Walther P22 Ammo?

[PhoenixRookie]

Okay, so I broke down and picked up a P22 at Sportsmans Warehouse today. The price was right and I've been wanting to finally get a 22lr that doesn't look like a ray gun from a crappy sci fi movie.

The salesman told me to not put high velocity ammo through it as he says he has seen a few cracked barrels from it. He also said my Remington hollow points may not feed properly.

So then I got home and the manual specifically says to only use high velocity ammo.

What experience does anyone have on this pistol with various ammos so I know if this guy is full of it or if I actually need to pay more for the standard velocity variety?

Thanks

 

[OMGWTFBBQ]

I don't know where the guy behind the counter got his info, but my cousin(with some help ) has put atleast 3K rounds of various "high velocity" ammo through his with no serious problems, so I wouldn't hesitate to try any type of .22lr ammo in it.

Safety aside, from what he told me it didn't like bulk ammo. It seemed to function fine with CCI minimag HP and Aguila high velocity(HP and Solid) but I don't know first hand about other types of ammo.

Another thing to remember about selecting a brand and type of rimfire ammo is that each gun(even if they're both the same model) has it's likes and dislikes when it comes to accuracy and reliability, so the only way to find out which to use is to buy several different types and try them.

 

[ewayte]

+1 on the CCI ammo. My wife's P22 doesn't like the bulk ammo either.

 

[kingpin008]

Mine functions just fine with both hi-velocity and bulk pack stuff. No offense to the salesman, but I think we can all relate a few stories from the gun-counter "experts" at the big-box outdoor stores. Follow the manual, and your own common sense and have fun with that new P22. Some people think they're junk, but I'm one of the many who thoroughly enjoy them for what they are - cheap, fun little plinkers.

 

[atblis]

Fwiw

The salesman told me to not put high velocity ammo through it as he says he has seen a few cracked barrels from it. He also said my Remington hollow points may not feed properly.

Hmm, sounds like he confused barrel with slide. They ho have a history of cracking slides.

My friend's P22 liked the Remington Golden bullets (until his slide cracked in half).

 

[Gun Slinger]

The P22's that come equipped with the longer barrel (~5") and 'faux' compensator seem to have some "slide failure" issues that appear to originate from the front end of the slide (fabricated from MIM zinc alloy, a.k.a. Zamak or "potmetal" ) being battered against the rear end of the 'comp' during operation. The slides seem to display a tendency to break/crack about 2/3" to 1" from the front of the slide.

There are several examples of this failure pattern to be found on rimfirecentral.com and ar15.com and they seem to be confined to the longer barrelled models only whereas the models equipped with the 3.4" barrels do not appear to suffer from the same problems.

It's too bad, too. I really like the styling on them, but the fact that the slide is made from what is essentially "potmetal" is a 'deal breaker' for me when it comes to owning this, or any, gun for that matter.

 

[camper]

The one I bought recently really likes the Remington Bulk Pack Golden Bullets.

 

[scurtis_34471]

My P22 liked CCI Mini-Mags and Stingers the best, although I've been told the Stingers get hard on the gun after awhile. It would run ok off Federal bulk, but tended to be all over the place in terms of accuracy with any bulk ammo. It flat-out hated Remington Golden Bullets and wouldn't cycle at least 40% of the time, requiring me to manually rack the slide.

 

[gb6491]

Another +1 for the Remington Bulk Pack Golden Bullets. We bought four thousand rounds of the Remington when be Big 5 had it on sale. My wife has run through a lot of it with her P22. It has been very reliable with it. Other brands seem to work as well with Blazer being the only problematic one for us.
Download the P22 bible for a lot of good information about your new pistol.
Regards,
Greg

BTW- it's best to try as many brands of 22 as you can. Individually, 22's are notorious for working best with a certain type of ammo. What works in one doesn't necessarily work in another of the same make and model.

 

[tinygnat219]

I had one of these. It jammed and misfired constantly. It didn't matter if it was Remington Bulk, Federal Bulk, CCI Stinger, or Eley ammo. It hated all of it.

Made my day when I sold it to someone who didn't care about the issues it had (I beleive in full disclosure when selling a firearm, I would rather take a financial hit than lie about something, it makes me sleep better at night).

