Walther P22

[MLB]

I think it was TMan who has one of these little buggers. Someone mentioned to me that the slide on a Walther P22 was made of ... not stainless... not carbon steel... but Zinc! Could this be true? Sounds odd to me. Certainly wouldn't rust . I suppose it would work. There's not that much battering from a .22lr.

Can anyone confirm?

["DoubleAction"]

ML; According to Handguns Magazine ( no association with our group), the slide is made carbon steel.

www.handgunsmag.com/featured_handguns/walther_p22/

[MLB]

Thanks DA. I knew that didn't sound right.

[denfoote]

I've been wanting to get one of those little buggers. But reports of lemons have given me pause!! My days of beta testing firearms for ungrateful makers is at an end!!

[TMan]

denfoote said:

I've been wanting to get one of those little buggers...

For holding in your hand, the P22 is hard to beat. However, if you plan on shooting... There are better choices.

[5ontarget]

good for plinking, not for target grade accuracy. Some claim it feels more like a defencive/combat gun and will therfore help your shooting for those kind of guns. I haven't noticed that though.
All that being said, I like to shoot my P22. Mine is somewhere around 3-4yrs old. It is picky on ammo. Yes, I have some of the new mags too. It is still picky. It will shoot pretty much anything from Remington, and CCI. Doesn't like Federal, or Winchester much at all. Others have found Federal works well and not Remington.
On a side note, I initially complained about the reliability of it to a dealer. He initially accused me of limp wristing the .22. That may be, but I doubt it. Especially when the problem went away with ammo changes.

[5ontarget]

I've never looked into it, but one or two people have told me that the Hi Points were zinc.

[Misfit]

^ Limp wristing a .22? LOL! Somehow that just sounds funny...

[TMan]

Actually, limp wristing a .22 is a big problem. I never limp wrist a .357 Magnum. However, with the extremely light recoil of the .22, I tend to relax, which results in energy being absorbed that was needed to operate the slide. I have to make an effort to hold the pistol firmly.

[Fobos]

My buddy just outfitted his P22 with the Walther red dot optics and a silencer. I think I'm getting a jones for the P22 again...

[flamdrags]

how about some kind of comparison between the:
1) Walther P22
2) Beretta Neos
3) Sig Sauer Mosquito

just a thought

[TMan]

Who has all of them? I don't. I have the Beretta 87 Target, which as I recall is a bit more expensive than the Neos. Neither the Neos nor the S&W 22 felt real comfortable in my hand. Of the three I have, I would rank them:

1) Sig Mosquito (see my critique at handgunforum.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=RangeResultsOpinions&action=display&n=1&thread=1719 )
2) Beretta 87
3) Walther P22

Incidentally, I own 3 Walthers, and I would rank them as:

1) P1
2) PPK/s
3) P22

I bought the Walther because a) I liked its looks b) I'd had previous good results with Walther (I really love the P1, and consider for the money it was one of my best purchases) c) It really fit my hand very well.

I actually had no intentions of buying the Sig, but the more I thought about it... Then when my dealer called me and said she had one coming in - greed took over. Once I picked it up and felt of the weight, I was sold.

When I consider the P22, I don't think Walther. When I consider the Mosquito, I think Sig.

[MLB]

I came across this tidbit that might be of use to our P22 owners:

Engaging the key safety lock, then pulling the hammer to half cock (or attempting to rack the slide for that matter) will place the handgun in a condition that may require sending back to the factory. It may be possible to disengage the safety with substantial force.

So don't do that!