colt1911fan
Member
im trying to decide on what to buy between the walther p22, or the ruger MKIII with a bull barrel and a fluted barrel, any suggestions would help alot
new .22 pistol
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scurtis_34471
Member
It depends on what you want. The Walther is compact, light-weight, has fantastic ergonomics and is easy to clean. The Ruger is larger and heavier, more durable, somewhat more accurate, less picky about ammo and a pain to clean. The Walther was designed to be a training companion to the P99 and behaves more like a typical defensive handgun than a target pistol. If you want a plinker or general practice piece, the Walther is great. If you want a target gun and shooting tight groups is your main goal, get the Ruger.
I've had a Walther P22 since November and have put about 2000 rounds through it. When I use CCI Mini-Mags or Stingers, the gun is 100% flawless. When I use cheaper ammo, its a crap shoot. Remington Golden Bullets typically yield a failure rate of about 5%. Some people will tell you that the gun is "crap" and that they all break, but that is simply not true. I can and lubricate mine after every range trip and I see no signs of wear at all. If something does break, S&W will take care of it and has good customer service. At this point, I have no regrets with my choice to buy the Walther.
I've had a Walther P22 since November and have put about 2000 rounds through it. When I use CCI Mini-Mags or Stingers, the gun is 100% flawless. When I use cheaper ammo, its a crap shoot. Remington Golden Bullets typically yield a failure rate of about 5%. Some people will tell you that the gun is "crap" and that they all break, but that is simply not true. I can and lubricate mine after every range trip and I see no signs of wear at all. If something does break, S&W will take care of it and has good customer service. At this point, I have no regrets with my choice to buy the Walther.
ZeSpectre
Member
See now I'm going to sit on the other side 
I had terrible experiences with three brand new P-22 pistols in a row (jamming, misfires, the slide on one cracked) and it really soured me on them overall.
Bought a Ruger 22/45 MKIII and detailed my early experiences with it in this thread.
At this point the "evil plinker" (the Ruger) has had about 1100 rounds through it and it works great. The only issue I have at all is because I use cheap crap ammo for plinking so it's the ammo not the gun. It's true that disassembly of a MK III is a pain in the butt, but even an obcessive cleaner like me realized that I don't have to do a ton of cleaning on this pistol so it hasn't been much of an issue.
I had terrible experiences with three brand new P-22 pistols in a row (jamming, misfires, the slide on one cracked) and it really soured me on them overall.
Bought a Ruger 22/45 MKIII and detailed my early experiences with it in this thread.
At this point the "evil plinker" (the Ruger) has had about 1100 rounds through it and it works great. The only issue I have at all is because I use cheap crap ammo for plinking so it's the ammo not the gun. It's true that disassembly of a MK III is a pain in the butt, but even an obcessive cleaner like me realized that I don't have to do a ton of cleaning on this pistol so it hasn't been much of an issue.
glockman19
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Last night I shot 150 rounds from a ruger MKIII with a fluted bull barrel and had alot of fun. The grouping of all but 18 were in the 10 Ring @ 7 yards. I was shooting CCI Blazer 40 grain.
Get the Ruger. It's a better gun than the Walther. This is based as my experiences as a Ruger Mk II owner and seeing both Ruger's and Walther .22's come through my classes.
The Walther is what it is. It's not really upgradable. The Ruger is a good gun out of the box and you can upgrade the trigger, sights and internals if desired.
The Walther is what it is. It's not really upgradable. The Ruger is a good gun out of the box and you can upgrade the trigger, sights and internals if desired.
patentmike
Member
If you want to tinker with it, there are a lot of after-market goodies for the Ruger.
https://www.volquartsen.com/vc//pages/public/ListItems.jsp?id=19
http://www.tacticalsol.com/homefast.htm
https://www.volquartsen.com/vc//pages/public/ListItems.jsp?id=19
http://www.tacticalsol.com/homefast.htm
deputy tom
Member
I would suggest a MKII new or used.I've read the MK III's are problematic,however I can only speak first hand on the MKI and MKII's.tom.
wanderinwalker
Member
Get the Ruger!
And don't look back!
I have a 22/45 MK III, 4" adjustable sights model. Since January I've put 2500-3000 rounds through it. It's mostly reliable, especially when fed Mini-Mags. Bulk-pack Wal-Mart ammo is a crap-shoot with this pistol. Some of it works really well, some of it doesn't. So far it seems to prefer the Federal-750 stuff. Even from 25 yards it will hold a 3" group with this ammo, so I think it's a shooter.
Well worth the $250 OTD I paid for it in January.
And don't look back!
I have a 22/45 MK III, 4" adjustable sights model. Since January I've put 2500-3000 rounds through it. It's mostly reliable, especially when fed Mini-Mags. Bulk-pack Wal-Mart ammo is a crap-shoot with this pistol. Some of it works really well, some of it doesn't. So far it seems to prefer the Federal-750 stuff. Even from 25 yards it will hold a 3" group with this ammo, so I think it's a shooter.
Well worth the $250 OTD I paid for it in January.
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