Walther p-22

[dwstone1227]

I have a Walther P22, 22 caliber handgun. It is About 10 years old with about 5,000 rounds through it. It has not been very reliable. I have 5 magazines, all magazines are permanently marked. The reliability does not appear to be magazine caused. The problems related to reliability incluse:
1. Fails to eject typically on the 2nd round of most magazines.
2. Today I shot 100 rounds. I had about 10 failures to eject. 6 of the 10 FTE were with Magazine 5, but even that magazine fed fine during the next 5 magazine shooting.


The gun has been cleaned recently. I have never replaced any springs. If i buy new springs (magazine and recoil), were do I purchase them? Walter direct? Wolff springs?

The other option is to sell this and buy a Browning.

Dwstone1227

 

[Schwing]

Do a search for the "P22 Bible". It has some simple modifications you can do yourself to fix the reliability. most of the issues are simply from poor design. If you look at how heavily the hammer drags on the slide, that is about 90% of the problem.

Other issues include burrs on the trigger bar ears and unpolished feed ramps. I bought mine about the same vintage as yours. It jammed about every 2 or three rounds. I sent it back to wather and they returned it saying they couldn't find a problem. They suggested hotter ammo. Unfortunately, I had tried just about every kind of ammo. I Went through the P22 bible and now it only jams about once every 30-40 rounds

My bottom line is that it is a poorly designed, pot metal, POS. I will personally never buy anything else from Walther based on my customer service experience and don't even take the little junk heap to the range anymore.

 

[Schlegel]

Personally I'd sell it and get a ppq 22. User reviews on that have been very, very positive.

 

[DeepSouth]

The other option is to sell this and buy a Browning.

That's your best fix.
I had P22 and it was probably the most unreliable piece of dung I ever had. I sold it for a big loss and still feel sorry for the guy that bought it.
Later I bought a Buckmark, still have it, great gun.

 

[Fishbed77]

It has not been very reliable.

Because it's not a Walther. It's an Umarex.

The other option is to sell this and buy a Browning

That's your best bet. Or a Ruger. Either is vastly superior and should last the rest of your life.

 

[Coogs.]

I have two of them and can attest to the jamming, I'll be lookin' up the fix also..

 

[ironworkerwill]

I have one of the good ones I guess. 1k+ never a malfunction other than normal duds. I've shot mostly Velociters with a good bit of cheap stuff in the mix. It does shoot a little high.

 

[wally]

I've got one of the reliable ones too. Don't shoot it a whole lot compared to others but still multiple thousands of rounds through it.

Its functioned fine with all the bulk pack brands and everything else we've been able to find except for the sub-sonic ammo, which usually wouldn't strip the next round from the magazine. Makes a good suppressor host and is a nice size for new shooters to start with -- not too big or heavy, but plenty of grip to hold on to.

 

[KBintheSLC]

I have never had a very good opinion of the P22 [or any current era Walther for that matter]. The materials are sub-standard and the designs are questionable. There are a number of better options in the .22 LR flavor out there. If it were me, I would trade it in toward a decent gun.

Just my $0.02

 

[cc-hangfire]

I got mine at a good price from a range; it was a rental gun so it was well used and likely ill treated. That said, mine has been a good range gun. I also applied the advice from the P22 Bible and it still is ammo picky. It'll stovepipe about once every 50 rounds with low powered bulk ammo. I use it to start off new shooters, and they get to learn tap-rack-bang pretty well -LOL!

It'll never be as reliable (or as accurate) as the standards - Ruger Mark I-II-III, Buckmark Woodsman, S&W 22A1 - and the current Ruger and S&W M&P .22's are better guns. Since mine was fairly cheap, I'm happy with it.

 

[JERRY]

my (daughter's) P22 is about 5 years old and while its only had about 500 rounds through it, it hasn't missed a beat yet. not one malfunction of any kind. ive used Winchester wildcat, Remington yellow jacket and viper, Winchester super x, cci mini mag, Remington thunderbolt.....

would I like a better quality gun? you betcha. but that's only because of the pot metal slide and the worry of dealing with walther/smith&wesson/umarex or whomever I would have to fight for warranty repair.

 

[Schwing]

I have many beefs with this gun. First off, the price is terrible. Granted, I was stupid enough to pay it but, at the same price point, there are many other .22's that are superior. Second, any gun that uses pot metal should be avoided. Eventually, it is going to crack regardless of how careful you are. Third, the design is awful. It looks very cool and feels very comfortable in the hands but the hammer assembly and the way the trigger guard mates with the slide is so horrible that it is pre-destined to jam and wear out the slide... pot metal aside.

