P-22

[tatters]

I was at the 21st Century Firearms table at the show on Sunday, and fondled a Walther P-22. Sure had a great feel.

I research a gun to death before I buy it....

What can you guys tell me?

 

[Chefcook]

I was at the 21st Century Firearms table at the show on Sunday, and fondled a Walther P-22. Sure had a great feel.

I research a gun to death before I buy it....

What can you guys tell me?

I have shot them and they do feel great in the hand. I have heard bad things about accuracy and function but I don't have any first hand exp. to offer...

 

[HandK]

I had a guy out on the range last week who had one it failed to fire at least once every mag and he had three difrent mags, more time spent on trying to get the gun to run than on shooting.

 

[Oldcoyotedream]

I have one, works as designed. Very accurate and fun to shoot. Going to get a Gemtech for it soon.

 

[TopDog]

I shot my buddies about 2 years ago. I was not impressed with its accuracy. That could have just been me. He got rid of his.

 

[Astrocreep]

I have one and have put several hundred rounds through it of various manufacture and have yet to have a ftf/fte jam.
I have a buddy that has one and also enjoys reliable and accurate shooting with it.
As with any automatic .22lr, try various brands of ammo and see which (if any) your gun doesn't like.

P-22's are LOADS of fun. IMO, any firearm is only as accurate as the person pulling the trigger.
Not the firearm you'd want to use for .22lr competition, but it's very comfortable and easy to shoot.
Recoil is very, very low.

I was able to massacre marshmallow peeps at about 30' with mine.

Get one. You won't regret it.
The only negative I can see is that it has that idiotic magazine disconnect and external safety. Pointless.

I can recommend a Ruger Mark II or Mark III as a superior firearm, but you will pay more and be annoyed about how hard they are to reassemble after cleaning.

 

[Gamez235]

the earlier models had some ftf and fte issues but have been resolved and now the p22 is a fantastic plinker. i own 2 and shoot the crap out of them..

 

[Joe in FWA]

I have one, have put about a thousand rounds through it and have never had a FTF or FTE. The manual, which is downloadable, says to only use high velocity ammo. I always use the CCI mini-mags. It feels great in my hand, is accurate and a lot of fun to shoot.

 

[dubsac]

I have a first addition p22 and love it. I am much more accurate with the small barrel 3.5 then the 5 inch go figure. But mine shoots everything I put through it.

 

[IndianasFinest]

I have one also, and really enjoy shooting it. It's been a solid little gun for me with a few hiccups during break in, but it's good to go now.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I owned one a few years ago. Bought it used at a great price.

Only problems I had with it: It didn't like the plain led HP ammo when it was dirty. Fed the same stuff just fine when it was clean.

My buddy had one as well... It runs very well MOST of the time. Again, when it's dirty, it'll hang up more. With the CCI Stuff, though, nary a problem.

I bought that pistol from him to use as another host for my suppressor; shoots just fine...until it's dirty.

-J-

 

[Scutter01]

I've had very few problems with my P22. It's not a Glock. I wouldn't carry it for SD (unless I had no other option), but as a range gun it's a lot of fun. Plus, it's threaded from the factory, so I can put my suppressor on it.

 

[gglass]

Let's see what we have so far:

• People who have never owned one: Mostly negative anecdotal based opinions.
• People who have owned one: Mostly positive first-hand based opinions.

I will throw my P-22 owners first-hand based opinion into this thread. My wife recently had to sell her loved "pink/nickel" P-22 to fund another handgun purchase. She did regret selling it because it was absolutely reliable accurate and just plain fun.

The key to both reliability and accuracy with the P-22 is based on the firearms cleanliness and maintenance. If the P-22 is cleaned thoroughly and lubed at all the obvious friction points after every shooting session, it will treat its user to years of fun. If it is maintained like some people treat their Glocks, it will treat its user some frustrating trips to the range.

 

[eldirector]

My P22 is a fun, cheap little plinker. It DID have a lot of issues for the first 200+ rounds. Fail-to-feed or fail to eject. I disassembled, cleaned the factory lube (tar) out of it, and then broke it in on some "hot" ammo (CCI stingers or mini-mags). Now it reliably feeds the cheap stuff. 1000+ rounds with no issues. Keep it clean and lubed.

I find it hard to be accurate with. Even with the larger backstrap, it is still a small grip. Still fun, though!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I find it hard to be accurate with. Even with the larger backstrap, it is still a small grip. Still fun, though!

Yes, even in the 5" configuration, it's not a target gun by any means.

Accurate enough for plinking? Absolutely. Would probably even work for shooting steel competitions.

But if you want a super accurate .22, then look at a Ruger or S&W 41 or a Browning Buckmark.

-J-

 

[Cat-Herder]

I recently got one with the factory laser at the last 1500. I tried several types of ammo and it was pretty finicky.
Mine was purchased used and the previous owner had shot the crap out of it and never cleaned it. It took a good hour soaking in Hoppes to get all the leading out.

It seemed to like the CCI mini-mags the best, with Federal bulk from wal-mart a close second. It FTE'd on every shot with Winchester XX and another brand i can't remember.

It seemed to prefer a 40gr bullet. Both the Win XX and the other brand were 36gr. I'm to assume that experiences may vary depending on the gun, as i've read reviews that differ widely.

It wasn't as accurate as my H&R 999, but i didn't expect it to be. it was pretty fun to shoot though. The short barrel and the narrow front sight make it tough for a good sight picture, but after 50 rounds or so, I got a feel for it and my groupings shrank considerably. A good little plinker, and the laser is cool.

 

[lovemywoods]

I've got one. Have put 500 round through it so far. First 200 rounds had a few failures to feed and a couple of stovepipes. Since then it's worked great! Accuracy is fine. Great little gun.

Have you seen this ad?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/firearms/61464-wts-walther_p22.html

 

[gus1989]

This gun is a ton of fun - I don't think you'd regret getting it. If you like to research, check out RimfireCentral.com at the link below. It will keep you busy for a while and there is a wealth of information - everything you'd ever care to know about the P22.

Walther - RimfireCentral.com Forums

 

[ChalupaCabras]

New P-22s seem to function fine. I've had two of them and they have both been high round count gems. Check the manufacture date: if it's more than a year or two old you may have to replace or modify the extractor to get it running reliably; the "bible" mods help quite a bit with regard to longevity and reliability as well... These processes are covered in depth on many other sights, so I wont go into detail here.

The P22 is hard to shoot accurately because the linkage system is sloppy, and the internal safety makes the trigger feel spongy... but if you concentrate on your trigger work, they are every bit as accurate as you would expect a fixed barrel gun to be.

 

[jrich2125]

I have one as well and did alot of research. Seems they do have problems during the break in period and don't like some types of ammo. With that said I have not had a single issue with mine and it is a great little gun. Also it is very cheap to go out and shoot.