Sidearms & Scatterguns Ruger SR22 or Walther P22?

[coldboremiracle]

I am in the market for a .22 pistol, mainly for fun, but also because my wife has recently voiced and interest in learning to shoot. Last saturday we went out and let her try several pistols, and the one she liked the most was the P22. I like the Walther as well, particularly for the threaded barrel as I plan to get a can to go with it. I know the Ruger has one as well, and I have heard lots of good things about it, so my question is to those who have owned and/or fired both; does one function/cycle better than the other, which was the most accurate (and sensitive to ammo selection) and which did you prefer?

 

[Doogie]

Have a P22 and they are pretty fun, but you may want to look at the M&P 22 as well. Know a couple people in Logan (EZNuts or Bunnypunter) that I'm sure would be happy to let you test theirs. The P22 and looking at the SR22 (never held one) are/seem a bit too small. Whereas, the M&P runs just a bit under a full size pistol. Also they hold 12 rounds instead of 10 which is kind of nice. Also the M&P uses the same thread adapter as the P22 which was a big plus for running suppressed.

 

[Bunnypunter]

Coldbore, if you are heading up to the Utah Shootouts this weekend I will be there and you can try the M&P 22 if interested. The Walter was nice but ran really gritty and was very small. You can supress a M&P the exact same way as the P22. Walter builds both since they are owned by S&W. I also find it funner to shoot supressed than the P22 because the sights actually funtion to a degree. The P22 you cant see over the can very well.

 

[Stormshadow]

I have both the P22 and the M&P 22, and overall, like the M&P better. Have found the P22 to be finicky with certain brands of ammo, especially when running it with a can. If you have big hands, the P22 will get "lost" in them. Bunnypunter is also spot on with his assessment of the differences with the sights, when running suppressed. Even if you can only get the 10rn mags for the M&P, they can be converted to 12rnds by removing the aluminum spacer under the mag spring. It is only in there for mags that need to go to 10rn only states.

 

[coldboremiracle]

That'd be great, I've heard alot of good things about the M&P. I'm not too worried about the size, I have no problem with the size of the P22, and my wife loves the way it fits her hands. I have heard from others that the Ruger works better than the Walther, and is more reliable when it comes to cycling and ammo selection. Thats why I'm looking at those two, as well as the budget I have for such a project.

 

[Sgt. 0811]

I have both, I much prefer the Ruger. Either way, whichever you decide DON'T get the Walther with the fake compensator.

 

[M21tactical]

My wife had no interest in shooting anything, until I got a P22 and suppressor. She loved it right away. She liked the grip and feel for her smaller hands and the lightness. Also, she quoted that it did not make much noise and no kick, in that it just "spits" when she fires it. She giggled like a little girl. Well that was perfect entry way to stepping up. Indoor ranges with others shooting, I convinced her to shoot it w/o the suppressor and she was ok with it, but preferred the suppressor.

The second step, then she asked to shoot my G19 and she kind of liked it. So without the P22 and suppressor, I may have never gotten her into shooting. Oh yeah, now she shoot my .22 rifles and she asked to go shoot trap/skeet. Funny I did not ask or force her into anything. I think that helped. I have the YHM Mite .22 suppressor. Not the best, but it does a fine job and I am happy enough with it, especially for $215 plus the $200 tax stamp.

I agree with Sgt., either way you go, you will be happy. Even so I plan on getting a Ruger 22/45 lite and try to get a threaded barrel for my CZ Kadet. IMO, the Kadet is one of the finest shooting .22 pistols.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Thanks guys for the input, thats exactly the kind of opinions I am looking for. I wouldn't get the P22 with the fake comp, just the regular one. I'm just concerned with the functionality of the two, jams and whether I'll have to shoot the high end ammo or will it cycle with the cheap off the shelf ammo. Unfortunately, I think that .22 pistols of this style have a tendency to jam more than others. Am I wrong?

