Walther P22 at the range

[skinman]

I keep reading about how bad the Walther P22 is and I just don't get it at all...

500 rounds down the pipe of my 3.25 inch yesterday with one fail to fire...100 each of Federal Target, Federal Lightening bulk red box, and Winchester Wildcat, and 200 rounds of Remington Golden Bullets...the FTF was a Winchester with a solid pin strike (it is finicky with Winchester ammo). Fist size groups @ 10 feet and spreads out to about an 8 inch groups @ 25 feet (which is mostly me) with very few fliers. Slow fire, rapid fire, rapid fire and reload, no problems.

The only other .22 pistol I have ever owned that I like as much and was as reliable is the Ruger Single-Six I sold a couple of decades back...and now wish I had kept it.

 

[itchin]

I had one, and after about 2000 rounds it was worn out, and would only shoot cci minimags. They are great at first, but do not hold up for thousands upon thousands of rounds like the ruger mk pistols.

 

[skinman]

I've had it about 4 years and have put about 5000 through it so far and the only thing to fail was the trigger spring...and S&W promptly sent me a couple of replacements when I called... The trigger spring doesn't keep it from working in single action, just double action. It was really temperamental with some ammo at first but now it just plain rocks with just about anything high velocity I run through it! Of course, I do not believe in the "a .22 shoots best dirty" line of thought...maybe that is the problem with other folks...just too damn lazy to keep them clean. They are not like most auto rifles, I believe that autoloader pistols should be cleaned often if you want them to work reliably...just saying...

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

My Colt Targetsman has issues with that Remington ammo as well. Maybe its got a hard primer/rim.

 

[Younggun]

I've had it about 4 years and have put about 5000 through it so far and the only thing to fail was the trigger spring...and S&W promptly sent me a couple of replacements when I called... The trigger spring doesn't keep it from working in single action, just double action. It was really temperamental with some ammo at first but now it just plain rocks with just about anything high velocity I run through it! Of course, I do not believe in the "a .22 shoots best dirty" line of thought...maybe that is the problem with other folks...just too damn lazy to keep them clean. They are not like most auto rifles, I believe that autoloader pistols should be cleaned often if you want them to work reliably...just saying...

I have not heard that .22 cycle better dirty, only that accuracy increases with alittle lead in the barrel, and I believe that this applies somewhat less to newer models other than the fact that they will lead quickly so POI may change more quickly.

As far as a bad name goes, many .22 lr pistols or considered bad because they have to compete with buckmarks and even more so, the proven ruger MKI, II and III. I have never heard of a ruger that will not cycle everything out of the box and especially one that needed to be sent in, and still priced lower than the p22. It may not be a bad gun and many work fine but if I wanted to buy a gun that I new would give me no problems it would be a ruger. I have seen mark IIs that have run 10s of thousands of rounds without needing parts replaced. That being said I bought a neos cause I wanted a cheap plinker. I haven't found anything it doesn't like yet but it was sent back to the factory soon after purchase. It has since been great, no malfunctions in nearly 1500 rnds with no cleaning but I still would not put it in the same class as a ruger. And if I am spending more I would expect it to meet the same standard ruger has set. Anyways thats my take.

 

[shortround]

I have yet to shoot my P22 to the point of failure, but it is getting close.

I think the metal it is made of makes it subject to excessive wear after only a few thousand rounds.

Then again, it ain't no Ruger MK II / MK III.

Be well.

 

[skinman]

I am a BIG Ruger fan...I currently have several Ruger rimfires, a couple of 10-22s, and a 9mm P89DC...and at one time or another, I have owned a 1973 Single Six, a 1974 .357 New Model Blackhawk, (shoulda kept those) and a 1983 MKII ...and it just may be a case of aesthetics, but personally, I think those Ruger MK pistols are just plain UGLY.

I am not singing the praises of the P22, just that a lot of folks seem to have a lot of problems with them, and I have not had any problems at all with the two I have that caused me to leave the range early because one of them failed. Also, I agree about the soft metal used to make the Walther...but the 10-22 is made of soft pot-metal also, and I can't even begin to count the rounds I have pushed through both of mine...a 1974 and a 1991 model...has to be tens of thousands with not one single failure. I even have an original magazine for the 1974 model that still does the job.

 

[texas_teacher]

I keep reading about how bad the Walther P22 is and I just don't get it at all...

500 rounds down the pipe of my 3.25 inch yesterday with one fail to fire...100 each of Federal Target, Federal Lightening bulk red box, and Winchester Wildcat, and 200 rounds of Remington Golden Bullets...the FTF was a Winchester with a solid pin strike (it is finicky with Winchester ammo). Fist size groups @ 10 feet and spreads out to about an 8 inch groups @ 25 feet (which is mostly me) with very few fliers. Slow fire, rapid fire, rapid fire and reload, no problems.


The only other .22 pistol I have ever owned that I like as much and was as reliable is the Ruger Single-Six I sold a couple of decades back...and now wish I had kept it.

