Walther P22...Any Good

Hey guys I just wanted to post this thread because I was thinking of buying a walther p22, I have held them before but never fired one, Their fairly cheap with a price tag around three hundred dollars. Does any one own one or know anything about it to give me some advise? They are really cool looking and extremely small, But as far as 22 caliber goes, I dont know much about that caliber. Can a 22 stop an intruder just the same as a 9mm, What are the pros and cons that may come with owning a walther p22. Thanks

reply to post by tac109



I would not get one of these Walther P22s. There is alot of controversy about the production of them, problems with them below certain manufacturing dates/serial numbers.

Early models had problems. Magazine problems, finicky about ammo etc.
REad the reviews on this pistol. There are several articles on the web covering this gun

My .22 caliber pistol is a Ruger Government heavy barrel .22. Very few problems with this pistol. Not that finickey about the type of ammo you run through it. Very few feeding problems.
However this is more of a target type .22 and very accurate. Also I believe the cost for these pistols has gone up considerably since my purchase.

I personallly do not like a .22 for self defense. If so I would prefer my pump .22 gallery rifle...or my .22 rifle with a 20 gauge shotgun under it.

For a pistol I would more likely get a .38/357magnum caliber revolver. Revolvers are almost the ultimate in simplicity next to a single shot. This translates to reliability. You highly desire reliability in a self defense arm. I own two revolvers in .38/357 caliber..affording me the abilty to load either .38 Special ammunition or the higher powered .357 magnum ammo. This flexability is a nice feature of the .357 magnum caliber revolvers. You dont have to load .357 magnum ammunition but can instead load .38 specials without any modificactions to the pistol.
For most peoples .38 specials are very managable in recoil.

As I type this post I am standing the night watch here at my home along with my good friend Samuel Colt. He is a 1911 model auto in .45 ACP caliber. When I carry concealed I either carry this pistol or my 38/357 revolver.
My Ruger .22 pistol I will use alot at the range for practice and target shooting as .22s are still very afforadable.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Right on ORANGETOM1999 A-1 mint advise, and I also have a loaded .22 model 62 Winchester close at hand to greet miscrents with bad intentsions, (I collect gallery guns)...TAC109 .22 cal. will do the job, but in a semi pistol they are not reliable(except Ruger's, which are a target pistol and not very concealable)...If your looking for a smaller package, look into an H&K .380, more expensive , but very well made piece. Be aware that most semi pistols are picky about what you feed them, and some gunsmithing is needed to make them acceptable for self-defence...

i carry a s&w model 457- 45 auto. eats anything i run thru it and is accurate and tiny and recoil isn't bad at all. plus if you are looking for stopping power the 45 is the best. altho i love my 357 too!! and as for h&k you can never go wrong- same as sigs. as for a 22 (i assume you mean the 22 lr) really all you will do is piss someone off. 22wmr would be a better choice but they aren't made in a compact pistol as far as i know. only other 22 calibers would be rifle cartridges except for the short target cartridge that can't kill a chipmunk

reply to post by Oneshot1



One shot. I like my Ruger Government model for shooting pleasure and accuracy. I also like my pump gallery gun for shooting fun and relaxation. It shoots shorts, longs, and long rifles. I like that flexability even though I mostly shoot long rifles out of it. When I need quietness in handling pestilance around here I use shorts, CB caps or even subsonic target ammo with quick home made adaptions to the rifle
I Like a pump because it is simple and you control the feed.

I have not seen many of the Winchester gallery type guns for sale around here indicating to me that they are in limited supplys and hold prices.
Mine is a Rossi in the carbine version. TAke down knob on the side for breaking the rifle into two sections. Apparently this configuration of the gallery gun is in such demand that others are copying/producing this design. I believe even Tarus makes copys of the original Winchester design. Even these copys are begining to be pricey now days as evidenced by he Tarus web site.

Thanks,
Orangetom

A .22 semi-auto is ok for self defense as long as you are at close range and you unload the entire thing into the perp. Really though, for self defense you should not go any lower then a .380 which is essentially a 9mm short. A buddy of mine has a Walther and he gets feed problems pretty regularly. For self defense you can't go wrong with a .38 special revolver. It won't fail and you stand a good chance of stopping who you hit. I personally carry a .45 ACP defender. I use 165 grain Federal. Reduces recoil retains stopping power. For home defense I have a Hi-Point 9mm carbine. Can't beat it.

Really though. consider a slightly larger caliber and if you must go semi-auto make sure it is of a good quality. If you do get a cheapy make sure it uses a simple action like blowback. You will have a heavier slide and more recoil but you won't jam or have extraction problems.

Revolvers are always surefire.

Tinhatman posts some good advice.

I would like to ad to his post and also my previous post.

Do not cheap out on a defensive arm. This does not mean get the most expensive weapon out there. It means get all the gun or weapon you can afford. Also meaning that for the moneys you are willing and able to spend ...it has the correct features and track record.

In my mind..reliability for the caliber purchased is number one on the list ...all the caliber you get means nothing if it is not functionally reliable. Hence I tend twords wheel guns or revolvers.

Thanks,
Orangetom

I like the CZ 75 in 9mm. It's extremely reliable and not terribly expensive. Also if your not comfortable shooting it to begin with you can buy a 22 conversion for it.

In my opinion the p22 is a good gun as long as its recently manufactured and not one from earlier productions. The main problem with the p22's is the ejected rounds have a tendency to come back towards you, sometimes ending up going down the back of your shirt. There is a slight "mod" you can do to correct that but I think it voids the warranty.

22's aren't really a good choice for defense, sure if you put enough rounds through the guy he'll eventually go down but I wouldn't risk my life or the lives of my loved ones on such a small caliber stopping a intruder.

Take a look at the p99, its of course a bigger version of the p22 and from what i've heard its a nice gun and just as reliable as the p22, its available in .40 or 9mm. It's been used by a couple police forces in Europe since its release so im sure its up for the challenge of home defense. Cost from what I remember is around the $400-$500 range.

[edit on 1/17/2008 by ddoT]