P-22
It’s a terrible shame really, the P22 was a wonderful promise. A promise made by Walther of a miniaturized P99, cute as a button, and chambered for .22 Long Rifle. The only problem is the implementation.
I dunno. I really like mine. It did have some problems but those were easily fixed. It’s a good, inexpensive plinker.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I’m not so hot on them anymore… it’s not a materials issue with them, it’s a whole host of design problems.I only got about 4000 rounds out of mine before it had to go back to the factory for a new trigger bar. And that’s beyond:
– chamber cut too sharply
– “halved” frame design that comes unscrewed
– barrel nut design prone to coming loose
– safety retention setup that doesn’t
– no implementation of a decocker OR a hammer block, only a FP block
– slides cracking at stress risers
– nearly frickin’ impossible to reassemble according to their instructions
September 29th, 2008 at 10:25 am
We went through three or four in the rental case at CCA between 12/04 and 5/07, including two cracked slides.
During that period, the Ruger 22/45 needed a firing pin and the Buckmark had a grip screw fall out.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:25 am
The only problem I have had with mine until now has been the barrel nut coming unscrewed. Then last weekend the rear sight assembly decided it was time to depart the gun for greener pastures. Other than that, it’s around 11k rounds (I honestly lost count after 7 or 8 thousand) so it’s running pretty well for me.
I do agree with strangegun though, the biggest problem with the line overall is quality control – you can get one like mine which is a gem, or you could get a total POS clunker.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
PS: As far as “inexpensive plinker” goes, how come Hi-Points, with their injection-molded plastic frames and cast Zamak (zinc alloy) slides are cheap junk at ~$100, but the P-22, with its injection-molded plastic frame and MIM Zamak (zinc alloy) slides are “inexpensive” at almost three times the price?
September 29th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I don’t think you had the same array of problems as other people. Before I modified mine, it scratched the crap out of the slide every time it fired (the proof shot alone had cut out sizable chunks), tended to launch spent cartridges into the user’s face, and eventually developed some scary looking marks across some internal components. S&W’s tech support dealt with the real show-stopping last one, but that’s not the sort of flaw you should be able to run into on a modern and high-end firearm. The “A” series magazines also sucked.
That thing’s supposed to be retailing for more than a Browning Buckmark, so finding ‘meh’ quality machinework is a big turn-off. A safety lever that moves under its own demand takes things to a whole new level of “oh crap”.
I still use mine — it’s great for every-day carry when I might need a few rounds of snakeshot — but I can’t say I recommend it with a 22A or Buckmark on the shelves at the same or lower prices.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I almost bought a P-22 as my 1st pistol, but backed out upon learning of the MIM Zinc slides. Making the slide out of pot metal just doesn’t seem like a great idea.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:28 am
The slide being made of zinc isn’t that bad — it shouldn’t run into the sort of stresses or heat to actually damage those metals. The problem is that it does run into the sort of stresses that can damage those metals. It really shouldn’t, and a half-hour with a dremel can fix the issues, but seeing that sort of problem coming from a Walther-branded gun is just a little off-putting.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I went to the dealer to but a P22 on Friday but they didn’t have the model I wanted. At least I thought I wanted a P22.
Question is, what is a good alternative .22 pistol outside of getting a Ruger. Is the only other valid choice a Buckmark?
What about and .22s that are no longer in production?
Thanks!
September 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am
ZAMAK shouldn’t really be a problem on a part like a slide. The trouble it runs into is that the ejection port is molded with a much sharper radius than is needed, AND a thinned section below it with the slide lock lever catch operating in it.
If they had lessened that radius, there wouldn’t be this drastic weak point in the slide where a crack can propogate from air to air in moments.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Not really. I’ve had a lot of success with an S&W 22A. It’s not without its flaws — there’s a recoil spacer that needs to be replaced every few thousand rounds — but it’s a cheap, effective, accurate gun, with the best factory trigger I’ve seen in a .22 in the last decade. It’s also much easier to assemble and take apart than most other .22s.
You’d have problems going wrong with either a Ruger Single Six or most of S&W’s .22 revolver options. I wouldn’t advise the Ruger Mark III, but that’s just because taking it apart is a *pain* — if you’re good with that stuff, it’s a great gun.
As for older firearms, there’s a pretty wide variety of great options out there. I’m still in the market for a Colt Woodsman : that was one of the funnest guns to fire I’ve ever seen. There are tons of good old guns out there.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I had problems with mine initially…
I had to do some home ‘smithing to keep the slide from getting gouged, and the addition of a 5″ barrel did away with most of the ammo problems. I also put a laser on it.
People like to shoot it but it’s not worth the money.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I’m not real impressed with the 22A/22S either; it’s not one of S&W’s better efforts. That being said, however, they are phenomenally accurate guns. Rumor has it that the barrels are rifles on the same machinery as the much-pricier Model 41. A lot of folks have great success using them as beginner guns in the Smallbore class in Bullseye shoting until they can afford something spendier.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Because everyone knows that if it says Walther on the slide than it’s Totally Teutonically Awesome. If HK made a .22 pistol on the USP frame, I’m sure it would shoot sub 1-moa at 100 yards with iron sights.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I like my little Bersa Firestorm .22 It’s pretty much identical to the .380 Bersa.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I’m still waiting for them to bring back the TPH 22LR. Any time you’re ready Walther. And I want mine with a threaded barrel.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
/me reaches for asbestos shorts/
I’ve really enjoyed my SIG/Sauer Mosquito (but it’s not hard to find people who hate them. I like mine a lot more than the P22.
But the .22 I like the MOSTEST is the Advantage Arms .22 conversion for my Glock.
After the first time I took it to the range I wondered why the hell I hadn’t bought one years ago.
Eight days, ~3000 rds, no hiccups.
September 30th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Thanks for the comments. I guess I will go to the gun show here on the 10th-12th and find something then. Still no idea what I am going to buy. Might just be a Ruger after all.
September 30th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I use my P22 to teach new-to-shooting friends, as it is very close in design and shape to larger full-power autoloaders. It’s just smaller and has absolutely no recoil. I haven’t had problems with mine so far, and I think I’ve got about 2K rounds through it. I don’t even count on .22LRs, honestly.