I bought one of the first SW22 Victory pistols in January 2016, shortly after the model was released. I was impressed with the ergonomics of the pistol and the value. After shooting a few rounds I cleaned the gun and examined the exposed parts for fit and finish. I was pleased with the amount of quality in this gun; especially given its moderate price.

The gun quickly became a regular in my range bag and I grew increasingly gratified with its reliability, accuracy, and ability to function perfectly with a wide variety of ammo; even brands that are typically "finicky" in many 22 semi-autos. Over the ensuing months, my use of this pistol took on the nature of a challenge - to find out just how reliable it might be. Box after box of ammo was fed through the gun without cleaning. It never failed to feed, extract, or fire. I normally clean and inspect my guns regularly to ensure longevity, reliability, and accuracy but decided to put the Victory to a real-life torture test.

To date - October 6, 2021 - the Victory has been fired on average three or four times a month with a drop of oil on the slide occasionally. NO OTHER MAINTENANCE, Total round count is now over 6,982. It still feeds, fires, and extracts with various ammo (even cheap bulk) at well above 99% reliability. It still puts bullets where they're aimed.

If someone asked me what 22 to buy for high-level competition I'd probably recommend a Performance Center Model 41 or one of the "exclusive" European models but for millions of plinkers like myself the S&W Victory really has no competition. There just isn't a gun out there with as much fun per dollar.

Bought mine when granddaughter wanted to learn to shoot. The sights are great and with the weight of the pistol it has no recoil. It is a great little gun for both a beginner and a plinker like me.

That's exactly how I feel about my Ruger MkII. I shied away from them for years because they don't look like a traditional pistol, but one day I stumbled across one in the used case for $275 and just couldn't leave it there. It's a blast to shoot, utterly reliable (like more reliable than some centerfire guns...I don't think I've ever had a malfunction with it other than defective, unprimed ammo), has a great trigger, and accurate. It's hard not to love a good .22!

I love the victory myself and many thanks for this real world plug on reliability. When asked on this topic I always say victory, buckmark and mark iv are the winning choices. I'd never say any of the earlier rugers are gtg as disassembly is such a chore for all but the most serious, but I think they are all run forever guns.
I've about 10K rounds down a victory and about double that on the ruger, but I do at least casually try and clean them and I don't have any cheap ammo (not that I wouldn't fire it, I just have no inventory)...

When I finally was able to buy a supressor I of course needed a host.
When I looked around, the choices were victory ruger or browning
( I prefer old classic and have a bunch but was not about to cut on an old classic so realized new or near new was the only was to go.
Also not a fan of the “ combat trainer type guns either.
When I researched, it seems the victory ( though relatively new at the time) had the least negative reports on the web.
A nice coincidence was the victory was by far the least expensive. Well over $100 cheaper than he ruger. ( I did get lucky on a gunbroker deal alll in ( gun shipping transfer) $300.
Very happy with mine very reliable suppressed and without, almost near target grade accuracy

I bought one when they first came out too since it wasn't prone to malfunctions with limp wristing like my MP22C. I was using these to teach my kids to shoot.

The extractor on mine did break and I sent it back to Smith since it was under warranty. We haven't shot it much since they graduated to Glock 19s.