I have eaten well from the 22A. I had/have a 22A 7 inch which I bought in 1996 for $235, I think it was. I shot many rabbits and grouse with it, however, today is a sad day since it broke when I was at the shooting range. Previously, the front barrel stud had become a wee bit loose, and since the local SW gunsmith said he couldn't do anything for it, I went the cheap route and used some JB weld on it. It held for a while, but there must have been more vibration moving through the gun somehow - as I was shooting my 3rd shot of my session, the gun bucked slightly in an odd manner, and I knew something was wrong. After ejecting the magazine and unchambering the shell, I inspected and found that the part that holds the rear barrel stud was snapped... looks like it was cast metal, and the pounding, for years, must have been too much for it. I've been faithfully replacing the little plastic bushings on that area, and it had a fresh one in when it broke today, but maybe the design just isn't all that great. However, it has shot most any 22LR ammo I have put into it, about one or two bricks a month for all those years... It sure was accurate and fun to shoot. But, don't expect to hand it down to future generations, especially if you think you would shoot more than 25,000 rounds or so through it. That's probably about when I started having problems, but naturally well out of warranty/claim range. Maybe mine can still be repaired... but at this point I may be better off getting a new gun. Since I have the magazines, a holster and a lil red dot sight, maybe I should get another 22A... on the other hand, I don't really want a new one to crap out after only another 10 years... what do you guys think?
oh yeah, and I too had to replace the first firing pin within a year of buying it. The new one SW sent me, for only about $10 including shipping, was made of much sterner stuff and is still in the gun this many rounds later.
