Welcome to today’s program photo of the Day! Here we have Smith and Wesson trying to crash the party that Ruger has been hosting for years. This is the Model 422, S&W’s budget .22 plinker, and both are first-year guns from 1987.
By the mid-1980s the affordable rimfire pistol market was dominated by the Ruger Mark series, which also included the Browning Buck Mark. Smith had moved away from that corner in 1966 when it dropped the Model 46, so the 422 was the company that came back to the sidelines after twenty years. The plan was straightforward: a lightweight aluminum frame, a blued steel slide, a simple single-action blowback action, and a price around $250, which was about half the price of their premium Model 41 Target pistol.
The clever bit is the barrel. It sits low in the frame, just above the trigger guard, locked in place and held in place by a barrel nut. That lower bore line cuts off at the muzzle flip, and the threaded setup makes it a natural host for a suppressor. People started calling it the poor man’s Model 41, which is almost right. It never dethroned Ruger, and it cost more to build than was originally allowed, so Smith dropped it in 1996. However, less importance was given.
Most of our POTDs use images of our friends Rock Island Auction CompanyMajor firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse them current auction – Who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Two First Year Production Smith & Wesson Model 422 Semi-Automatic Pistols with Boxes.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5032/356/two-first-year-production-smith-wesson-model-422-pistols. Accessed 3 July 2026.
