed, was though.

Whereas I plan on using this pistol for 15-25 yard and beyond events I attached an old Leaper's 38mm red/green dot site to its weaver rail. Although I still need to zero it in using a pistol rest, preliminary results just propping myself up against the wall were flat out impressive. As I have a fairly decent pre-stampede stash of .22LR that shouldn't be a limiting factor to the fun meter.

Smith & Wesson 22A With Leaper 38mm Red/Green Dot

S&W 22A With Leaper - Med.jpg (26.13 KiB) Viewed 1900 times

[gskip33]

Those red dots really help you practice your fundamentals. They're a lot of fun.
Enjoy!

[jfwright1955]

Those red dots really help you practice your fundamentals. They're a lot of fun.
Enjoy!

The only problem is I've been spoiled by the EOTech on my MP15, but I don't see one of those in the budget for the 22A.

[jfwright1955]

UPDATE:

The Leaper's Red Dot was bit bulky on the S&W 22A-1 so I looked into an inexpensive, lighter alternative. That's when I came across the Heavy Duty CQB Red/Green Dot Sight on Amazon. The reviews seemed pretty good with 4 out of 5 stars from 79 reviewers so for a red dot under $25 I thought "what the heck" and purchased one!

First impressions right out of the box was "this is a really nice unit for the money". It's certainly a no frills red/green dot, though, with allen screws for making elevation and windage adjustment rather than something a little more refined and precise. So, after installing it was off to Doug's I went.

Even with the crude allen screws to make windage and elevation adjustments it took less than half-dozen volleys down range to get it dialed in and zeroed. As some reviewers had experienced the adjustment screws moving over time thereby affecting zero, I took the proactive approach and used a dab of Loctite to hold them in place. I'll let you know in a few hundred rounds if that was the answer.

Anyway, here's a picture of the $25 red/green dot addition.

S&W 22A-1 With Heavy Duty CQB Red/Green Dot Sight

S&W 22A With CQB Red Dot - Med.jpg (28.2 KiB) Viewed 1742 times

[Potatohd]

I'm definitely interested to know whether the sight holds 0. I've got a 22A that could use some furniture as well...

[jfwright1955]

I'm definitely interested to know whether the sight holds 0. I've got a 22A that could use some furniture as well...

Well, I've now cycled 300 rounds through the 22A with the new Heavy Duty CQB red/green dot and it's holding zero just fine. For under $25 I'd have to rank this right up there as one of my best firearm accessory investments of all-time! So far I'm very impressed.

I have a competition this weekend and will be using this setup so we'll see how it does.