Walther P22 .22LR... Any Good?

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What do you want it for? It's a cool looking gun and quite fun to shoot, but there are better guns at the same price.
 
I'm just looking for a nice 22LR pistol to shoot targets for cheap. I do like the look, but it's not everything. What would you recommend?
 
Ruger Mark III pistols are pretty good. You can get a 22/45 for $250-300. They're more accurate, better-made, with a better trigger. They'll last longer too assuming proper care. I have a Ruger myself and it's the only pistol I always bring to the range.
 
StealthEagle

It was what my son picked out for his first handgun, so you know it had to be cool looking. Other than that, forget the model with the extended fake compensator on it; it was continually coming loose and would not stay in place. I eventually got him a short barrel and that works just fine. The gun is essentially just a plinker, not a whole lot of accuracy potential with the design and materials used; and cetainly not with that trigger pull. This one doesn't seem to like any lead .22s, lots of FTF and FTE. Seems to prefer high velocity, copper washed bullets, like CCI MiniMags and the like.
 
Don't buy the P22

Do not buy a P22. A friend I have has a P22 and he says you've got to completely disassemble the gun and clean it to hell and back after every 30 rounds or so because the gun is hopelessly sensitive to being dirty. Unless it's unbelievably immaculate, the gun will jam after almost every shot.

Yes, he is what I'd consider a gun expert, he does regularly send his guns to respected gunsmiths if he sees a reason, and the gunsmiths did tell him it's just a quirk of that particular model of pistol and not a bad part or neglect.

Don't buy a P22!
 
I notice you're in Owensboro. You should stop by Whittaker Guns, they have excellent service. I've only bought online from them, but I hear that they have a tremendous selection. There's nothing like checking out guns in person and seeing how they feel in your hand.
 
P-22

Going on 2 years for my p-22 and not 1 problem. Goes bang with everything I feed it even the cheap stuff.:)
Dave Z
 
"Do not buy a P22. A friend I have has a P22 and he says you've got to completely disassemble the gun and clean it to hell and back after every 30 rounds or so because the gun is hopelessly sensitive to being dirty. Unless it's unbelievably immaculate, the gun will jam after almost every shot."

I have a hard time believing that!
and here is why......I have a P22 with the 5"barrel, it has been cleaned
ONCE
When I first bought it! almost 5 boxes of Federal bulk box (550 count)
later, still fires every round! no jams, FTF, no PROBLEMS!

when I say cleaned, I do run a brush thru the barrel and wipe off with a clean rag.
 
I can't believe with all those responses no one mentioned the fact that the slide is made of zink!
 
Well, I fell for the gun shop talk about the P-22 being a great gun and have been sorry that I did. After the first trip to the range I had to send it back to Smith & Wesson and they replaced the barrel (it appeared that there was some sort of burr in the barrel). They also sent me a note telling me not to use "cheap" ammo as it was causing excessive leading. I had only put about 100 rounds through the gun and I was using some CCI and some of the cheap Remington stuff. I had asked several people at the gun shops if it was okay to shoot the inexpensive stuff and they said "Sure, everybody I know does with no problems", so, I fell for it thinking it would be a fun, inexpensive plinker. I have shot it once since it came back from S&W and the accuracy is just not there. I can shoot my j-frame snubbie with +p ammo better than this thing. Needless to say, I don't really recommend this gun when there are much better guns for the money out there.

__________________

"Phydeaux, bad dog....no biscuit!"
 
I have read from several sources that the P22 was originally designed as a blank-firing non-gun. Hence, it is made from zinc alloy and other materials not noted for long term durability. I will admit that it is one of the coolest looking .22 pistols around. There hasn't been a .22 auto that styling since the Whitney Wolverine.
Even so, the couple guys at my gun club that I know who have them swear at them, not by them.
 
Hated mine... a real shame. Love the design, ergonomics, size and trigger feel. Hated the unrealiable nature. A crying shame really. Get a Ruger 22/45... you will never regret it... ever.
 
I will buy your P22's!

I will be happy to take those P22's off your hands! Just let me know! Since they all have problems, you should sell them at a discounted price.:evil:
I have had mine for 3 yrs, and only 2 FTF's (duds) in 3000+ rounds, shoots any ammo, Relatively accurately (2 inch groups at 25 yds!), and unfortunately, the shooter at Virginia Tech's functioned flawlessly. :(
Not abdicating violence, I just really like my p22, and will be happy to take yours off your hands!
xrayguy:)
 
Had my P22 for three years. It is the one gun that is going to the range every time I go. It is permanently in the range bag. I have shot thousands of "cheap" .22s in it. I have never shot anything BUT "cheap" .22's in it (Wal*Mart 550 for $10 Federals)

PLUS- I shoot all the loose .22s I find on the ground at the gun range through it. I found about 600 last year alone. I had a Cool-Whip tub full of "dropsy" .22lr's and shot most of them one day just to see what would happen. Some are pretty crusty looking. About 10% of them don't fire at all, some take two or three strikes to fire, assuming I can jam them into the chamber, some of the lead bullets are munched up from previous misfeeds by other people...had one take half a dozen striker impacts to finally fire and when it did the case rim failed at a previous striker dent and showered me with smoke and burnt powder residue. Gun was fine.

