Walther P22 .22 cal 3.4 in barrel
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
From: Manning, Iowa
I have only had the gun a week; I have about 500rounds through it already. I have been out shooting it 4 times now. I have found the gun to be very accurate, well balanced and fun to shoot. Of course this is not a target pistol and as a .22 it has limited range. I did run into a few speed bumps in finding reliable ammo for it. Now understand that I had knowledge of the temperamental nature of the WaltherP22 when it comes to ammo. I had read several reviews that mentioned this but also found an equal number that didn't.
I have shot the gun 4 times since I purchased it one week ago and the following is what I encountered.
The First time I went out shooting was the day I picked the gun up new from my gun dealer.I got the gun and drove almost directly to the firing range. Ihad a lot of malfunctions; failure to feeds, stovepipes, and one failure to eject. I was shooting Winchester’s "Wal-mart special" 500 round box. The bullets were standard velocity all lead hollow points. The gun was a bit dirty brand new in the box so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I took it directly home, cleaned and oiled it.
The second time out I brought some CCI Mini Mags (copper jacketed hollow points), Remington 22 target (a standard velocity solid bullet, seems to have a coating on the lead), and the Cheapies I used last time. I shot 20 rounds each of the CCI's and Remington Target's with out malfunction and then switched to the Winchester's. I had no malfunctions with the Remington's and CCI's and minimal malfunctions with the Winchester's.
Thinking the good cleaning and oiling of the firearm assisted inthe reliable functioning of it, I went out the third time armed only with the Cheap Winchester's.Iwashoping to be able to shoot the cheap ammo because the reason I purchased the gun was for supper cheappractice.The Winchesterswere about 8 or 9 dollars for a 500 round box, the other two were 4 dollars for100 rounds each. I again encountered a great number of malfunctions and went home disappointed.
This morning, after working till 8am, I went out with some new Remington Golden Bullet .22 high velocity hollow points (they have a copper jacket and cost about $9 for a 550 round box). I had No malfunctions in the 160 rounds I shot and I couldn't be happier.
It is my opinion that it will shoot high quality .22 ammo reliablybut that it will also shoot jacketed high velocity ammo regardless. I think the lead bullets are too softand thestandard velocity rounds don't have the power to cycle the slide all the way to the rear to pick up the next round.
In conclusion, I would recommend this gun to someone for a couple of reasons. It is a "combat" pistol, for lack of a better term. By that I mean it is not a target pistol and is similar to many larger caliber semi-auto handguns. This Makes the P22 a good choice for someone, such as my self, looking for a good quality practice .22 for a reasonable price. Practicing with a center fire handgun can be cost prohibitive and this .22 is a good, cheaper alternate which is why I didn’t give up at finding an el'cheapo box of ammo that would fire reliably.
I have shot the gun 4 times since I purchased it one week ago and the following is what I encountered.
The First time I went out shooting was the day I picked the gun up new from my gun dealer.I got the gun and drove almost directly to the firing range. Ihad a lot of malfunctions; failure to feeds, stovepipes, and one failure to eject. I was shooting Winchester’s "Wal-mart special" 500 round box. The bullets were standard velocity all lead hollow points. The gun was a bit dirty brand new in the box so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I took it directly home, cleaned and oiled it.
The second time out I brought some CCI Mini Mags (copper jacketed hollow points), Remington 22 target (a standard velocity solid bullet, seems to have a coating on the lead), and the Cheapies I used last time. I shot 20 rounds each of the CCI's and Remington Target's with out malfunction and then switched to the Winchester's. I had no malfunctions with the Remington's and CCI's and minimal malfunctions with the Winchester's.
Thinking the good cleaning and oiling of the firearm assisted inthe reliable functioning of it, I went out the third time armed only with the Cheap Winchester's.Iwashoping to be able to shoot the cheap ammo because the reason I purchased the gun was for supper cheappractice.The Winchesterswere about 8 or 9 dollars for a 500 round box, the other two were 4 dollars for100 rounds each. I again encountered a great number of malfunctions and went home disappointed.
This morning, after working till 8am, I went out with some new Remington Golden Bullet .22 high velocity hollow points (they have a copper jacket and cost about $9 for a 550 round box). I had No malfunctions in the 160 rounds I shot and I couldn't be happier.
It is my opinion that it will shoot high quality .22 ammo reliablybut that it will also shoot jacketed high velocity ammo regardless. I think the lead bullets are too softand thestandard velocity rounds don't have the power to cycle the slide all the way to the rear to pick up the next round.
In conclusion, I would recommend this gun to someone for a couple of reasons. It is a "combat" pistol, for lack of a better term. By that I mean it is not a target pistol and is similar to many larger caliber semi-auto handguns. This Makes the P22 a good choice for someone, such as my self, looking for a good quality practice .22 for a reasonable price. Practicing with a center fire handgun can be cost prohibitive and this .22 is a good, cheaper alternate which is why I didn’t give up at finding an el'cheapo box of ammo that would fire reliably.
#3
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,171
Likes: 0
From: A flat lander lost in the mountains of Northern,AZ
when you first got it did you clean it before shooting it? or did you go shoot it then clean it when you got home? also every walther ive shot didnt matter what caliber it was they are tempermental guns when it comes to ammo, they seem to dislike hollow points and/or plain lead bullets. you might try winchester super-x .22's or any quality ammo that is a round nose copper coated bullet, stay away from the cheapo bulk stuff, the only bulk 22 that might be ok would be the federal bulk ammo at wal mart. good luck
#4
Your ammunition related issues are not unusual for a short barreled pistol. The powders loaded in most .22 LR ammunition is made for rifles, and some of it doesn't have a very consistent burn rate in a short pistol barrel. I had the same issues with a Beretta model 21.
#5
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
From: Manning, Iowa
When I shot it the first time I didn't clean it before hand I just shot it out of the box. I tried to identify that this may have been a reason for the malfunctions.
Well as it may have gotten lost in my post I did find ammo that seems to work well. it is Remington golden bullet. They are a high velocity hollow points with a copper jacket.I got a 550 round brick for$9. I shot 160 rounds today with out a problem. The whole reason for purchasing this gun was to be able to shoot the bulk ammo to keep cost very low for practice. Even at $4 per 100 I am not likely to practice frequently. Also I had another guy tell me that Federals will not work well at all....I think when I said "a high velocity copper jacketed bullet" is thebest rule of thumb from my experiences and what I have gathered from others.
Of course I might go out in the morning and the Remington's might not work worth a crap! Man am I having fun or what!!!!!
Well as it may have gotten lost in my post I did find ammo that seems to work well. it is Remington golden bullet. They are a high velocity hollow points with a copper jacket.I got a 550 round brick for$9. I shot 160 rounds today with out a problem. The whole reason for purchasing this gun was to be able to shoot the bulk ammo to keep cost very low for practice. Even at $4 per 100 I am not likely to practice frequently. Also I had another guy tell me that Federals will not work well at all....I think when I said "a high velocity copper jacketed bullet" is thebest rule of thumb from my experiences and what I have gathered from others.
Of course I might go out in the morning and the Remington's might not work worth a crap! Man am I having fun or what!!!!!
#6
Me and a friend tried every 22 bullet walmart sold. The only ones that worked were the rem golds. Like the ones you have now. I have 2000 rounds in the gun case just in case i get a wild hair and wanna spend a full day at the range working on my pistol shooting.




