Looking at purchasing a .22 hand gun in the next week or so. Have been doing a fair amount of research but figured I'd see if anyone on here has one and their review on it. I'm looking at: Smith and Wesson M&P 22 Walther P22 What do you like and dislike about one you have or have shot before? Semi auto or revolver? Trouble with ammo?
The Smith and Wesson M&P 22 is better. I bought one to train my wife and her entire CCW class ended up using it. Both instructors shot it and said they had to have one. Absolutely no feed issues even with junk ammo. One thing that was a turn off for me was the thumb safety. I removed it and bought plugs for it.
What do you want to use them for? I don't have any of those, so I really can't help. I do have S&W M&P 9mm. I put in an Apex trigger because the stock trigger sucks. FWIW, We had a bersa .22. Nothing special and it made it to the ranks of one of the few guns we have ever sold off. Have a GSG 1911 style .22. We bought it because it's the same size as a 1911 so it was going to be a training gun. Then .22 ammo became harder to find than .45 acp. So it just sits around. We have three Browning Buckmarks. Very good semi-auto .22. Accurate, reliable. They are our 'bug-out' bag .22s. I had a rossi .22 revolver. Most inaccurate gun I've ever had. (and I owned a 7400 and two SKSs. ) There was something seriously wrong with it. Cylinders not lined up or something.
Oh and a couple more things. Obviously this gun is best as a trainer / plinker. You will want to buy a handful of mags for it. When I bought mine it was near impossible to find mags and they were pricey. Not sure if that is still the case or not! That was at the height of the Obama gun scare / ammo shortage. If you want something that is super accurate better look at getting a Ruger Mark II / III.
I should add that it will be a target/varmint/fun gun. I cant recall how many times I am within 10 yards of a coon, skunk, possum etc.,. which checking cattle, cams and what not. So much easier than having a long rifle strapped to my four wheeler at all times. Still have the .223 for any instances where that is needed. Also a great gun for my girlfriend and mom to shoot when we're down the creek shooting stuff which seems to be quite often.
Yah. It was on the top of my list as it is almost identical to a M&P full size pistol. Funny thing is it is made by Carl Walther in Germany yet stamped with S&W Springfield, MA USA on the slide. lol!
I was watching a youtube video yesterday and I noticed that and was kind of confused! I'm not sure the laws yet in MN but I would like to add a suppressor someday (just because) if legal. That hard to do? I believe they come with a threaded barrel but need an adapter to fit correct thread?
Yes it comes with a threaded barrel! There is a cap on the end of the barrel. Just put a wrench on it to remove the cap to expose the threads! Not sure about the adapter... It sure could use one. I was shocked how loud it was the first time I shot it. Every bit as loud as my 9mm. More of a crack than a bang though....
For your purposes, don't rule out a buckmark (or ruger mark (add number here)). Very sweet trigger on the buckmark and very, very accurate.
The Walther is picky on ammo... It wouldn't shoot any CCI or Federal bulk reliably for me. Although it cycled stingers and mini mags fine.
Christine just talked me in to a buckmark. I need something for porkies. I see a boat load when I am working on food plots.
I bought two of them from gun broker. They were hard to find locally. One of mine looks like this: Browning Buckmark 22 LR URX Grip 3 Mags Truglo NIB : Semi Auto Pistols at GunBroker.com The 3 mags is nice. Those little magazines aren't cheap.
As an owner of a Walther P22, I would suggest something else. With the .22 ammo shortage, it's hard to find the specific ammo that the gun likes. Mine shoots Remington Golden Bullet and Viper just fine. It also shoots CCI Mini Mag without any problems. It has real trouble with anything from Federal. It doesn't like Winchester either. If I had know that when I bought it, I would have gotten something else. My brother has a Ruger SR22 and it seems to do a little better with ammo. Eventually I'm going to buy a Ruger Mark III for target shooting. They are extremely accurate.