Walther P22 Reviews

by **kondoros1** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:23 pm

The worst pistol I have ever put in my hands. Bought new. Never worked properly, accuracy sucks. Rear sight is made of cheap plastic. After few rds rear sight started to move up-down-left-right - finally dissapeared. The overall quality is similar to UMAREX signal pistols which are used by 15 years old kids for fun. I am embarassed of myself for buying this "gun"". Walther (Germany) of course pretends that all the P22 problems are unknown to them... I was born at night but it wasnt last night."

by **gman** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:42 pm

I bought the 3 barrel model & I love this little pistol. The only feed problems that I have encountered were when I used CHEAP ammo! (Remington Thunderbolts to be exact.) Higher Quality ammo works great. I put about 500 rds through in two sessions. This is a great gun for fucking around with your buds and buddies in the woods or up in the mts. I wouldnt carry it to save my life, but in all fairness to the P22, I would not carry such a weak caliber to save my life. Thats what my .357 S&W is for.

by **sliperywhenwet** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 1:49 am

great little pistol ,grip too small for the average man hand but still a fun lttle firearm

by **mmsi1002** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:00 am

Time to set the record straight. I heard alot of bad at 1st about this gun so I researched for months. The conclusion is that if youre interested in it, go get one. There were problems with the earlier models but all have been worked out. Stick to high velocity ammo & it will be a fun gun to shoot with NO problems. I bought mine & absoluely love it & havent had a single jam or any problem after 2000 rounds. Great gun, great price.....Enjoy!

by **Idahoser** » Fri May 05, 2006 4:21 pm

Bought the carbon-fiber short model. TOOK IT HOME AND CLEANED IT and then went shooting, since "out of the box"" theres no lube. The sights on the short barrel are ""only"" combat-pistol accurate, like any Glock, Walther, etc. Not as good as a Buckmark, but then thats not what this pistol is trying to be. Its also not a ""practice P99"", though it will do the job its not precisely a ""P99 in .22"". It IS small, reliable, and fun. I bought two brands of 500+ rd. bricks, and had ZERO failures. Great plinker, small enough to conceal if you simply cant handle more than a .22 (but thats a training issue, not a ""cant"" issue). Buy one."

by **Poke** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:31 am

Bought the short model yesterday. Took it straight to the range and shot 100 mini mags and 150 Remington 40gr hollow point high velocoity. Zero malfunctions. I had to adjust the windage a little left, but that was easily done with the rim of a cartrige. Elevation was good at 25 yds. Re-assembly was a little bit of a challenge at first. Use the spring rod extension they supply to make the recoil spring stay straight during re-assembly and you wont have any problem. It looks like Walther fixed the problems with this gun. I was very leary of buying it after reading so many negative reviews about malfunctions, but Im glad I did. It is a great gun for plinking, Shooting a lot for little $$$, and the wife and kids should enjoy it also. If your are interested in the P22, dont hesitate.

by **1917-1911M** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:06 pm

You can read extensively about the problems and solutions of this pistol at RimFireCentral.com, Walther Section. There is a complete disassembly/reassebly section.

Ive owned three and the pistol has inherent design plroblems. There to a large extent can be fixed. It is a good pistol but rarely unless modified. Problems, breaks hammer springs far too frequently, ejection direction is poor, it will eject brass right between your eyes, the barrel nut and two frame screws will vibrate loose, the slide hangs up due to a poor design interface between the hmmer tip an the bottom of the breech block, you must have the "A"" series magazines and the new 06 short slot mags do not work well. The gun must be fired ""dry"" using a dry lubricant, not oil or grease. The trigger bar ears must be rounded so they dont dig into the bottom of the slide on most pistols. Cocking the pistol with the internal safety on will lock the gun up and the safety levers can rotate on their own due to the hammer tip rolling over the safety bar which act to cock the hammer. Some models will not work in double action. All of the above can be easily fixed for a super reliable pistol. Too bad Walther isnt doing it. No the pistol has had very few improvements since introduction. Slight reprofile of the hammer tip, not done quite right, modified mags that worked fine and now back to a style that doesnt, and a ""O"" ring on the barrel nut to help it stay tight. A number of users have crracked their slide. Smith and Wesson, who services the pistol for Walther has been extremely helpful furnishing free repair or parts for the asking regardless of age or owner modifications. Other than that, no changes and the same problems as the originals. Check out the RFC site for photos and intelligent discussion. The whole story is at the RFC Forum. Buy the pistol, there is nothing else like it. The barrel is threaded for a suppressor. The California model does not have a removable barrel nut. M1911"

by **1917-1911M** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:26 pm

BTW I wore out my first ones slide by 4,000 to 5,000 rounds using Tetra gun grease and Hoppes oil, two great products but not for a zinc pistol. It was cleaned every 250 to 500 rounds. Oil/grease collects spent powder making an abraisive mixture that will eat that slide up. I bought another dubbed the "test gun"" at RFC, disassembled it, carefully photoed all components, took digital measurements of all critical ""wear"" components, frame rails, slide grooves, etc. Thoroughly cleaned the pistol/magazine with Gunscrubber, liberal spray of Remington Remoil with Teflon. Blow dry with compressed air. Repeat this procedure every 1000 rounds or so. The pistol has over 25,000 rounds through it to date and exhibits absolutely no wear that a digital caliper measuring the 0.000"" can detect. I recently fired inexpensive Remington Golden Bullets through it with no disassembly or cleaning or any kind allowed. It went over 2,600 rounds before the firing pin broke at appx. 23,500 total rounds. The hammer spring broke at 16,000 rounds. My Ruger MK series wont fire that many times, uncleaned and unlubricated. Some posters at RFC claim over 50,000 total rounds and the pistol in fine shape with ""dry"" lubrication.. It seems entirely possible as mine are extremely reliable as modified. M1911"

by **gbuddyjoe** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:25 pm

Picked up the carbon fiber edition to use as a plinker and have never regretted it since. Its a great gun for just letting off a few rounds without breaking the bank, and with my Insight X2 Laser it makes an imposing little piece when aimed at the bad guy. Definitely worth a look.

by **Ra_** » Sun May 21, 2006 2:48 pm

Love the gun.

Take a little time to smooth the ramp and rails

and it operates smoother.

I dont use the guide rod for the spring.

I finesse it on and I can remove and replace the slide, in 7 seconds.

Im now making a prototype for a spring loaded holster.

http://surfpick.com/walther

It secures and protects the hammer region

while still allowing instant access to the pistol.