SR22P vs P22 - brief review

[Fargazer]

I've always liked the concept of the Walther P22, but I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about how Umarex implemented it. I've read good things about the Ruger SR22 pistol, so when I was shooting at the range and my LGS owner told me he had one in stock, I walked over and bought it.

I've been shooting it side by side with one of my P22s for the past few days, and have run several hundred rounds through both. The P22 I've used is one of the older models; the P22Q is virtually the same pistol however, and roughly speaking what I've mentioned here for the P22 should apply to the current P22Q model.

Bottom line: the Ruger SR22 is the gun the P22 should have been.

• Materials
  • Walther P22
    • Umerex is the actual maker of the "Walther" P22, and the pistol is not made in Walther's main plant in Ulm, Germany. Those expecting the fit and finish of a Walther PPK or PPS are going to be disappointed; it's adequate, but not exceptional.
    • One of the biggest gripes about the P22 is the slide material. It is a zinc alloy called ZAMAK, and is often disparagingly referred to as "pot metal". It is unable to be plated, and has been known to crack over time.
    • Polymer frame
    • Stainless metal 10 round magazines, with a button to pull down the follower, and a small finger rest built in.
    • Accessory rail under the barrel.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • Ruger makes the SR22 pistol in the United States, to typical Ruger standards. To my eyes, fit and finish are better on the Ruger than the P22.
    • The slide is anodized aluminum, which will hold up much better than the ZAMAK.
    • Polymer frame
    • Blued metal 10 round magazines, with a button to pull down the follower. Each magazine comes with two floorplates: with and without a finger rest.
    • Picatinny rail under the slide, with 3 cross slots for accessory placement.
  • Winner: Definitely Ruger
• Grip
  • If you have large hands, neither pistol is going to feel good.
  • Walther P22
    • The Walther's grip is a hard plastic, ergonomically shaped. There are two backstraps to choose from: small and not so small. To swap between the two, you need to punch out a pin and swing out the backstrap.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • The Ruger's grip is a hard rubber sleeve that slips firmly over the magazine well: pull off and push on. There are two sleeves to choose from: small and not so small. No bumps, but there are grooves to help keep a good grip.
  • Winner: rough tie, though people at the range tended to prefer the Ruger by a bit when they handled both pistols.
• Controls
  • Walther P22
    • The Walther has an ambidextrous safety lever at the back of the slide: up for fire, down for safe. Two little white letters indicate which level position is for what purpose.
    • There is no decocker.
    • The magazine release is am ambidextrous paddle below the trigger guard, typical of modern Walther pistols - you either love it or hate it. I'm a Walther shooter, so it doesn't bother me.
    • It has a slide release, and does lock back when the magazine is empty.
    • It has a magazine safety; without the magazine, the trigger is completely disengaged. I personally don't consider this a desirable feature, but YMMV.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • The Ruger has an ambidextrious safety below the slide, toward the back; it is easy to reach with your shooting thumb. Up for fire, down for safe. There is a big obvious red patch to see when the safety is off.
    • The safety is also a decocker.
    • The magazine release is am ambidextrous button at the base of the trigger guard; it does not get in the way of your grip, and works well in both directions.
    • It has a slide release, and does lock back when the magazine is empty
    • It has a magazine safety; without the magazine, the trigger is disengaged. I personally don't consider this a desirable feature, but YMMV.
  • Winner: Definitely Ruger. The safety is easier to manipulate, and has a decocker. The magazine release is also a plus for people unaccustomed to Walthers.
• Field Stripping (descriptions simplified; I'm only going into as much detail as I must to compare the two)
  • Walther P22
    • Field stripping the P22 involves pulling down on a "U" shaped piece of plastic under the slide forward of the trigger guard, then pulling the slide back over the hammer and allowing it forward.
    • The recoil spring of the P22 is NOT captured to the guide rod, and is notorious for being a PITA to put back on. There are a couple tricks you can use to get it back on without it jumping out to God knows where, but it's not fun.
    • The barrel can be removed by unscrewing a nut, pulling off a barrel sleeve, and then taking out the barrel.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • Rack the slide, flip a lever in front of the trigger (it's inside the trigger guard), and pull off the slide the same way as the P22.
    • The spring is not captured to the guide rod, but assembling or reassembling the pistol has virtually no risk of losing the spring.
    • There is a provision to remove / change out the barrel by loosening a hex nut.
  • Winner: Definitely Ruger. The flip lever is easier to manipulate than the P22 equivalent, and the recoil spring setup is much better.
• Ammo
  • I shot both pistols side by side with various ammo, including Aguila target ammo (lead), Fiocchi target ammo (lead), CCI Velocitors, CCI Mini-Mags, Winchester bulk, CCI AR Tactical .22, CCI Green Tag, and Remington bulk. Two magazines each.
  • Walther P22
    • The P22 did fine on all the CCI ammo, and the Remington bulk.
    • The P22 choked on the lead nosed bullets from Aguila and Fiocchi.
    • The P22 had one FTF on the Winchester, but did OK on the rest.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • The Ruger ran all ammo but one without any issues.
      • One of the other shooters did run into a dud cartridge in the Remington bulk, but chucked it before I could check if it was a light primer strike. Tentatively, I'm going to blame the ammo for that, not the gun.
    • The Aguila wasn't hot enough to fully rack the slide; the cartridge fired, the brass ejected, but the slide didn't go back far enough to pick up the next round. Manually racking the slide worked fine, and there were no FTF issues from doing so.
  • Winner: Definitely Ruger.
• Accuracy / Consistency
  • I shot both to a distance of 7 yards, with a mixture of freehand and on a pistol rest. I also had my wife and a couple bullseye competitors shoot the pistols and compare the two.
  • Walther P22
    • The P22 consistently shot somewhat scattered groups compared to the Ruger, both freehand and on a rest.
    • The P22 has a windage adjustable rear sight; elevation is altered by replacing the front sight post. There are no aftermarket rear sights for it.
  • Ruger SR22 pistol
    • The Ruger constently shot tighter for any given ammo than the P22. In particular, it seemed to like the Remington bulk the best for groups.
    • The Ruger's rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation.
    • The blade is reversable to give you the choice of either two white dots or a solid black blade.
    • The rear sight is dovetailed, and will lend itself better to aftermarket sights.
  • Winner: Definitely Ruger.