I have not cleaned the gun in almost 2 years. I am letting it build up crud to see what will fail. I inspect it pretty closely. I had to switch magazines last Fall due to so much black residue that it would not feed reliably. The gun feeds just fine.

I would say I have close to 5k rounds through mine.
I oiled it heavily when I first cleaned it. It loosened up fine as it broke in. I have had no problems out of it.

It is a blowback .22 and yes the slide is zinc. It handles and has the same manual of arms as a "real" pistol (slide moves, etc). It's a great trainer to get someone used to a real gun before moving up to a bigger caliber.

I have heard of fractured slides failing at the front. Most of those are the 5" compensated models, the slide batters against the compensator (which is a fake useless thing anyway). Also people who use a lot of high powered .22's seem to be having the problem. People who never used Stingers or Velocitors or anything snappy are not having the problem.

The early style magazines (that have no -A- in the part number) are problematic feeding sometimes, but they changed the design and fixed the issue. Any -A- magazines are good.

Accuracy is OK, it's not a target gun with a 3.4" barrel, but at 25' if I do my part I keep them all in a standard target.

I like it better than my 22A S&W. I like it better than a Sig Mosquito. Plus it has a threaded barrel, so if you want a supressor it's an easy thing.

Not knocking Ruger Mark X or the 22A or the Buckmark or Woodsman. Great guns. But I like my Walther and everyone who has shot it does too.
Not a great self defense gun. Just a fun plinker.

I'll second xrayguy. Anyone who wants to dump their "terrible" p22's, let me know. I'll pay $100 plus shipping & transfer fees for any P22s that need new homes.
 
Do not buy a P22. A friend I have has a P22 and he says you've got to completely disassemble the gun and clean it to hell and back after every 30 rounds or so because the gun is hopelessly sensitive to being dirty. Unless it's unbelievably immaculate, the gun will jam after almost every shot.

Yes, he is what I'd consider a gun expert....
Click to expand...

I really wonder what some people do to their P22s. Everybody I know personally (i.e. not a friend of a friend, or some guy on the internet) that has a P22 has no problems with them at all. A good friend of mine hasn't cleaned his in a year, literally a year, and it works fine. I'll go through 1k rounds before cleaning mine. I started off with about 400rnds of MiniMag, and now it's just the $10/550 Golden Bullets from Wally World. Eats them up like it's going out of style. Cycled federal bulk, golden bullets, stinger, minimag, blazer, and some other cheapo stuff without issue.

There definitely seems to have been a bad run of them at first, but from what I've seen in person, they work great. I love mine, it's great for introducing new shooters to the sport, and plenty accurate. The sights aren't the best, but I was able to repeatedly "ping" a steel (12"x18") target at 100 yards.

I'm with xrayguy, I should start buying cheap used P22s, they work great for me! :D
 
I have a P22 with over 2900 rounds through it. Its not the greatest and not the worst. My buddy has a Ruger MkIII, I think the target model with the angled grip, and his has the same issues as mine: occasional FTF and FTE. One thing his does do is that some cases get stuck at odd angles in chamber if they don't eject properly. A couple even got stuck and jammed the bolt (is that right?) to the rear on his Ruger. I've fired them both side-by-side and my accuracy with both is about the same. I have considered selling it and getting the Ruger MkIII 22/45 though. I just give it a good cleaning and really have no real issues with it.
 
I've had my standard P-22 for over a year and a half now and love it. It's been reliable and goes on every range trip. I've put close to 3,000 rounds through it so far. It's a 'keeper.'
 
I have had a P-22 for a couple of years. I bought it for a backpacking pistol, but have not carried it as such.

It does not feed certain ammo very well, but it shoots most bulk stuff just fine, which is fine with me as I can't imagine why I would load it with any premium ammo.

As others have said, it is no tack driver, but you can bounce cans about and bust clay pigeons. It is more of a fun gun than anything else.

My teenage daughter loves it. And I think it is a very good trainer semi-auto for young shooters. Small, easy to handle, but has all the external controls of a full sized auto.

One annoying thing is that it ejects brass all over the place so the shooter needs to wear a hat and shirt.

All that said, I think the P-22 has found a niche in my collection. It is a nice little .22 auto, just keep your expectations low.
 
Mine has fed all that I threw at it

and it wears a spiffy Gemtech can on the front. Makes it nice and quiet.

Im thinking of getting a flame job on the can, make it look really "cool" hehe
 
I like mine
just packed it up to go BACK to S & W for repair
after 1100 rounds
empties are coming back at my head
slide is peening
rear sight is off (screw stripped)
S & W sent me a return label for overnight air.

I will keep you posted.
 
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