Walther P22 Question

[indywiseguy]

Hey guys,

I bought a new Walther P22 down there a couple weeks ago on the last day of S&W Days. Took it out to the range for the first time today and had a lot of trouble with it. I was using the Winchester bulk 555 pack that bought from you with the gun. Many intermittent FTFs, one round jammed in the barrel, then by the end, it wouldn't even fire a round.

I am going to try to come in for your after Christmas sale and was wondering if you think it would be worthwhile for me to bring it in for someone to have a look at. I am far from an expert myself! I was thinking that it might just be the break in period, but when it wouldn't even fire a round at the end... kinda made me wonder if it might be something else. I have read about a spring that returns the firing pin to position after firing that can get hyperextended from dry firing. Not sure if this is something that can be checked by you or if it would need to be sent back??

I took it home and got it cleaned and oiled. I have another range trip planned for 12/31, so I can give it a try after the cleaning/oiling... but thought I'd check with you to get your opinion and thoughts on it!


Thanks!
Vinny

P.S. Tried to send this as a PM, but it wouldn't let me since I have too few posts on the board!

 

[Stschil]

First, I am not a member of Bradis and do not speak for them, so please don't take this as a response from them.

I have two P22's and never had a problem with either, however, after reading every review I could find on them prior to purchasing, I came to the conclusion that bulk ammo during break in is a not a good thing. Every thing I read and everyone I spoke with suggested the same thing,,,use good, quality ammo for the first 100 to 200 rounds. High Velocity only. We used CCI Stingers. Now they eat anything I feed them.

Get a box of Stingers, clean your pistol up, and hit the range again and see if that helps. Just my suggestion...

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

First order of business:

Did you strip and clean the pistol?

That's step #1 for any firearm purchased.

#2, buy some high velocity ammo to break it in with. CCI Stingers and/or CCI MiniMags are fantastic for breaking in a P22.

So, I'd advise you to really clean your pistol, buy some high quality high velocity ammo, and run 200-ish rounds through it.

-J-

 

[remymartin]

Break it in with high velocity stuff as others have stated. Mine runs like a sewing machine on subsonics through a suppressor now. Google P22 bible, I shaved my hammer a bit and lost the mag safety.

 

[indywiseguy]

Not that I didn't already know it, but INGO and the INGO community is awesome!!! Thanks for the quick replies everyone!!

I will definitely try some CCI MiniMags or Stingers for next week's range run. Gun is cleaned and oiled... and hopefully ready to go!

Everything I read before buying the P22 led me to believe it seemed to have the fewest issues, so I hope this is just break in. When it fired correctly, it was awesome! Exactly what I wanted in a plinker... Wanted something cheap and fun to shoot and something I could teach my 10 year old son to use as well!

Thanks again for the help!

 

[indywiseguy]

Just looked again at the Winchester ammo I used...

It is 36 gr, 1280fps, so it is about the same as the MiniMags (36 gr, 1260fps).

Wonder if I should go straight to the Stingers to start with (32 gr, 1640fps)???


It's still cheaper than .40 ammo either way!!!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Just looked again at the Winchester ammo I used...

It is 36 gr, 1280fps, so it is about the same as the MiniMags (36 gr, 1260fps).

Wonder if I should go straight to the Stingers to start with (32 gr, 1640fps)???


It's still cheaper than .40 ammo either way!!!

Either or on the ammo.

Even though printed velocity is the same... What length barrel is used for the numbers?

The CCI stuff is cleaner, which means less fouling, which means better feeding and better extraction.

Also another +1 for the P22 Bible. Google it. Bookmark the link. Download and save the PDF to your computer. Print out a copy. It's a FANTASTIC resource.

-J-

ETA: And after you download your P22 Bible... Don't get cocky. Detail stripping those pistols is cake. Reassembly from a detail strip is a #$&$#%#!@$ #%&^*^$!*()$@#$

 

[Bradis Guns]

Please let us know the results of your range trip. Many semi-auto .22 handguns are ammunition sensitive and will show a distinct preference in both accuracy and reliability for certain brands/styles.

If the problems continue over multiple ammunition types and you wish to send the gun back to S&W for warranty service, we will cover the cost of shipping within the first 30 days after purchase. After that, shipping is the purchaser's responsibility.

 

[indywiseguy]

Thanks for the reply!! I will definitely see how it goes at the range this week and another cleaning and with different ammo.

Didn't make it in today for the sale, but am definitely going to try tomorrow....

Thanks again for being such a great shop!

 

[shooter521]

Thanks for the reply!! I will definitely see how it goes at the range this week and another cleaning and with different ammo.

Didn't make it in today for the sale, but am definitely going to try tomorrow....

Thanks again for being such a great shop!

Thanks for stopping in today; it was great meeting you!

 

[indywiseguy]

So, I finally go back out on 31 December 2010 to try the P22 after a good cleaning. I brought 200 rds of CCI Stingers with me as well as what remained of my box of Winchester ammo. And, I must say... you guys were all absolutely correct!

The Stingers were pretty amazing going though the P22. I had maybe 3 out of the first 150 that I had any issue with... 2 didn't feed properly and one just didn't fire (could see where the pin hit it). I would say that is much more in line with what I was expecting for break-in.

After 150 of the Stingers, I decided to see if it liked the Winchester 555 box yet. After firing the first round, there were two very noticeable differences from the Stingers. First of all, the kick/recoil (if you can call it that on a .22) was far less than that of the Stingers; almost like firing a BB gun! Second, I noticed a large amount of black smoke when I fired the Winchesters. It did fire the Winchester rounds better than the first trip. At least once every mag, I would have to manually cock the gun... but the round would fire. So, it seems to me that the Winchesters don't have enough powder to fully cycle the slide and they are likely making it much dirtier than the Stingers.

So, the news is all good... Gun works fine. I will stick with the Stingers... And, as I thought, it is cheap and fun to fire!

Thanks again everyone for your help!!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

OP:

Keep an eye on the "had to manually cock the gun".

If you mean you had to manually RE-cock the gun after a "dud" in order to strike the primer again... Then that's par for the course with bulk-pack ammo. (can always just pull the trigger again, as the P22 is a DA/SA pistol)

But if the hammer is following the slide forward instead of staying cocked...This COULD mean that the surfaces that are supposed to engage the hammer (internally) aren't doing their job properly and that COULD lead to an automatically firing weapon. Which...while entirely fun...is also bad juju.

 

[hischj]

I have had my P22 for a while now and found that it hates everything but CCI. Federal bulk that I shoot in my M&P 15-22, no way. Would not feed one round. Its no surprise it didn't like Remington, but also tried Winchester and no luck. CCI mini mags never have a problem though.

 

[shooter521]

Glad to hear things are (sort of) working themselves out. Let me know if there's anything we @ the shop can do for you.

 

[indywiseguy]

shooter521 - Thanks for the reply! It looks like it will be just fine. Appreciate your (and Bradis) interest in keeping me happy!

Indy_Guy_77 and hischj - Thanks for your replies as well. I really appreciate all the info that this thread has generated for me and possibly others!