Smith & Wesson NRA and NSSF over the issue of smart guns, thousands of retailers and tens of thousands of firearms consumers boycotted Smith & Wesson. CEO Ed Shultz, who negotiated the deal, was forced out in September of that year. By December 2000, the company's stock price was 19 cents per share. Smith & Wesson dropped its smart gun plans after nearly being driven out of business. On May 11, 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation acquired Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins plc for US$15 million, a fraction of the US$112 million originally paid by Tomkins. Saf-T-Hammer assumed US$30 million in debt, bringing the
Smith & Wesson Model 422 Smith & Wesson Model 422 The Smith & Wesson Model 422, is a semi automatic .22 LR pistol manufactured by Smith & Wesson. Produced from 1987–1996, the Model 422 was the company's entry into the lucrative mid-priced rimfire pistol market. This niche was, at the time, dominated by Sturm Ruger's highly successful Mk I and Mk II series of pistols. Smith & Wesson had previously left the market position after 1966, when the Model 46 was dropped from their catalog. The pistol retailed for roughly $250US before it was discontinued in 1996. Along with all the variants listed below, a