 

[tpr564]

If your wife liked the P22 best then get her one. You can always get more guns later but humoring her now and getting her what she likes will be a big step in making her gun friendly for life.

 

[K-tech]

I have a P22. Nice gun but I can see how the grips could be a little on the small side for a user with big hands. It would probably fit your wife's hand well, or at least for your sake I hope so.

 

[JasonB]

my girl friend has the SR22 and I have the P22 ... both are fun little guns, never shot any other ammo than Federal AutoMatch out of them... no malfunctions.

I perfer the trigger on the P22. There is no decocker on the P22. Only way to shoot the P22 DA shot is to load, engage the safety then pull the trigger... uses a blocking mechanism for the hammer. Also the safety is awkward on it.

I have the 5" version of the P22. Only problem right now is finding mags for it.

 

[M21tactical]

Sorry I forgot to mention functionality. I typically don’t have many problems, but as you say 22 pistols of this type will jam more often than larger calibers with primers and jacketed bullets. I like to use CCI mini-mag 22 long rifle and I use the CCI AR Tactical 22 long rifle. They work pretty well in the P22. I also had a stash of 20 year old cheap PMC Sidewinder 50’s and some Remington Gold bullets and they seem to do fine.

I agree with tpr564; wise words. She will feel very special that she selected the P22 and you agreed and got it for her. I told my wife, you shoot it and you clean it. We sat down with the Walther P22 Bible and took it apart to clean it and assemble. She was irritated because I was doing it and she wanted to take it apart and assemble it. I told her I was going to do it first (because I got to learn) then she was free to do it thereafter. Nice that I got a wife that is interested mechanically and likes to do things on her own.

Check out this website and check out the Walther section. Any post by member 1917-1911M is informative.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php

I have a copy of the Walther P22 Bible I can email you (10 MB pdf and 99 pages) which is a wonderful document full of information, pictures and modifications:

 

[KHOOKS]

Not to hijack the OP thread. I was looking at the P22 yesterday at a local shop. I noticed that the barrel didn't come out much past the slide, but it had a cap on the end of the barrel with slots cut into it for a tool to remove the cap. If you remove that cap is the adapter talked about above all I would need to get it up and running with a can. Or do you have to buy the P22 with the longer barrel?

 

[M21tactical]

There are two versions, the one you describe requires an adapter (extra cost) to screw into the barrel and the other end is a standard thread (.5"x28 TPI) for a suppressor. They make another version with a longer barrel with it threaded for the suppressor and a screwed on end cap protector. My unit is older and I had to buy an adapter. I got a Gemtech which cost about $39.

 

[coast2coast]

My wife HAD a P22. We sold it to get the M&P 22. She loves the M&P and now wants one in 9mm.

Also the safety is awkward on it.

I'm glad to hear someone else say that. I thought it was just me.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Agree on the safety, it is the only thing I didn't like about the gun. I'm not one for safeties though. Now it looks like I need to get me a Sparrow on the way.

 

[M21tactical]

Here a few pictures I just took of my (or the wife's) Walther P22 with the YHM Mite suppressor. I went to a local gun store this afternoon and low and behold they had one Ruger 22/45 Lite on hand in all black. It looked great and I had to have it and took it home on the spot. It also has an optics rail that screws onto the top of the barrel. Ruger did a pretty good job of imitating the Pac-Lite barrel, although probably not as good. But for the price I paid the 22/45 Lite of $430 was well worth it. The Pac-Lite barrel only is $310.

Yeah get the paper work in for the tax stamp and be prepared for a six month wait. I just sent in my paper work and $200 to the ATF and I am looking at being able to use my Osprey .45 in August or September. What a drag of a wait.

 

[Doogie]

Only way to shoot the P22 DA shot is to load, engage the safety then pull the trigger... uses a blocking mechanism for the hammer. .

FYI you can take out that blocking mechanism pretty easily. Just have to take out the main pins holding it to the frame and then the trigger pin, remove lock and reinsert pin. So much better.

