I've heard the same advice to shoot hot ammo in P22s. I think my money would go for the walther, a 5 inch one.

To be honest - neither of those 2 guns are really target guns. To me, the Browning looks pretty nice. And, the Ruger 22/45 looks better than the old fashion Ruger designs.

Have you checked the Beretta Neos?

The Walther P22 seems to have many of the early teething issues solved. But to be honest, I think you are still playing a bit of a crap shoot to get trouble free specimens of either of these guns (you mentioned).

It is also my understanding that both of these guns are not actually even made by the manufacturer listed on the slide - but are contracted out to another company...

Originally Posted by tmodesto

I like the grip of Mesquito but heard they are very picky on cheap ammos - and only high end CCIs work on them

It appears then that the Mosquito is like any other .22 auto -- a bit picky. However, there is a good chance that it will run well with some other type of ammo besides the expensive CCI. It just takes some (sometimes a lot) experimentation to find what works.

Our P22 works well with the Remington HV with lead bullet - the one with the lightning on the box, CCI's of various types, and the really cheap Peters in the mostly white box. It does not like Federal of any type. It is a good pistol for plinking only, but would not be suitable for serious target shooting. We only purchased it because my wife liked it a lot and wanted something small to plink with. If was up to me, I would have gotten a Ruger.....

PhilR.

My Aunt has a P22T (Ithink its the Target Verson with the Extended Barrel) and Its a great little plinker...I have easily put 1000 rounds through it myself and it has never jammed and i was using the Walmart Value pack rounds.

i own a P22 and love it
so does my wife which really surprised me when I brought it home
the the laser sight - this is really one fun GREAT 22lr
so far I used CCI stingers and after 200 rounds - not one hitch
next time to the range I will try out the CCI mini mags

Originally Posted by Shipwreck

Have you checked the Beretta Neos?

I must say, I checked one of those Neos out the other day. Very interesting pistol. I also like the ability to custom your pistol, that carbine kit look pretty bad ass. Also alot of good reviews.

I have a P22. It was an impulse buy as far as guns go; I decided I wanted to buy one and then had to hunt one down and finally found one as they were all sold out in my immediate area. I found one used for $230. I love it, but the above posters are correct I think, it is not a target gun, longer barrel or not. It is an inexpensive fun gun, though, and it looks pretty cool as well.

I found that the gun needed a pretty hot load to fully automate the feeding of the next round. I shot some cheap ammo that had been sitting around for a while and it would shoot but it wouldn't feed the next round. I also had some problems I had never experienced before. For example, the next load would try to feed, but would enter the chamber at a weird angle and end up facing straight up, actually kind of scary.

Once I bought some CCI mini-mags it worked flawlessly. I'm sure there are other rounds that work equally well, but I went for the highest grain I could get at the Wal-Mart I was at (40 grain, 1235 FPS). Its fun and inexpensive to shoot. I love the ergonomics but I have medium size hands. People with larger hands may find them too small and awkward to shoot.

If you are looking for a target gun to actually shoot targets, I wouldn't recommend the P22. If by target you mean old milk jugs, soda cans or whatever else you want to plink at, then the P22 might be it. I've seen the Beretta, but it reminds me of other "target" looking 22 pistols like the Browning that take themselves a little too seriously for my taste. Another option might be the Bersa Firestorm, it might be a little more flexible on ammo, I don't know.

S&W distributes the Walther in the US, but I don't think they manufacture it. I may be wrong. That is why S&W appears on the gun, but they are Walthers as I understand it. The early editions had problems with feeding, so if you are shopping for one, check the magazine numbers. Modified clips should have "-A" at the end of the number. Mine did when I checked out the gun I was buying so I went ahead with it.

I'm happy with it. I didn't buy it to protect myself, I didn't buy it to win the gold medal in marksmanship, I just bought it to have fun without making too much noise or spend too much money and it's perfect for that.

I picked up a P22 3.4" the other day when they were on sale at Gander Mtn for $249 new. I have only taken it out once, but I was surprised at how accurate it was. No, it's not a target pistol, but it will tear up the bulls eye at 7 yards. If you're shooting old Pepsi cans, then this gun will serve your purpose. I shot Wally World bulk Federals and those brass jacketed Remingtons, and both did fine.