jurist
02-05-2004, 10:04 PM
Walther P22 Review
http://ndnrights.org/tac1.jpg
Positives:
1. Highly Accurate
2. .22 Caliber
3. Small Size (On a big guy, it is easily concealable – my pocket – anywhere; the size makes me certain that this would be the case with smaller people as well)
4. Large number of readily available accessories (target barrel, barrel weights, thread adapters, suppressors, compensators, tactical lights, lasers [for the wannabe bad boys], holsters, etc.)
5. Double Stack 10 round mags (should the assault weapons ban expire there is plenty of room in the magazine for Walther begin selling 15+ round mags that are exactly the same size as the present mags with no modification to the mag body)
6. German Quality (Great balance/Quality-Durable External Finish)
7. Interchangeable back straps to allow for a better fit for different sized hands. (fits large hands comfortably)
8. Three Dot Sights
9. Tactical Mounting Rail
10. Square trigger guard for two hand shooting
Negatives:
1. Smith & Wesson imports the Walther P22 and other Walther products under the Walther America name and as a result Smith & Wesson’s gunsmiths provide service – sadly they are probably even less competent gunsmiths when it comes to Walthers than most computer techs are at repairing Model A Fords.
2. Jamming
-----a. Failures to eject (ejector spring may not be tight enough to maintain a good grip on the rim of the shell)
-----b. Chambering an empty round (occasionally the slide will eject the spent casing but fail to chamber the next round although the mag is loaded)
-----c. Slide will not always chamber the round completely causing the slide to lock partially opened. (When this happens if you tap the side of the slide, the slide will continue its forward motion and load the next round.)
-----d. Stove piping
3. Poor Fitting
-----a. Beneath the barrel nut and the barrel sleeve, the tip of the barrel looks like it was cut about 3/4s of the way and the rest broken off.
-----b. Feed ramp is narrow and sharp preventing a large variety of .22 ammo to function reliably.
-----c. The Chamber is just slightly too small. (The fact that the chamber is slightly too small makes it necessary to clean the barrel and chamber often and prevents the reliable functioning of some brands of ammunition.)
-----d. The Barrel and chamber are not completely welded to the trunion/feed ramp, which allows a very small amount gas to escape.
-----e. Slide to frame fitting is rough in some places which results in failures to load a round completely.
-----f. Magazines do not always fit as tightly as they should.
4. Poor Finishing of Internals
-----a. Finish on the barrel sleeve is of poor quality and is prone to rusting.
-----b. Finish on the inside of the slide is of poor quality and is prone to rusting.
-----c. Chamber is stainless steel however it would function more reliably if it was chrome due to the fact that .22s tend to be dirty.
5. Decockers are dangerous. (I am not a fan of safety’s in fact I never use them. I am even a bigger opponent of decockers. The Walther P22 substitutes a safety for a decocker. This decocker is simply dangerous for any person intending to use the P22 as a carry pistol. Just imagine a thug with a bat/knife/gun rushing at you while all you hear is click…click…click from your trusty pistol rather than the expected triple tap’s bang…bang…bang).
6. The Walther P22 comes standard with a chamber/barrel lock in the case -What it should have come standard with was a dremel tool to polish away the rough spots on the internals that Walther didn’t get around to fixing during the manufacturing process.
7. Mag release is in an awkward position for some shooters (press down on the trigger guard rather than a button as with the CZ-75 and most other automatics.). I did not have a problem with the location however I have observed other shooters who dropped the mag inadvertently several times before they got used to its location.
8. Out of the box the P22 prefers CCI ammo (especially CCI Mini-Mags) to function reliably. Other brands especially, standard velocity bulk ammo often functions less than reliably in a stock pistol. Problems can occur prior to polishing away manufacturing imperfections if you do not use high velocity ammunition. Additionally, the small chamber size makes firing .22 bullets that have been moly/wax coated function poorly after several mags and no cleaning. After polishing, I can now use Aguila SSS (SubSonic Sniper [60 grain .22 caliber]) in my carry weapon and have never encountered a problem.
Conclusion
It should be noted now that not all P22’s have these problems – some function absolutely flawlessly straight from the factory. Either manufacturing of the P22 was not exact in all cases or the reports are true that Walther has responded to the problems they have heard about and attempted to address them in successive productions.