My old P22 used to only love the Remington Golds. I used to get FTF's running rampant in my Walther before I switched exclusively to Remington bulk Golds and never again had a problem. I don't get all the negative hype about the P22. Some 1911's are just as finicky as the P22.

 

[shortround]

I am a BIG Ruger fan...I currently have several Ruger rimfires, a couple of 10-22s, and a 9mm P89DC...and at one time or another, I have owned a 1973 Single Six, a 1974 .357 New Model Blackhawk, (shoulda kept those) and a 1983 MKII ...and it just may be a case of aesthetics, but personally, I think those Ruger MK pistols are just plain UGLY.

I am not singing the praises of the P22, just that a lot of folks seem to have a lot of problems with them, and I have not had any problems at all with the two I have that caused me to leave the range early because one of them failed. Also, I agree about the soft metal used to make the Walther...but the 10-22 is made of soft pot-metal also, and I can't even begin to count the rounds I have pushed through both of mine...a 1974 and a 1991 model...has to be tens of thousands with not one single failure. I even have an original magazine for the 1974 model that still does the job.

I hear ya. I think the difference between the 10-22 and the P22, is that in the carbine, the receiver is made of a light alloy in which the steel bolt reciprocates; and in the P-22, the pot-metal reciprocates.

OBTW, the 1982 Single Six visits the range more often than all the other horses in the stable.

Be well.

 

[skinman]

Yeah, I really loved shooting that one and the Blackhawk. I bought the Single Six from a shipmate who needed cash in 1976...it was in pristine condition and I paid $75 for it and both cylinders...sold it for $100 in 1985 when I found myself in the same situation needing cash. That one and the .357 New Model Blackhawk are two that I really wish I had been able to keep.

I have done some simple and easy DIY improvements on the 3.25 inch P22 to reduce slide wear, improve feeding, and cycle more reliably, but I have not done anything to the 5 inch Target model and it shoots just fine. I plan to do the same improvements to reduce slide wear to it eventually but I do not shoot it as much because it just isn't as well balanced as the short barrel.

 

[WB5MHA]

On the plus side this pistol feels good in my hand and is "inexpensive". I bought the first one I saw for sale and it seemed like a nice package. S&W service has been excellent, replacing the pistol not just once but twice. Which brings up the negatives: Inexpensive translates to "cheap" but it works.......until you wear it out. It is the Bic lighter of 22's. Even the service rep told me that since mine was purchased at the time of S&W's lifetime guarantee "just shoot it until it stops working, send it back to us and it will be replaced". It has, I have and S&W has come through.

Don't mistake this for an heirloom quality Walther, a name that S&W purchased for the right to US imports. It is manufactured in Germany, uses the Walther name but deep down it's a budget priced S&W. Both S&W and Walther were once world class firearms manufacturers. Mass production at low price is now the name of the game.

 

[Chrs2fer23]

I have the 5" barrel model and it has been really fun and very accurate. I bought the Walther because it had the best grip and weight for my son, who was 8 when I bought it. I shoot it way more than he does. It shoots anything I feed it. Guess I got a good one.

 

[skinman]

Don't mistake this for an heirloom quality Walther, a name that S&W purchased for the right to US imports. It is manufactured in Germany, uses the Walther name but deep down it's a budget priced S&W. Both S&W and Walther were once world class firearms manufacturers. Mass production at low price is now the name of the game.

I do not consider any plastic-frame handgun as, "heirloom quality." They are by design like the Bic you mentioned, cheap throw-away weapons...use them until they wear out and then get another... IMHO.

 

[Angered_Kabar]

I think a lot of people would be surprised how well a well designed plastic gun can hold up.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I use one as a host for my Sparrow, works very well.

 

[Younggun]

I think a lot of people would be surprised how well a well designed plastic gun can hold up.

<ahem>Glock<ahem>

 

[Ghostie]

just picked one up today, cycled about 50 rounds through it with 1 FTF. going to shoot the heck out of it this week to see how it holds up.

beautiful gun

 

[skinman]

If you are handy with a Dremmel tool, you can do some quick radius work and polishing on the trigger bar ears to reduce the wear on the slide and polish the hammer and safety bar to make the slide cycle smoother, and polish the chamber lip and ramp which really made a difference with mine cycling different ammo. There is a guy over on RimfireCentral.com who is a real guru on these little pistols. He literally wrote and illustrated a bible on the P-22 and explains these and other mods complete with great photos that you may still be able to download. It is over 9 mb which may be too big to email.

 

[Fireberry]

Yesterday 40 rounds cheap Federal Champion rounds 4 non-loads.
20 rounds Remington 22 Viper no mis-feeds.

Pretty sure the W P22 will take a break as soon as my gun shop can get me this new Ruger.

Ruger's NEW SR22 Pistol - Gunblast.com - YouTube

http://

 

[Ghostie]

Put a few hundred rounds of Federal .22 through it tonight, not one FTF/FTE.....very happy with this gun