P22 update -- tale of interest

[bigdavep]

I addressed my weak trigger spring today.

Took down the gun, punched out the pin in the trigger, dropped out the spring and gave it a mild flex outward, a bit past 180 deg.

it rested at about 180, and I replaced it and put the gun back together.

works great!

If you take down the gun, be careful not to over-flex the trigger in an acute angle toward the trigger bar. If you do, the trigger return spring will be overflexed in that direction, and the result will be that when you reassemble, the trigger bar won't hook up with the hammer actuator in its notch, because the bar is sagging below it in shooting position for DA.

The trigger return spring does double duty. It lifts that bar as well as returning the trigger.

But it's easy to fix, assuming that taking down the gun doesn't give you the heebies. It did me, the first time.

Sadly, after great caution, I still managed to lose the flat spring that holds/firms up the internal lock. Got no kids, gated community with no strangers getting in at night, so I have no concern for burglary. No pets with thumbs, only cats.

So I'm leaving it out. Should not be a problem, as the hole is forward of the trigger and the gun exhales burning powder into the action on every shot anyway. Normal cleaning should do it. And a cable lock for the case when I'm not using it.

I have mildly polished the trigger ears, but am getting some dremel heads that can do a better job. Mine were particularly sharp, really gouged the slide, but it cycles well now and no further damage is being done.

 

[Yo Mama]

gated community with no strangers getting in at night

I wouldn't be so sure about this. Crooks don't rob places in their neighborhood, they come to your's.

THanks for the update on the p22. Had one that I sold as I didn't trust it after seeing some big failures in the slide and frame. I still do miss it though.

 

[searcher451]

The pity here is that the P22 requires a self-induced owner upgrade at all, let alone one that reworks the trigger. (It gets even stranger when you check out the P22 Bible on the RimfireCentral website, where dinking around with this critter is commonplace.)

I know that the marriage of Wather and Umarex was beneficial at the time to inject some much-needed working capital into a once-great firearms manufacturer. But, sad to say, the P22 is no indication that the marriage was a success.

Thanks for the report in any event, Bigdavep. I works well for you for years to come.

 

[bigdavep]

I actually expect it WILL work for years, but I have somewhat different habits than most people when it comes to gadgets. I like to pull stuff apart and see how it works. It is flawed, as most guns are. Nothing, especially an autoloader, is perfect. But this one is fairly simple and its problems are well known and can be addressed without needing powered machine tools.

I would rather have this little gun for $300 that I've been into and know how it works, than to have a different gun for more money that may or may not work. Knowing the internal bits is comforting to me.

Now, if I had paid $1000 for it and found out it was flawed like this, I might be upset. But this is a cheap plinker and working on it is satisfying in a way.

 

[searcher451]

Bigdavep: Whatever trips your trigger, I guess. I surely don't begrudge a man to pull down the curtain and see what's on the other side. I just find it a little strange and a little sad that the Umarex folks have made it necessary to do exactly that with the P22, time and again. You would think that somewhere along the line, they would get an inspiration and fix the *#(@& thing once and for all so that those who like to peek could do so, just for the heck of it, while those who don't find it necessary to peek wouldn't have to be tempted at all.

They also wouldn't have to send it in for servicing, either.

 

[burningsquirrels]

one of the first things i did was dump the key lock mechanism. don't need to fool with it. :shrug: then stretched the extractor spring, peened the tip of the claw, and polished the trigger bar ears. gun works great.

 

[MT GUNNY]

I sharpened the Extractor Claw, and Thinned out the Grove next to the Chamber. I haven't had one Extraction Problem since.

 

[TX1911fan]

I've had a P22 for 3 years now, probably shot close to 3000 rounds through it, bought a suppressor for it, and have never had a problem. It's a fantastic little gun for the money, and I am superbly happy with it. It hasn't needed any tweaks from me to work great. My friend has a Mosquito and I'll take the Walther over the Sig any day. That Sig trigger is terrible.

 

[bigdavep]

Well, once I saw that p22 bible and knew what to look for, I realized right away that the trigger ears were knocking great chunks of zinc alloy out of the slide... I could see clearly they were too sharp.. and I knew I had to polish them down or the whole thing was going to crack the slide eventually...

but as I say, I"m a tinkerer and a knucklehead about this stuff.. I don't hold it against the manufacturers of a cheap gun that there are things I need to do to it.. if I had a Kimber 1911, well I might be upset about it..