# S&W Model 422



## Serbjr62

My Dad, who is 94 years old, bought a S&W model 422 in a bar from a guy who needed a few bucks. He can't seem to remember when he bought it. Is there someone out there who could let me know how I can find the year the pistol was manufactured? It has never been shot and is its original box. I have no idea about value either. Thanks in advance for any help.


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## cowboy2

*Model 422*

The Smith & Wesson sight might tell you the year of the gun if you give them the serial number.If I am correct I believe they started making that model in the 1980's.I have seen some for sale at gun shows for between 2 and 3 hundered dollars but not in the original box.I am sure some one here can tell you more.


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## MitchellB

I have a S&W 622 that I bought new in 1996. I don't believe they are particularly valuable .22s, but mine has always been a very accurate and dependable gun. I love it for its light weight and slim 1911 feel grip. $2-300 used is about right I think, maybe more to the right person in your guns unused condition.


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## DJ Niner

According to an older copy of "The Blue Book of Gun Values", the S&W 422 was made from 1987 to 1996. One version had fixed sights (rear was adjustable left-and-right by tapping), the other was a Target Model with a click-adjustable rear sight like S&W offered on their revolvers. Plastic or checkered walnut grips were available.

I've shot several of these lightweight .22 autoloading pistols over the last couple of decades, and my experiences with them have always indicated they were reliable and fairly accurate. A friend who lived in Alaska used his stainless model (622) as a trapping pistol for several years, with good success. The only things that really stand out in my mind about these guns is the strange disassembly procedure (propping the slide partially open with a fired case), and the fact that whenever I shot one, I'd often get slightly toasted by a few grains of hot powder residue landing on the side of my trigger finger. The ejection port (where the fired shells fly out of the action) is very low on the side of the frame, and sometimes a few flecks of still-hot gunpowder would fall out of an empty casing as the gun would cycle, and if they landed on your finger, you'd know (and remember) it.


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