Average Joe's Handgun Reviews

ISSC M22 Pistol Chambered in .22LR--UPDATED 12/24/2009

This is a first for Average Joe but ISSC has contacted me to thank me for taking the time to evaluate their product and to clarify some things that I stated in my review. I strive to be 100% accurate in my reviews and I am flattered and honored that a manufacturer thinks enough of my little blog to comment. Here are the comments that Mike Weisser of ISSC-Austrian Sporting Arms passed along:

• Although certain parts of the gun, particularly the grip, resembles Glock, the external hammer differentiates it from all Glock products, both externally and internally. Actually, the designer of the M22, Wolfram Kriegleder, designed the P22 for Walther, and the internal working of the M22 resemble the P22 more than any Glock.
• ISSC has no connection to the H&K MP5 in 22 which is manufactured by another Austrian company known as GSG. We will be bringing in a 22 carbine next year that resembles the FN SCAR.
• Like all blowback guns, the M22 likes certain ammunition more than others. In particular, it shoots extremely well with Remington Yellow Jacket and CCI Hi-Vel, solid point. We do get reports about light hits and we continue to tweak the gun every time we run another batch through the factory. The light hits seem to be an issue with either the length of the firing pin or the tension of the firing pin spring. We are testing both possibilities right now. We expected to have some issues with early production and reports from shooters help us to determine what changes need to be made going forward. 22LR ammo is so diverse and loads are so different that it is impossible to test any gun with every brand bit we are confident that with most standard ammunition the gun performs very well.

OK, let’s deal with the obvious. It sure looks like a Glock. That’s what I thought it was when I first laid eyes on it. Upon a second glance I noticed the decocker/safety and the external hammer. But otherwise the profile, trigger, slide release, magazine release and take-down levers are about as Glock as you can get. Internally the M22 looks very much like a Glock other than the barrel which is fixed.

Now, I am not normally a .22 shooter, but in these days of exorbitantly priced ammo I am seeing a lot more .22’s at the range than I used to. You can expend 200 rounds of .22 LR ammo for about $20 (full retail) or about the price of a single box (50 rounds) of 9mm. 200 rounds of 9mm will hit your wallet for around $60 to $80 bucks depending on what you buy. Yes, shooting a .22 makes a lot of fiscal sense these days. Unfortunately, to get a nicely accurate .22 semi-automatic pistol you are going to wind up with a fairly large Ruger or Browning Buckmark pistol. These are great pistols and capable of fantastic accuracy but…they don’t look like fighting pistols. Now I’ve owned and shot smaller contenders like the Walther P22 and the SIG Mosquito, but they didn’t cut the mustard in terms of accuracy (and reliability). Certainly you can graduate to one of the Kimber Rimfire pistols if you can afford to spend a lot of money; you'll get an accurate .22 that looks and operates like a fighting pistol. The ISSC M22 is the size of the Glock model 19 except the ISSC M22 is thinner.

I do not know that much about ISSC except that they are an Austrian based company that seems to have a proclivity for producing .22 caliber firearms that look like other famous European guns.

So from that standpoint the ISSC M22 seemed like it would fit the criteria I was looking for, if it was accurate enough.

So, let’s start by looking at the “At-A-Glance” table and the specifications for the M22:

ISSC M22 At-A-Glance

Handling	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Fit & Finish	Terrible	Rough	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Sights	None	Too Small	Useable	Good	Excellent
Trigger	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Power Scale	.22LR	.380 ACP	9mm	.40 S&W	.45 ACCP
Carry/Concealment	Too Large	Compact	Ultra Compact	Micro Compact	Pocket Pistol
Reliability	Unreliable	Somewhat Reliable	Fair	OK	Completely Reliable
Accuracy	Poor	Fair	Acceptable	Combat	Bullseye

Specifications

Caliber	.22 LR
Capacity	10 + 1
Action	Single Action Only
Trigger Pull	4 pounds
Length	7 inches
Height	4.8 inches
Width	1 inch
Barrel Length	4 inches
Weight	21.4 ounces

As noted above the M22 is single action only. Once a round is chambered and the hammer is de-cocked it will not fire until you have manually re-cocked the hammer.

