Survival weapon review: Walther G22

So this week doing my typical horse trading I ended up with a nice little
Walther G22
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First thing I do with a new weapon is take it apart for a good scrubbing and inspection to make sure everything is as it should be...
the owners manual has some poorly written instructions on field stripping but they do have pictures...

trust me on this, if your not careful the instant you remove the trigger group, tiny little springs are going to fall out! Don't just yank, pull slowly and carefully...

the bolt uses a double recoil spring, two rods guide the bolt in its travel. taking them out was easy, getting then back in was a bitch... hint I used a bit of string to hold the bolt compressed then dropped it in and cut the string....

I've read that folks have a lot of feeding problems with this model. once I had her apart I could see why. It's a bit of a pain to disassemble so I'm sure they not getting the cleaning they should. the feed ramp is part of the trigger group and that really needs to be given a good cleaning with a brass brush and enough solvent to make it sparkle... same with those recoil springs and guide rods... give em a good oiling...

the bolt seems to be milled to pretty close specs too... and old toothbrush Hoppe's 9 and a few drops of oil, wipe up the excess should keep you going.
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Surprisingly there's very little info on these guns...
obviously its a bull pup. mine is set up for a right handed shooter. you can swap it over to a lefty... if you have simple gunsmith skills...
There are a couple of spacers. One about 7/8" and the other 3/8" is coupled with a softer buttplate that adds another 3/8". With all the spacers in place the length-of-pull is fine for most adults, but you can vary the combinations to fit kids or women. There is a little plastic bag of goodies that includes some spare screws to adjust the buttplate thickness and also a proper metric-sized Allen wrench to do the work. It only takes a minute to make a switch. There is also a hole where sling swivels could be installed.
over all it feels nose heavy and takes a bit time to get a feel for its point...
The rifle's carrying handle sports a pop-up rear sight and is also a scope mounting rail. The little gun almost begs you to put on a red dot sight of some kind. the rear sight has a little wheel marked 1, 2,3,4,5 number one seemed dead on at 50 feet.
up front it has a pillar front sight, reminds me of the old M16 before we got the A1's and so on. With the aim point mounted I can see that front sight in the bottom 1/3 of the scope but in an odd way its helps line everything up on target...

This little gun has lots of mounting rails one small one just under the front of the barrel another under the forearm piece and of course the carry handle... anything with a Weaver-type base will work...
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Above you see the results of my first shooting test...
at 50 yards and a mounted 3X9 50 mm scope I managed this , not to bad score with Federal Match ammo. did a lot less well with some 40 gr Winchester super-X and yes like some other gun reviewers when I tried her with Remington Thunderbolt's I too got failure to feed, this gun is finicky about what you feed her...

So how does it rate as a Survival weapon? I'd say 5 out of 10....
It does come with special tools to field strip and clean but your screwed if you lose them. Field stripping is a pain and time consuming. accuracy is great for a little non-target gun... but unless your after the coolness factor, it is cool... this one falls to the bottom of the grab as you go out the door, bet your life on gun list...

Never thought I would ever say this about a Walther, but... this one is just "Meh"

reply to post by DaddyBare


very nicely done. Since this gun has a cool factor, it's nice to see a real review to avoid sadness after buying one.

I am a big fan of the Marlin papoose for a survival weapon. It fits nicely into the bag it came with. (even with a scope on it) shoots very accurately and isn't too picky about what ammo you use. Easy to break down and clean. Plus the 22LR factor. cheap and plentiful rounds.

Tiny springs or proprietary stripping tools pretty much kill it as a "survival" tool.

How's the stock? A while ago I was looking at one of the Kel-Tec Subs or SU's as a fold it, stow it, forget it truck gun until I went into a shop and checked them out. The stocks on them felt like a falling rock or a knock against a tree would surely destroy them.

The G22 stock looks a little more solid. Shame about those tiny springs though.

reply to post by this guy right here


For plastic the stock is solid and feels like it will withstand a good deal of abuse...Doesn't feel flimsy like that Kel-Tec SU-16... However... underneath is a single big alien head screw you take out to remove that stock... when putting it back together I noticed if you over tighten that screw... it will make the stock rub against the bolts charging handle...

[edit on 21-4-2010 by DaddyBare]

Thanks for your honest asessment DB. All you bullpup fans have been warned! I really don't see the need for a bullpup .22 in the first place, not the right caliber for an "assault" weapon anyway.
Marlin papoose is a good call for a survival weapon but I will stick with the Ruger 10/22. It has the accuracy to make the walther look like a shotgun pattern.
Another good gun review my friend. Thanks!

I own one of these and I'd say a 5/10 is generous!!! The cheap plastic used for the sights can't hold 0 worth beans.

It's super tacticool and fun to shoot breakables w/ but so is a BB gun.

I wish I would have bought a 10/22.

reply to post by Protostellar


We do live and learn right...
For those who don't know MSRP on a G 22 is $509 for a base gun, you can find them deeply discounted at $435
MSRP of a top of the line Ruger 10/22 Target Tactical is $555

the good news... for me anyway... Is I took in two guns for my old S&W model 29 I hadn't touched in years... I got this G 22 (I plan to trade off) and an old Savage 110 e
now that Savage "IS" a great survival gun

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Thanks for your honest asessment DB.

You know me, I just call em like it is...
Fact is this was the first one I'd seen, didn't even know Walther made a rifle...
Was rather disappointed too...
Ah but as we all said, the Coolness factor means I'll have little trouble swapping it for something useful... something more user friendly too

Very nicely done!

As a newer member of the "excersize your second amendment rights" club, i love to see these type of reviews as I begin to collect.

Walther is a great manufacturer. However, as someone who is new to weapons, the cool factor often gets in the way of basing decisions merely on the facts.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this. I hope others follow suit with their own reviews of their weapons. I will be posting on a few very soon.

The best survival gun or rifle would be a single shot 410/45 long colt. you can use black powder and make your own bullets. If you want to defend your bug out location get an assault type rifle and stock up enough ammo to get you threw a few engagements; b/c if you survive them you can take the unused stuff from the dead guys if you don't you won't need the extra ammo anyways

reply to post by captaintyinknots


Just had to say thank you
and I look forward to reading your reviews as well...