The biggest problem I have with the gun is the fact that none of the names involved seem to take ownership of it. It is made by Umaerex, serviced by S&W but carries a Walther label? I have never held anyone but Walther responsible for it since they slap their name on the side.

If you can't tell, this firearm is a sore spot for me It is the only firearm I have purchased to date that I have regretted. I also cannot in good conscience sell it since I don't feel that it is worth much and I question how safe it even is.

 

[Storm]

What Schlegel said. I owned a P22 but not for long. It worked but the overall quality and build of UMAREX killed it for me. I know a few people in the suppressor biz who really like them, but like other UMAREX offerings the quality is not Walther and is hit or miss with some issues that have never been ironed out. On the other hand, the PPQ .22 gets nothing but rave reviews. If I was looking for another .22 handgun of a similar style that's where my hard earned would be going.

 

[krupparms]

I am lucky enough to own a PPK/S in .22L.R..It is a French made model. It was imported by Interarms. It is a dream to shoot! Never jams and is very accurate! I don't shoot it often anymore because of the value has gone up so much & I have 2 target .22L.R.s that are great shooters. I have tried to shoot a new model, but it kept jamming. I stick with my old model.

 

[ulflyer]

Schwing: look at where the hammer sides across the hump on the slide. File that hump down, and polish it, along with the edge of the hammer that does the sliding. This made mine very reliable. Do a little at at time, testing after each mod.

 

[Schwing]

I have been down that road. That was one of the steps in the p22 bible mentioned above. It helped but the thing still jams often.

 

[wally]

It is the only firearm I have purchased to date that I have regretted.

My P22 is far better than my Chiappa 1911-22, talk about a total loss

 

[arspeukinen]

Hah my Chiappa M9-22 broke three slides, safety, da mode and mag catch within 6000 rounds. I had the POS melted.

 

[kBob]

Thanks to all posters here...even the ones with perfect P22s.

Looking over that P22 Bible taught me one special thing, I learned I will not part with anywhere near the price normally asked for one of those things.

Neat looking guns, out side, but oogly inside where it counts.

-kBob

 

[RunninLate]

After reading this thread, I took the P22 (carbon fiber) one out of the safe that been there for 3 or 4 years that has never been fired.

I figured that I would try shooting some Remington Thunderbolt LR that I have a hard time shooting in a few different pistols. Well this gun ate every one with out a problem. Gun now has 75 rounds down range in almost 4 years. It should last another 4 years at this rate.

 

[test drive]

Mine would not go through a mag without 3 or 4 malfunctions until I switched to cci mini mag. With that ammo it was 100%. Now that I've got several hundred rounds through it it will function with most all high velocity ammo.

 

[Fishbed77]

I have never held anyone but Walther responsible for it since they slap their name on the side.

Incorrect.

Umarex slaps the Walther name on the side of this pistol (and many of their other potmetal rimfires, as well as the unimpressive 9mm CCP). Umarex has majority ownership in Walther and Walther has no say in the matter.

Real Walthers (those made by Walther in Ulm, Germany - such as the superb P99, PPQ, and PPS) are a world apart from the poorly-made Umarex products.

 

[usfan]

I've had one for years, & it has been very reliable. I went through it & slicked up the action, doing some of the polishing tips that are available on the net. I don't shoot it a lot, but i don't shoot a lot of 22lr anything. I have a ruger mk iii that is much more accurate, & a tiny naa that is more pocketable. But i shoot it now & then, & find it to be reliable & accurate, for what it is. My experience with it is positive. YMMV

 

[DeepSouth]

My P22 is far better than my Chiappa 1911-22, talk about a total loss

I've been told that gun actually has plastic internal parts, like Sears and disconnectors and such. Just wondering if that's true, I've never handled one.


I'll also say (on topic) my P22 did fairly good for the 500 rounds or so. It did increasingly worse up to 12-1500ish. By which point it was nearly a single shot with every type of failure I've ever seen, and many I hadn't.

 

[jrdolall]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones.
I bought a P-22 a couple of years ago. Pink camo! It cost more than I thought it was worth but I paid it and my daughter immediately claimed it as hers. We took it to the farm on Friday and again this past Wednesday.
Through probably 2k rounds I don't think I have had a single issue and it is a gun I often use for new shooters because it is so reliable and relatively accurate.