[Rich Z]

Clint,

I always eyeball the P22 and it certainly feels good in my hand as well. I almost bought one a year or so ago, but when I did a scan of the net for opinions, I heard a lot of people calling it a "jamamatic". So I decided to hold off thinking maybe quality will increase and price go down. I know prices have dropped from when they were first coming into the country, but so far I haven't done any checking around on the quality issue.

I would like to get one, if reliability is satisfactory and accuracy acceptable. I bought a Hammerli Trailside that I really like, but it's a bit big for a pocket pistol. Certainly accurate enough for me, and seems to be reliable. One thing I found out, though, is that the Trailside DOES NOT like the high velocity stuff.

I've seen them for around $260 or so locally, so price is not bad at all. I may buy one sooner or later as a plinker, but I sure would like to be able to "try before I buy"....

 

[Rich Z]

Aw rats, KJ! Why did you have to go and say something like that?

I need another .22 handgun like I need a hole in my head, but now I am going to start thinking seriously about getting one of these toys. I've handled them at shows and REALLY like the feel of them.

 

[Rich Z]

Yo, KJ....

Did you shoot the 3.5 or 5 inch model?

I think my local Oshman's store carries this Walther, so I wouldn't even have to wait for a gun show to pick one up.

Well, heck. I think there is a gunshow right near the Orlando Fire Show next month. Maybe I can get the wife to man the tables while I sneak off to the gun show for an hour or three.

 

[Rich Z]

I just took a look at a picture of the 2214. Sheesh! Looks like something some of those fly by night gun importers out of Miami used to sell. I'm amazed that Smith & Wesson would put their name on something like that. Yeah, I know looks aren't everything, but it does rack up some points for me when I am considering a new gun purchase. That 2214 looks damned ungainly to hold and shoot. I have handled some of the Wather's and they fit my hand extremely well. So visual aesthetics aside, I would be real surprised if the 2214 fits my hand well at all.

This would be a fun gun toy to buy, maybe to carry in my pocket in case I get attacked by a herd of vengeful squirrels.

Actually I'm not completely sold on the Walther at this point. I found the following rather uncomplimentary writeup about this gun just recently:

Many .22 pistols are very ammunition sensitive when it comes to accuracy and it will take some experimentation to find the right ammo for this gun, but the Federal Copper Jacketed Hollow points ain't it. Test groups at 25 yards were consistently over 10" even in the hands of highly qualified competition shooters. It is also outside the realm of what one could consider usable for hunting small game. Shooting squirrels with this pistol means you have to keep your stalking skills in order and being within 15 yards will not guarantee you a hit on one of the critters. If I end up keeping the gun, I will definitely seek out which ammunition will deliver the best performance with it. It does seem to deliver good enough reliability to be a defensive pistol, but one can hardly take the .22 LR seriously as a combat option when there are better choices available.

So maybe getting a "good one' is a rather hit and miss proposition....

So I'm in no hurry to run out an buy one quite yet....

 

[Rich Z]

The brain circle of a squirrel is nowhere near 4 inches. THAT is what I would be getting the pocket .22 to shoot at. Sometimes I just don't feel like lugging a rifle when I take a walk around the property.