Opinions on Walther P22

[evan price]

I bought mine last year NIB, the 3.42" barrel model in black, for $229 IIRC. I have heard some people had serious problems with theirs but it seemed to me it was early models.

Mine has over 2000 rounds through it now. It is the one gun that is ALWAYS going to the range with me. No matter what else I shoot I always stick it in the bag because it is cheap to shoot and as much fun as a bucket of kittens.

The first 500 rounds or so it had a tendancy with a new, full mag, to not let the slide go into battery when I used the slide release to let the slide go forward. A round would sometimes stick on the ramp. If I slingshot the slide instead it would go right in. Now that the gun is loosened up and broken in that problem has gone away. The slide moves like greased glass.

I bought it as a teaching aide for new shooters and so far it has convinced three people that shooting guns is fun (besides me, I knew it already!) The interchangeable rear backstraps make it nice to tailor to small people or big people.

No, it's not the most accurate .22 I've shot. A Buckmark or a Woodsman or a Ruger Mark X will be more accurate if you are into high-accuracy shooting.
But this gun looks more like a real TACTICOOL gun than a SW22A or a Beretta Neos or other comparable guns. And it's a lot easier to field strip and put back together than those more accurate guns.
At 30 feet I keep it all on a standard NRA rimfire rifle target. Good enough for me, it's a plinker not a match pistol.

The model with the 5" barrel really doesn't give you anything extra except the faux compensator, which has to be disassembled to field strip the gun (more work).

Plus, California banned the gun due to a threaded barrel and HR1022 (if it never passes) specifically will ban it as well, for the same reason. (Wanna add a supressor??)

Plus, unlike a lot of .22 pistols, the safety blocks the hammer, so you can dry-fire it safely, which means lots of trigger practice.

The only problem I have with it now is that nobody makes a 50-round mag for it. I love to shoot it but stopping to reload every ten rounds... sigh.

 

[jlbraun]

I don't like it.

-The trigger pull in DA is loooong and heavy. SA is not much better.
-Many many many failures to extract or feed. Extraordinarily ammo picky. -There are certain serial number ranges that are "bad" - make sure you get one made after 2005.
-The sights suck. Not all that accurate.

The best thing going for it is that it looks tacticool and can be suppressed easily. Other than that, there's nothing else going for it. It's pretty much the bottom of the barrel as far as .22 pistols go. Pretty much any Ruger, Browning, CZ, or S&W would be better.

 

[mako72401]

I really can't understand people on here. Why does everyone compare apples to oranges? To me, there is no comparison between a P22 and a MK/buckmark. They are different guns completely.

Would be like comparing a 6" .357 smith and wesson 6-shot revolver to a little 1 1/2" snubbie, and complaining that the snibbie is not as accurate. Would you really expect it to be?

I had no misconceptions upon purchase of my P22 as to what the accuracy would be. Thought it would be a fun little "tactical" style 22 to have fun with, and be some what of a decent practice weapon for the type that I normally carry.

If I want .22 accuracy, I break out the Mkii bull barrel, or an amazingly accurate old smith .22 8" revolver. But neither of those are nearly as fun to shoot or practice concealed draws with as the P22.

Pick the right tool for the job... then compare it to other similar tools. If you want to compare the P22, you have to compare it to the Sig mosquito or the ISSC M22.

 

[6x6pinz]

almost as bad as resurrecting three year old posts

 

[CornCod]

After owning the P22 for about a year-and-a-half I have discovered that it now shoots reliably with Remington Thunderbolts. Previously, it had only shot reliably with CCI Stingers and Mini-mags. This past Sunday, I put fifty rounds of Thunderbolts through the pistol with no stoppages. It didn't like Thunderbolts a year ago.

 

[searcher451]

Lots of folks love 'em and have great amounts of fun with them; other folks despise 'em and steer clear of them. The bottom line is that if you know what you are getting ahead of time -- an inexpensive pistol that, fed the proper ammo, will likely work most of the time -- then what the heck: They don't cost all that much to begin with, and some success with the P22 could lead your wife to a taste for a true firearm. The P22 is the Bic lighter of handguns. Shoot it till it breaks, then toss it and get another ... or not.

 

[Sky]

I did not think much of the P-22 when first purchased to use as an introductory pistol for a small woman and young people.

The more I have handled and shot the thing the better I like it. You can run it cocked and locked with safety on with a fairly good safe feeling. The short coupled little bugger actually helps with developing proper grip and aim technique for those I have worked with.

If done right it works otherwise you miss.

It is not a Glock or 1911 but for the price of ammo and pistol I have no complaints.

 

[GunTech]

Ammo is critical. CCI minimags seem to be the preferred load. I spoke to S&W after mine started having problems and the failure was related to cheap bulk pack ammo. Switching to CCI my P22 has bee flawless.

Keep in mind that any 22lr is not going to be as reliable as a centerfire. It's an issue with rimfire ammo, which had a higher failure rate than centerfire.

 

[ulflyer]

I've only had mine for a couple weeks. Bought it after borrowing one that ran flawlessly on Aquila. Mine does too, also with Fed bulk from Walmart, and naturally Mini-Mags. It had several failures to go into battery with Amerian Eagle so I won't use any more of those. Have ordered several other brands just to test for accuracy which leaves a lot to be desired...yes, I know its not a target pistol, but at 15-20 ft I expect better than 3+ inch groups. Other than needing to slingshot the first round, as mentioned above, mine has proved to function very well. One complaint that I will contact S&W about is the rear sight had to be adjusted way the heck to the right. Beyond anything I consider normal. Looks ugly. Doubtful they will do anything about it, but I'll prob give it a try.

 

[philpost]

I had one, and it was O.K., but my wife much prefers revolvers, so I sold it and got a used '57 Ruger Single Six, which I consider to be a much higher quality gun (even though it was cheaper). Apples and oranges of course, but for roughly the same $, I could have got something in a more useful caliber.

 

[ToBNamedl8r]

My wife loves our P22. We bought it and a Beretta Bobcat to cut down on ammunition costs (so we could shoot more often and longer). The Beretta is going on the block. I have had some failure to feed with the P22 but always on the second round to be fired when I load ten rounds, so I believe there must be a burr or something preventing the mag from pressing that one round up. If I load 9 rounds I don't have a problem. Strange.

Accuracy is good enough for a rimfire. I have used leads and Feds, Winchester and other ammunition with only the one noted problem.

I have no problem recommending the P22 as a cheap, fun to shoot, easy to handle gun.