 

[PhoenixRookie]

Well mine is the 3.4" barrel as I read a lot of complaints about that compensator being worthless and coming loose. Plus, I want a 22lr for the smaller size as well. Kinda pointless to me. If I really wanted a target gun, I would go for the ray guns.

 

[moooose102]

mall of the ammo i have put through mine is AT LEAST 20 years old. everything from federal power flite,to remington mohawk, to winchester expeiditer, cci blazer, winchester super x, cci mini mags, it just doesnt matter. it shoots enything i throw at it just fine. actially had some very old cci ammo that was corroded quite bad, and about every third shell split, and it shot most of these just fine, but it did occaisionally jam on some of the low pressure rounds. dont even worry about the ammo. it is going to be a hungry little shark, just feed it!

 

[marriedguy1]

My P22 only likes high velocity ammo. It shoots CCI stingers and mini-mags the best. It does not like any of the bulk packs. I've got 2500 rounds thru mine easily and as long as I keep it clean it runs.

 

[TIMC]

I have used nothing but CCI and Remington Thunderbolt ammo in mine with no problems. The only reason it is just those two is because I bought an insane amount of it several years ago real cheap and have yet to run out.

 

[dschulte]

I have the SP22 M4 and have had no issues with any ammo. The expensive to the WalMart discount.

 

[ricebasher302]

The bulk Remington golden bullet hollow-points at Wal-Mart feed through mine flawlessly. I've shot a couple thousand of those. I shot a lot of Stingers and Velocitors just fine, but stopped after hearing about busted slides. The Remington's are clean, keeping the ramp and chamber cleaner. They're smooth, round, and hot enough to fully cycle the slide, but they don't beat on it like the CCI stuff does.

 

[FieroCDSP]

The reason the manual says to use only high velocity is because the gun has a lot of internal drag. The firing pin block will drag on the hammer as it moves back, robbing the slide of badly needed velocity. Polishing the bottom of the FP block to a mirror finish is a big helper. The P22 Bible has home-gunsmithing steps to remedy this and other issues, mainly involving wear, and most steps only require an hour or two.

PM me if you'd like a copy, or check around Rimfire Central, as there's bound to be someone there with it.

 

[BattleChimp Potemkin]

Ray gun from a crappy sci-fi movie?! Thats why I bought a Ruger AND the P22. At my range, I make targets with robots from Star Wars (the bad robots, not good ones) and kids LOVE EM! Especially when shooting with the Ruger (it looks like a space gun!).

 

[PhoenixRookie]

LOL!

 

[Phoenix_III]

Sci fi movie = Beretta Neos U22 - Very good gun for reliability


P22 = CCI MiniMags

High Velocity is fine, HYPER velocity = no (Remington YellowJackets, etc)

P22 with CCI Minimags = been great to me for 2500 rounds. =) High Velocity, and HP and Round Nose

 

[DMZ]

Mine has function fine with all ammo except:

Remington Yellow Jacket and Viper (doesn't like the truncated cone)

Winchester Xpert22 (doesn't like the big hole in the bullet)

 

[wristtwister]

Just about anything

My P22 shoots about anything I put in it... Remington bulk ammo or CCI stingers... even the Aguila personal protection rounds. It jams once in a while with a stovepipe or misfires on occasion, but almost any rimfire will do that... target pistols included. It usually starts hanging up once it gets good and dirty inside... so a good cleaning after you shoot will solve most of that.

It can be a pain in the butt to clean sometimes... depending on how slick my hands get during cleaning, so the reassembly is a pain, but for the most part, I've been well satisfied with mine. I usually run about 250 to 500 rounds through mine every weekend... usually the Remi "golds"... and I'll run a clip of stingers through it on occasion to blow out some of the residue.

WT

 

[moooose102]

mine shoots anything i throw at it. and ALL of what i throw at it is at least 20 years old. i dont think they are very finiky at all. at least mine isnt. it does shoot a little low though, i am going to have to order one of the optional front sight blades.

 

[nutnyahoo]

mispell

I have a P22 and it has used hi-velocity only with NEVER a misfire or objection. The reason I love this little pistol is that S & W will fix it for life if need be. I don't worry about the loudest sound ever, a click when I expect a bang. That is good enough for me.

 

[Hanzo581]

Mine will run whatever I feed it reliably. But I stick with the winchester 555 pack from walmart.