Tell Me About the Walther P22

Status
Not open for further replies.
HoosierQ

HoosierQ

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
2,571
Location
Central Indiana.
A friend of mine has one of these and it was a wonderful gun to shoot. Had two ten round magazines, never failed to fire, all of us loved it that day. I probably shot maybe 50 rounds through the thing and found it very nice.

It would seem to me the P22 is the only 22 auto that functions like a full-sized centerfire so I would think it a good gun to practice with...cheap ammo and whatnot.

However...I hear bad things about this gun on this forum...I am not sure I have ever heard a good word and some people have named it in "worst gun you have had" threads or whatever.

What is the scoop on the Walther P22? Thanks for input.
 
I've had one for years and love it and I have 1911's worht 3 grand or more so I'm not just a cheap gun guy! Mine gets a total workout by me and everyone else at the range when I take people because it is so fun to shoot. After getting use to take down and reassembly, which I found easy, it's a great little gun to own. I carry mine in the truck as a back up to my back up!
 
go with the neos u22. i just got one and it is amazing. theres alot of things people dont like about the p22. (ya it looks great but looks dont mean ****) alot of ammo problems i have heard,
 
I have one that I bought about 6yrs ago, at first it gave me problems. It would jam about every third round, FTF and FTE. I happened to be cussing it at the range one afternoon and a gentleman over heard me. He told me to look at the mags (model # on the mag) some of them were junk. He also said that they were picky about ammo, try some Winchester Super X, or CCi Mini Mags. Mine will shoot the Winchester fine but the groups are TERRIBLE!!! It will shoot almost as good as my antique Ruger (pre mark I) with the Mini Mags. After the ammo swap all i shoot is CCI now, and I haven't had another problem since (3000+rds). I haven't cleaned it in about 1200rds.

I would recommend one to anyone based one my experience, just have some patience with it. My Mom has even bought one, she has refused to like guns until my step-father and myself took her to the range and she shot mine.
 
A newer model with "A" prefix mags will work great and provide years of fun.
 
I like mine, fun to shoot & ammo is cheap can't beat 550 round for $12.00.

I have had very few jams. Nothing wrong with it for extra trigger time. Mine goes to range with every trip.
 
I would suggest the P22. i dont own one but i have shot one and they are great.
I think the neos looks to futurific.
 
Think Zinc!!!!!!!!!!!!

The P22 and the Sig Mosqiuto are great concepts that have been poorly executed. The idea of a 22LR pistol that does not look like a ray gun is awesome until you shoot one of these pistols.
 
Check out 'rimfirecentral'.

Lots of folks over there with several issues with the P22, not the least of which is that the slide, a Zinc alloy MIM component (a.k.a. Zamak or "pot metal") seems to be having breakage issues wherein the "pot metal" slide suffers a fracture about 3/4" from the front of the slide after it batters itself to death on the 'faux' compensator of the 4.3" models.

Other issues center around FTF/FTE (extreme sensitivity to ammo type) and lousy, heavy trigger pulls on both models (3.4" and 4.3").

Dumped mine a few months back even though they were NIB and actually made a slight profit on the sale. No guns having :barf:Zamak:barf: in their construction for me.:barf::barf::barf:

In a word they are "Craptastic".

If you elect to buy one after reading this thread, I wish you luck. I truly hope that you get one that doesn't have any problems. However, if you do get one with "issues", you heard all about it right here.

Good luck!
:)
 
hahaha its not about looks to me, ya it looks like its from starwars but btw its a great shooter. and i got mine for 240$ out the door at the local turner. soon ill be picking up the sig p225, i just have to figure out how to get my FFL and other **** to CIA (centuryarms) not sure how online ordering works.
 
Please ellaborate Relascout

Zinc?

The P22 is made of Zinc? What is made of Zinc? The frame of course is polymer. The slide or the frame carcass or whatever? Please ellaborate.

I have heard of Zinc guns, Jimenez I think.
 
I've had mine for about 6 months. Must have put about 1500 rds thru it. Occasional mistep, one slide failed to lock open, one scary one, slide locked open but still had one left in mag. As I alway do when I am at the range I pointed it down range and pulled the trigger to make sure it was clear and BANG. Scared the sh-- out of me but nobody got hurt. Anyway I think the P22 is worth the look. I love the way mine shoots, not accurate but fun to shoot.
 
The P22 features a cast polymer grip-frame. Its slide and serial numbered frame receiver inserts are made from MIM (Metal Injection Molding) cast zinc alloy, its barrel consists of a rifled steel insert within a steel barrel sleeve, and its internal lockwork and fire-control parts are a combination of MIM cast steel and steel stampings.
 
Zinc...a very useful metal. Not sure I want a gun made of one though. That is a shame. Why not steel for crying out loud?
 
Cheap cheap cheap.

