Walther WMP Mini-review
Picked up my new Walther WMP .22 WMR and took it to the range to try it out. Shot it with CCI Maxi-Mag 40 gr TMJ, CCI Gamepoint 40 gr JSP, Hornady 30 gr V-Max, and Federal Game-Shok 50 gr JHP. Shot about 70 rds total. Two malfunctions: fail to eject with first round of 30 gr V-Max on top of full mag, and fail to feed second round of JSP from full mag. Accuracy amazing. First mag load at 15 ft was in a three-inch group and I wasn't really even trying all that hard. Conclusions first: Walther has a home run. This gun out of the box is more reliable than any of my other 22 mag semis after several hundred rds break-in. Also, they've come up with a 22 mag semi that looks, feels and functions like any other "normal" full-size semi-auto handgun. No quirky operation. No quirky mag loads. No quirky field strip. And, as you'd expect from a 22 mag semi: big bang, big flash, no recoil. Lots of fun to shoot. The grip looks kinda weird but its ergonomic - feels quite natural and provides an easy hold. The gun also comes with a couple extra mounting plates for red dots and a low-rise extra rear sight. The front sight is fiber optic. It seemed to me to be perfectly zeroed out of the box.
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Field strip is typical for any center-fire semi auto: activate the take-down lever and move the slide forward:
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The action is kind of interesting. I don't know if there's a proper technical term for it. It's hammer fired, I suppose it's technically a DA, but it functions like a SA. The hammer is recessed and not really accessible. The slide action when charging sort of pre-cocks or half-cocks the hammer. In this position the gun is read to fire but it's drop-safe. The dongle in the trigger is the safety. When the trigger is pulled the hammer is cocked back the rest of the way and at the break it falls.
Hammer down:
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Charged & pre-cocked:
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Trigger pulled and about to break:
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Trigger ergonomics acceptable but nothing to write home about. Main observation is that the reset is a little "soft".
All in all I'd rate this Walther WMP 22 mag semi-auto pistol:
Beats the other 22 mag semis any which way you compare. Street price around $500.
I like this gun!!