 

[M21tactical]

FYI you can take out that blocking mechanism pretty easily. Just have to take out the main pins holding it to the frame and then the trigger pin, remove lock and reinsert pin. So much better.

I would not do that based on this guys experience. Just some thing to consider before removal. Check out this posting. Good discussion.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=487943

 

[Doogie]

Good to know. Haven't had any problems yet but I'll have to take a closer look at the brass next time around.

 

[Bunnypunter]

I failed to mention the other reason why I got rid of my P22. I was shooting supressed one day and the entire slide came apart. When I fired, the slide actually busted in half right behind the front sight post and it came back and smacked me in the chest. It was a complete WTF moment. Walther replaced the slide no questions asked but it took a 4 week turnaround time. Kind left me with a sour taste on the P22.

 

[Doogie]

I thought we decided that was user error (ie 22lr and 22 mag are a different round)?

I failed to mention the other reason why I got rid of my P22. I was shooting supressed one day and the entire slide came apart. When I fired, the slide actually busted in half right behind the front sight post and it came back and smacked me in the chest. It was a complete WTF moment. Walther replaced the slide no questions asked but it took a 4 week turnaround time. Kind left me with a sour taste on the P22.

 

[tsavo303]

my p22 was a PITA, never functioned well

 

[Bunnypunter]

Nice try Asshatter. I never tried to shoot 22 mag through it. The sad part about you is that your the sperm that won.

I thought we decided that was user error (ie 22lr and 22 mag are a different round)?

 

[Sgt. 0811]

The first generation of p22s had some problems I forgot what it was but it was easily solved, the new ones are reliable. I still like the ruger better. I bought the p22 for my wife, she liked the fake compensator thing and I thought, good idea, longer sight radius but I failed to examine the gun and after looking at it I realized that thing has to come off during disassembly. The idea of removing the front sight every time you clean doesn't sit well with me. In retrospect I would have either bought her the ruger or a normal version. Still, it is a nice little pistol, and has been reliable.

 

[Doogie]

Nice try Asshatter. I never tried to shoot 22 mag through it. The sad part about you is that your the sperm that one.

I guess that makes you the sperm that two.

 

[50calibercruiser]

I've got 60ish bricks of regular ole federal red box bulk ammo through my P22 behind a TAC65. The only time I have FTF or FTE is because it was way past dirty. It does not however like the Winchester white box bulk ammo at all, pretty much single shot with that crap. Winchester preforms the same in my Marlin 60c as well though. I did get to shoot the M&P22 last weekend, it does feel more like a "real" gun because of its size and it shot well. For me the only difference between the two is the size. I'll stick with the Walther.

I know of one other slide that came apart like described above. Walther promptly replaced the gun.

There are some improvement that can be made to the p22 and someone took the time to thoroughly document them

www.spentbrass.com/pistol/walther/p22/P22_bible.pdf

 

[M21tactical]

Thanks 50cc for posting the link of the P22 Bible that I was mentioning. I could not remember the link.

 

[Gildoom]

We have 2 P22s, they are fine, they don't run as well as the Browning when they get dirty. But it isn't like they are failing horribly or anything, they just get sort of finky after 500+, you'll have to tap the slide forward sometimes. It might be my ammo, we just practice with the cheap stuff. My wife LOVES them, I like the Browning better, only cause of how small the P22 is for my gorilla'ish type hands. I swear they are bigger now than 4 years ago...

I bet we have put about 10,000 rounds through mine and her's (we got her's sometime later) is around 5,000 I'd guess. You can see some wear on the rear frame area, not a big deal but they seem to work better now than when brand new. I'd own them again for sure.

Had a Sig Mosquito that I bought online, that thing had a trigger that was worse than some pump bb guns I had as a kid. I got rid of it quite quickly.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Thanks for all the replies guys, this is all good info. Makes my decision easier to make.