Taken on a whole, the Walther P22 is an excellent pistol and can function reliably with minor polishing done at home with a dremel tool. Given its small size, accuracy, balance, quality and the large number of readily available accessories it is an excellent pistol at a reasonable price (approx. $245) that can prove a highly reliable carry weapon.
http://ndnrights.org/tac1.jpg
Positives:
1. Highly Accurate
2. .22 Caliber
3. Small Size (On a big guy, it is easily concealable – my pocket – anywhere; the size makes me certain that this would be the case with smaller people as well)
4. Large number of readily available accessories (target barrel, barrel weights, thread adapters, suppressors, compensators, tactical lights, lasers [for the wannabe bad boys], holsters, etc.)
5. Double Stack 10 round mags (should the assault weapons ban expire there is plenty of room in the magazine for Walther begin selling 15+ round mags that are exactly the same size as the present mags with no modification to the mag body)
6. German Quality (Great balance/Quality-Durable External Finish)
7. Interchangeable back straps to allow for a better fit for different sized hands. (fits large hands comfortably)
8. Three Dot Sights
9. Tactical Mounting Rail
10. Square trigger guard for two hand shooting
Negatives:
1. Smith & Wesson imports the Walther P22 and other Walther products under the Walther America name and as a result Smith & Wesson’s gunsmiths provide service – sadly they are probably even less competent gunsmiths when it comes to Walthers than most computer techs are at repairing Model A Fords.
2. Jamming
-----a. Failures to eject (ejector spring may not be tight enough to maintain a good grip on the rim of the shell)
-----b. Chambering an empty round (occasionally the slide will eject the spent casing but fail to chamber the next round although the mag is loaded)
-----c. Slide will not always chamber the round completely causing the slide to lock partially opened. (When this happens if you tap the side of the slide, the slide will continue its forward motion and load the next round.)
-----d. Stove piping
3. Poor Fitting
-----a. Beneath the barrel nut and the barrel sleeve, the tip of the barrel looks like it was cut about 3/4s of the way and the rest broken off.
-----b. Feed ramp is narrow and sharp preventing a large variety of .22 ammo to function reliably.
-----c. The Chamber is just slightly too small. (The fact that the chamber is slightly too small makes it necessary to clean the barrel and chamber often and prevents the reliable functioning of some brands of ammunition.)
-----d. The Barrel and chamber are not completely welded to the trunion/feed ramp, which allows a very small amount gas to escape.
-----e. Slide to frame fitting is rough in some places which results in failures to load a round completely.
-----f. Magazines do not always fit as tightly as they should.
4. Poor Finishing of Internals
-----a. Finish on the barrel sleeve is of poor quality and is prone to rusting.
-----b. Finish on the inside of the slide is of poor quality and is prone to rusting.
-----c. Chamber is stainless steel however it would function more reliably if it was chrome due to the fact that .22s tend to be dirty.
5. Decockers are dangerous. (I am not a fan of safety’s in fact I never use them. I am even a bigger opponent of decockers. The Walther P22 substitutes a safety for a decocker. This decocker is simply dangerous for any person intending to use the P22 as a carry pistol. Just imagine a thug with a bat/knife/gun rushing at you while all you hear is click…click…click from your trusty pistol rather than the expected triple tap’s bang…bang…bang).
6. The Walther P22 comes standard with a chamber/barrel lock in the case -What it should have come standard with was a dremel tool to polish away the rough spots on the internals that Walther didn’t get around to fixing during the manufacturing process.
7. Mag release is in an awkward position for some shooters (press down on the trigger guard rather than a button as with the CZ-75 and most other automatics.). I did not have a problem with the location however I have observed other shooters who dropped the mag inadvertently several times before they got used to its location.
8. Out of the box the P22 prefers CCI ammo (especially CCI Mini-Mags) to function reliably. Other brands especially, standard velocity bulk ammo often functions less than reliably in a stock pistol. Problems can occur prior to polishing away manufacturing imperfections if you do not use high velocity ammunition. Additionally, the small chamber size makes firing .22 bullets that have been moly/wax coated function poorly after several mags and no cleaning. After polishing, I can now use Aguila SSS (SubSonic Sniper [60 grain .22 caliber]) in my carry weapon and have never encountered a problem.
Conclusion
It should be noted now that not all P22’s have these problems – some function absolutely flawlessly straight from the factory. Either manufacturing of the P22 was not exact in all cases or the reports are true that Walther has responded to the problems they have heard about and attempted to address them in successive productions.
Taken on a whole, the Walther P22 is an excellent pistol and can function reliably with minor polishing done at home with a dremel tool. Given its small size, accuracy, balance, quality and the large number of readily available accessories it is an excellent pistol at a reasonable price (approx. $245) that can prove a highly reliable carry weapon.