Finally have a .22LR pistol

[Wedge]

I finally went out and bought a .22LR bottom feeder.

I decided to go with the Walther P22. This is for informal target practice, small size so it fits my wife's hands and I really liked the shop we bought it from. They were quite helpful in making sure it fit her well and that she liked it. Size and weight were very important considerations for us and it "fit" the bill.

Can't believe I have been shooting for this long and didn't have a .22. I even already have a bunch of .22LR ammo around, but didn't have anything to put it in!

I'll let y'all know how it shoots...hopefully tomorrow if not next weekend.

 

[Shipwreck]

Congrats!

For what it is worth - I have owned handguns since 1993, and I finally just bought a 22 about 7 or 8 weeks ago.

 

[FieroCDSP]

Congrats. Let us know if you have an issue. sometimes its simply about polishing the feed ramp.

 

[Wedge]

Thanks. I'll have to see how it performs on the range, like I said hopefully be able to find time to go tomorrow. Hopefully a few rounds through it is all it needs to slick'en up.

 

[10-Ring]

Every collection needs at least one 22lr -- well done, happy shooting!

 

[imatt]

I recently purchased a Walther P22 as well, took it to the range for the first time a couple of days ago. The thing is a hoot to shoot. Nice and small grip will fit most anyone. I'm tempted to say I enjoy it more than the S&W 22a, if just because the grip fits better.

Out of the 7 guns I took to the range with my friends that were pretty new to shooting, the P22 was the one with which they spent the most time.

 

[03Shadowbob]

I know what you mean about not owning a .22 pistol. I have been shooting for most my life and own a number of firearms and do not own 1 .22 pistol. I am looking at getting a Ruger 22/45 in the future though. I have heard about a lot of problems with the P22, mainly being very finicky about ammo. But again, it's all hearsay since I don't own one. I do like the looks of the P22 though over all other .22 pistols.

 

[Tin Gizel]

I was looking for a .22lr pistol for the lady two nights ago. I was looking at the P22 or Ruger Mark III. I ended up going with the Mark III. No real reason. Just one biased opinion from a friend.

This makes my first .22lr firearm in 8 years.....

 

[ChrisMG]

Everyone should own a .22LR pistol. The Walthers really feel nice in the hands, but you can't go wrong with a Ruger Mark III, built like tanks and very accurate!

 

[quickcanary]

Ideally I'd like to get a MKII or Buckmark for plinking, but after handling a friend's S&W 22A I'm thinking it might not be a bad buy. I've read good things about them on the forums...one member got his for ~$190 which seems to be a very decent price. They all have their pros and cons and I'd say it would be hard to go wrong with any of the ones mentioned.

 

[bannockburn]

I let my son try them all and he liked the feel of the Walther P22 the best. A little too small for even my hands, but still a decent handling gun. I did eventually buy him a short barrel and put the barrel shroud away; it was always shooting loose, sometimes after only fifty rounds. All in all, a nice little .22 for plinking.

 

[alucard0822]

I currently own 3 .22 pistols, a P22, buckmark hunter, and stoeger luger. Most 22 pistol manufacturers seem to make quality peices for low prices, perhaps to get people into the sport and build a customer base, reguardless they are a useful training tool for both newbies and seasoned gunnies. There is nothing better than a 22 for curing a case of the Magnum flinch, and you can light off a box of 500 for $10 that will fit in your hand. The smaller the hole the better you can tell where you hit, the targets last longer, and you can practice long range holdover/scope adjustment at 100 yds or less. But they are just plain fun, you can throw lead like rambo accurately, for mere pennies, or saddle up to the buckmark and make dimes dance at 25 yds.

 

[Wedge]

Update:

I took the little P22 to the range last Sunday and it was great, after we found the right ammo. Fortunately of the 4 brands that I brought with me, it was the Remington Golden Bullets that the Walther liked the best with no issues.

My wife really liked the gun which was great since she wanted something that she could shoot/handle.

Only downside was how busy it was at the range being Memorial weekend. Next time we could should be a little quieter. Wife had plugs and muffs on and that helped a bit.

 

[Wedge]

Thought I would give a final update on the gun after finding an ammo that it liked and a very complete cleaning/screw tightening.

The gun was great with about 400 remington golden bullets through it. Grouped well at 7 yards, POI was low so I swapped out for the shorted front sight.

Zero jams, malfunctions, failure to feed, failure to fire. In other words a great range experience.

Even with only about 600 rounds through it I have found that the little .22 pistol has helped my handgun shooting in general. I only ran 1 mag through the Glock while at the range and this was close at 7 yards but all 18 shots were either 10's or x's. Being able to shoot 50+ rounds of 22LR with no fatigue allowed me to fine tune grip, trigger, breath, etc.

I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally buy my own .22 but now I am looking for a rifle (probably a 10-22) and a revolver (K-22) Also my wife enjoys a range trip now and that is a good thing too so I have someone to shoot with

 

[SaaM]

Question about the Buckmark

I'm in the market for a 22 pistol myself (I have a rifle already) so that the Mrs. has something better to learn on (The Glock 29 10mm, Dan Wesson .357 Magnum 6", and the Mosin Nagant M44 are NOT good weapons to start a novice shooter out on). Plus, I want to put a red dot sight on it for myself for sheer accuracy shooting which also would help the Mrs.' accuracy and increase her enjoyment.

I hear good things about the Buckmark, and the price is fine. I just wonder, can I put a standard red dot sight on it? It doesn't look like it has a weaver type mount on the top.

Any tips?

 

[CountGlockula]

I'm in the same boat. I hear about all these .22lr questions/purchases and yet to have owned one.