It is a pot metal gun. Not that 22lr is a massive round but I mean come on. I went through this myself. I really wanted to like the P22 or the Mosquito but they are of the same ilk. They are poorly made not very accurate compared to a Buckmark or a Ruger and are more expensive.

In the end I picked up a Ruger MKII and have not looked back.
 
check out the neos u22. even though it looks like a ray gun its fun to shoot and really easy to clean. and the way ammo prices are now a days its deff worth it. but check out ruger and buckmark. they are a lil bit more pricy.
 
Lots and lots and lots and lots of posts on the P22 in recent weeks, with a lot of bad reports on the gun, and for a lot of different reasons. Here's a sampling of threads to check:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=349144&highlight=walther+p22

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=350403&highlight=walther+p22

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=184662&highlight=walther+p22

It's true that the gun has its fans. It's also true that there are at least equal the number of detractors, which ought to tell you something.
 
Ruger MkIII

Don't was't your time or money on the P22, get a ruger Mark III target if you want a real nice accurate, well made .22. Don't get me wrong I like Walthers just not the P22 its a POS. I have numerous PPK's and PP's and love them.
 
Zinc?

The P22 is made of Zinc? What is made of Zinc? The frame of course is polymer. The slide or the frame carcass or whatever? Please ellaborate.
Click to expand...
The slide is a zinc alloy.

Zinc...a very useful metal. Not sure I want a gun made of one though. That is a shame. Why not steel for crying out loud?
Click to expand...
Weight... do you think a .22lr would reliably cycle a steel slide and still have enough velocity to be accurate? To make a steel slide that would be light enough to cycle would be pretty costly I think.

Jason
 
I wanted to like the P22, I really did. I shot one briefly at a range and it did great with the Stingers, but choked immediately with the cheap bulk stuff, I can't remember if it was Federal or Remington. The cheap stuff simply wouldn't feed out of the mag. It was great fun to shoot when it worked, but what's the point in having a 22 "fun" pistol if I have to buy the expensive ammo?

I thought about the P22 again last weekend when I went to actually buy a 22pistol for myself. The P22 and the Mosquito both look great, but eve n the guys selling the guns didn't care for them. They had some nice Mark II's and III's, but I figured my wife would gripe about the weight. That left the Buck Rogers Special, the Beretta Neos. Yeah it's a funky looking gun, but great fun to shoot, lightweight, and seems to be reliable. Best of all, it was the cheapest option that I was looking at.

One more comment, if you're still seriously considering the P22. The shop I was at last weekend strongly recommended that I get the short version if I had to have one. He said he saw too many problems with the barrel extension. Ironically, the only P22 they had in stock was the long barrel. I do like this shop for their honesty and I've made my last few purchases there.
 
I have a P22, but in a similar, small 22 auto I much, much prefer my Firestorm's in 22lr... more reliable, better built, more accurate, roughly the same price.. check'em out
 
Zinc, main component of zamak; Atomic number 30
Atomic mass 65.37 g.mol -1

Iron, main component of steel;Atomic Number: 26
Atomic Mass: 55.845 amu

So you can see that steel is significantly lighter than zinc. Steel is the preferred material for all handgun parts other than the grips, in my opinion. The only reason zinc is chosen is because it is way cheaper to make and American consumers are more impressed by looks than by function or reliability or durability. What I was going to say would have hurt some feelings.
 
I'm not necessarily going to recommend buying one, but after the initial teething troubles, mine runs like a champ. Finding the ammo it likes is first thing. It seems each likes a different ammo. Mine runs beautifully on Remington Golden bullets, but hates Federal round nose.
I don't really think there's a real reason to buy one, except maybe you like the looks. I can appreciate the accuracy of the "Ray gun" 22's, but I do prefer the P22's more common look.

There is a "P22 Bible" that provides a bunch of DIY gunsmithing items that can help the gun be a flawless performer, but grinding the trigger bar ears smooth and polishing the firing pin block are the only two I've done, and the difference was noticible.

If you get one, get one without the compensator (or maybe the combo pack). That thing is likely the cause of the slide cracks.

I should mention that the P22 is the easiest 22 to set up for a suppressor. One company even markets the ready to go P22 with their suppressor in a combo. So if you ever want to go Class 3, the P22 is the least expensive way to do it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Walther P22
Replies
21
Views
943
brett30030
B
G
  • Locked
  • Poll
Walther P22
Replies
22
Views
4K
Steel Talon
S
T
  • Locked
Walther P22?
Replies
15
Views
1K
Trisha
T
el Godfather
  • Locked
Whats your opinion on Walther p22 and its stopping capability?
2 3
Replies
60
Views
9K
TimboKhan
TimboKhan
J
  • Locked
Walther P22: round count and reliability?
Replies
2
Views
1K
Mechanist
M
Back
Top