While the de-cocker safely drops the hammer, the trigger is single action only so you will have to re-cock the hammer when ready to fire. You cannot carry this pistol cocked and locked because there is no external safety to make the pistol safe with the hammer back. This should not be a drawback; I mean, who is going to carry a .22LR as their concealed weapon?

Let’s examine the individual characteristics of the ISSC M22:

Handling	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

I found the handling of the M22 to be good, in fact actually a little better than the original Glock due to the fact that it is one inch thick compared to the 1.18 inch thickness of the Glock Model 19. The M22 is a natural pointer. Another plus for the handling characteristics is the magazine release which is extended and very easy to access when you want to drop the magazine and reload. The magazine, by the way, drops very freely from the frame. I was always concerned that the extended magazine release was just an unimportant do-dad that people added without really needing. After shooting the M22 I will have to rethink the necessity of having an extended magazine release on my Glock pistols.

Fit & Finish	Terrible	Rough	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

Fit and finish is also good; the pistol is well designed and executed. I do, however, miss the Tennifer finish on the Glock slide and barrel.

Sights	None	Too Small	Useable	Good	Excellent

The sights are good, bordering on excellent. The M22 sports sights that look very much like Glock sights however the front sight has a white rectangle on it instead of the more common dot. Quite frankly, I prefer the rectangle to Glock’s dot. The rear sight is outlined in white, just like the Glock, but the rear sight is also fully adjustable for windage. The M22 also comes with 4 different sizes of front sights to help zero the pistol in the event that it is shooting high or low with whatever load you choose. The front sight is also very easy to remove with a small screwdriver, no special tools or training needed.

Trigger	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

The M22’s trigger is set for a pull of four pounds. This is a good all-around trigger pull. Like the Glock the M22 employees a safety lever in the middle of the trigger. If there is anything that could be re-thought on the pistol it is the trigger. It is a little narrow with vertical ridges that are probably good for shooting under stress, but a little bit uncomfortable during an extended range session.

Power Scale	.22LR	.380 ACP	9mm	.40 S&W	.45 ACCP

OK…it’s a .22; paper targets and aluminum cans are not safe when this pistol is around but, despite that it comes with 2 magazines, it is not much of a defensive firearm.

Carry/Concealment	Too Large	Compact	Ultra Compact	Micro Compact	Pocket Pistol

The M22 is a compact pistol, smaller than a Colt Commander and slightly smaller than a Glock model 19 however, as mentioned about, it would not be the best choice for a concealed carry weapon.

Reliability	Unreliable	Somewhat Reliable	Fair	OK	Completely Reliable

I have to admit I was concerned here. There is not much information available on the M22 but I did find one internet firearm forum where someone was discussing the reliability of the M22 in a very unflattering manner. This was concerning since this writer had actually shot the M22 as opposed to most of the other gun forum curmudgeons who find joy in bashing a new handgun without having fired it, held it, or seen it in person. The writer on this forum had lot of Stovepipe jams with it. I am happy to say that in 350 rounds fired thus far, I have only encountered one stovepipe jam. No other types of jams occurred. About the only thing negative to say about the M22 was that I had about 12 light primer strikes during one box of firing with Remington High Velocity Golden Bullet ammunition. This did not occur with the CCI or Aguila ammunition that I also fired through the M22.

Accuracy	Poor	Fair	Acceptable	Combat	Bullseye

The M22 gives excellent combat accuracy, bordering on Bullseye accuracy as well. In fact, if the competition was within 7 to 10 yards, with practice you could do very well in a bullseye competition.

The ISSC M22 just about fits my criteria completely; it has better than combat accuracy in a compact package that looks like a real fighting pistol.