I would recommend the Ruger MK III for your frist gun. Learn the basics and enjoy it. It will not be your last. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

What about barrel length? I would prefer the shorter 4 inch barrel over the 5 1/2 inch barrel.

Is there going to be a substantial difference?

I would get the ruger w/ the 5 1/2 inch barrel. It will be better for target shooting in that length and it's not something you'd want to carry anyway.

The walther is a nice gun but not great for learning. It is small and, with such a short sight radius, difficult to shoot really well.

Originally Posted by PanaDP

I would get the ruger w/ the 5 1/2 inch barrel. It will be better for target shooting in that length and it's not something you'd want to carry anyway.

The walther is a nice gun but not great for learning. It is small and, with such a short sight radius, difficult to shoot really well.

+1 to all of that

Go with the Ruger as it's really cheap to shoot and lots of fun. Once you have tons of range time with that then go with something a little bigger. You won't regret it.

-Jeff-

The Walther is a fun gun to shoot but I think you get more for your money with the Ruger. I just bought my first handgun last week. I decided I wanted to get into some local "Bullseye" shooting with it so I did a TON of research and settled on a Ruger Mark III Competition Target with the 5.5 Bull barrel. Really nice gun that will probably get handed down to my grandkids.

a good combination of you desires is the Walther P22
a great 22lr
you didn't mention what the purpose was
if plinking and target range to get use to handguns then a 22 is fine
by the way if you do get the walther p22 then later the walther PPS in 9mm is the same size thus practicing with the cheaper handgun and picking up the better 9mm would feel the same to the hand and mind

That Walther PPS is a nice looking little gun.

-Jeff-

I have a Mark III and love it. It's a great little plinking pistol. I got it mainly for one of my little ones. The grip angle lends itself well to be a great learning pistol.

+1 I have a ruger mark 3 22/45. It is a nice accurate little pistol. The price of the 22lr ammo is a big selling point. Good luck.

Here's some updated pics of my Ruger:

Get both! (but get the Ruger first, good advice above.)

Ruger. Cheaper ammo = more shooting = more fun = better skill.

I vote for the shorter barrel. The Ruger is already oversized for its caliber. If you were shooting for the state pistol championship, the longer sight radius would make a difference, but for going to the range and burning ammo, the shorter barrel won't make any practical difference.

I bought a Ruger 22/45 Hunter with the 4 1/2" barrel a year ago. I got it for cheap range time and for my 10 year old daughter to shot with me at the range. We both love this gun and have had a lot of fun target shooting at the range. It's a very acurate gun, my 10 year old felt great hitting the bulls eye on her first 3 shots out of the gun .