Walther P22

[TASimpson]

I posted a thread about my SIG P6 a couple of weeks ago and had an outstanding response. In that thread I stated that I bought a Walther P22 for my wife to teach her how to shoot. We plink with it all the time. I have countless rounds of cheap 500 count brick ammo through it with only one jam I can remember. Its my wifes baby now and she can literally out shoot me with it any day of the week. I bought it for $295 about three years ago now. I picked it for several reasons. The first was a magazine I picked up that had a center article about how good it was. The second was I remember various people at work talking about Walther having quality affordable handguns. The only thing I don't like about it was the learning curve on taking it down and reassembling it. Now that I am apart of this forum I would like to hear what you have to say about this .22. The best ammo, web info, parts, etcetera.

 

[glove]

Walther P-22

Hello
I have the 3" and 5" barrel model but only use the 3" barrel. So far I only use the 500 round bulk packs of ammo, cheap to shoot. Never had any problems with it. If you are looking for info check out rimfirecentral.com a lot of stuff to read there.
Dave Z

 

[ricebasher302]

Lots of thread here on this topic if you do a search. I own a 3.4 inch model and have had nearly 6,000 rounds without problems. Finding ammo it likes is key. Mine likes Remmys. Common gripes include zink slide, too costly, finnicky, or just doesn't work. I understand some of these gripes, and prices have increased since I bought mine, making them less of a value. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. Great, affordable practice. It's small enough to require attentive trigger control, and accurate enough to reward it.

 

[Tommygunn]

I have a P22 and while I still like it, I have learned enough to be skeptical.
The slide is made out of zinc. Basically, cheap pot metal. OK, still mine works but I've heard that they can crack. Maybe another apocraphyl internet story but it seems possible. The way the barrel is held on; the endcap can loosen from shooting. Sure, there's a tool and you can tighten it right back up.
They're nice guns ... maybe not quite as accurate as some better ones. My main conclusion is that mainly, they're more expensive than they should be.

I just recently bought a Browning Buck Mark with a 5.5" barrel. For me it is a much nicer gun, bigger grip(!!!!!) more ergonomic, made out of real metal, good barrel and better sights. Now I won't be getting rid of the P22 but the Browning takes first place as far as .22 handguns are concerned.

I will also say while I don't have as many rounds through mine as the prior poster I too have had no feeding or reliability problems with my P22.

 

[DeepSouth]

I bought one for my wife as well, It turned out to be the piece of junk I ever bought. It really wasn't that bad until somewhere just over 1,000 rounds at which point it began to go down hill faster than you could possibly imagine.

Before I sold the gun, for about a $200+ loss, It had experienced FTF, FTE, not returning to battery, stove piping, 3 point jams, mag falling out, safety not disengaging, and much more.

Mine was the worst gun I have ever held in my hands, I understand some people have some with thousands of rounds through them with few problems, I personally won't take my chances with another one.

 

[searcher451]

Keep in mind that the P22 is not a Walther product. It's a Umarex gun. Umarex is Walther's parent company. Umarex makes air guns. That ought to tell you something about the P22, despite its apparent popularity with some folks. Also keep in mind that the P22 has a slide made of zinc, popularly called pot metal. In essence, it's the Bic lighter of handguns: use it until it breaks or wears out, then throw it away and get yourself another. Or -- and here's a thought -- buy yourself a .22 handgun that will stick around awhile: Colt, Ruger, Browning all come to mind.

 

[Hk Dan]

I had one that was absolutely reliable...for 450 rounds. After that, it went downhill faster than Rosie ODonnel chasing a rolling donut. I told the guy who bought it "This is potentially the world's finest box fed single shot available..." AND HE STILL BOUGHT IT!

To those of you who have functional P-22s, my hat's off to ya. Buy a lotto ticket!

Dan

 

[Tommygunn]

Keep in mind that the P22 is not a Walther product. It's a Umarex gun.

Yeah .... in fact I bought a P22 blank-firing gun that was Umarex and it straight out says Umarex and has a lot of P22 parts....

Shame that the P22 wound up with the Walther logo in a way .... Walther makes many historic, fine guns and the P22 really is in no way up to what one would expect from the company.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

I bought a Walther P22 last year, for the price of $289 brand-new with 4 mags. 3.4" barrel, all black.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=464331

I like it a lot for its small size and compactness, as well as for its excellent accuracy. I've had very good luck with mine, using mostly Federal bulk, and CCI Stingers and MiniMags.
I agree that the P22 can be picky about what type of ammo it likes. I shot some Winchester bulk pack through it and it did not go well. So far that is the only ammo that hasn't worked well. I've got approx. 5k rounds through mine without any issues. Seems to run better without lube, and with a Volquartsen enhanced extractor.

My wife loves it for the small size, shootability, manual safety, accuracy, and the fact that she can rack the slide easily. It's her gun now.

It's a shame that the P22 isn't made with high-quality steel, but the cheap zinc construction is what keeps the price point where it is so that I, and many others, could afford one.

 

[gamike]

I have 2 of them and love them ... when you do have problems with them after a few thousand rounds find the p22 bible online . There are 2 screws that will get loose and hold the slide back or cause ftf fte and other problems .loctite those screws in and the problems go away .BTW way I feed anything I can through mine and it has ZERO problems .