Overall, the Ruger is by far the better of the two. My only complaints are two: ditch the magazine safety (which to be fair the P22 also has), and come out with a third, even larger grip sleeve. I'm hoping this pistol prompts Umerex to fix some of the shortcomings in the P22 design.

[tba02]

Thanks for taking the time to do the write-up and the info.

[1917-1911M]

Very good write up Fargazer. Agree with about everything you said even though I haven't even seen the Ruger. I don't like the operation of either safety..... The Ruger appears to be a much better concept and the breech mounted safety on the P22 creates one of the main problems this pistol has...the slide hanging on the hammer due to the gap between the safety and rear of the breech block.....John Browning got it right on the 1911. I'd vote for that safety on all pistols. M1911

[JimBOB]

Very good review, Fargazer, and written very well.

I doubt that Umarex is going to do anything at all. The P22 has made them a lot of money, so in a year or two when hardly anybody will buy them, they will just stop making them.

I really think that was their intention all along. We all know for certain their intention was NOT for their name to represent a manufacturer of quality handguns.

[CoolGun]

Thank you for the excellent write-up, Fargazer!

[searcher451]

Originally Posted by JimBOB

I doubt that Umarex is going to do anything at all. The P22 has made them a lot of money, so in a year or two when hardly anybody will buy them, they will just stop making them.

I don't think that Umarex will abandon the P22 anytime soon; it would be the equivalent of killing the goose that lays the golden egg. For whatever reason, and for however long now, the P2 has been the best-selling firearm at Umarex; company officials won't let that go easily. In addition, thanks to the work of forum member 1917 - 1911M here, the Umarex crew actually has made some improvements to the pistol in the past couple of years ... in my view, not as many as they should, and not as well as they should, but they are improvements nonetheless.

My hope is that Ruger's actions will spur the Umarex boys to do what they should have done seven or so years ago and make the thing right, right out of the box. But only time will tell.

Frankly, there has been little incentive for Umarex to do anything with the P22 except to continue making them and shipping them out. Why? Because we keep buying them, despite the problems that are inherent in the gun. If you want to look at the issue logically, U.S. consumers are the reason why the P22 is what it is today. But that's another thread entirely.

And yes, that is a wonderful review/comparison, Fargazer. Well done.

[MLB]

A very well written piece Fargazer. Thanks for the review.

[1917-1911M]

SHOT Show coming up soon in Vegas. Walther will be taking a close look at the SR22 I can assure you. This pistol looks to be real competition to me....I haven't seen one but I've a pretty clear feeling which one I'd buy.....

Last year the Walther CEO reported just how dominant P22 sales were. I forget the details but it seems the little fellow accounted for more firearm sales than all other Walther products combined. I'm sure that didn't escape Ruger's notice either. Nor the now 10 year old list of complaints about the pistol.

Has anyone read of the impact the LCP has had on KelTec and other pocket .380s sales? I bet it has been significant. Can Walther come out with an entirely new and competitive P22 one day? I'm not sure. The P22 as it exists has too many design flaws and I'm thinking Walther has pulled out all the stops it could on the economy of manufacturing this current pistol. Without significant out-sourcing Germany will not be able to compete with the $309 Ruger SR22 with two mags. What does a P22 with one mag go for these days. Much more than that. Add $30 more for the second mag and the choice seems pretty clear if this new Ruger lives up all expectations.

Congrats to Walther for leading the way. I like the compact pistol. I was just looking at my '09 offering and it is still a beauty. Competition is fierce, all the better for us. Like many of you I have firearms of various makes so I have little problem calling it like I see it. I'm always looking for the best I can afford. The S&W M&P22 was a Walther/S&W step toward a better functioning, machined aluminum slide .22 but I've yet to see one and if I remember correctly it is closer to a full size pistol. If so, it isn't in the P22/SR22 category. It is obvious that the Walther P22 concept has been and continues to be very popular. M1911

[searcher451]

Regardless of what Walther eventually does with the P22, if anything, or how the new Ruger performs ...

... truth be told, I'd still rather shoot a Ruger Mark series pistol or a Browning Buck Mark series pistol than I would a P22. Shoot, a Colt Woodsman or Challenge, or a Whitney Wolverine (the original model), and you can have one heck of a fine day at the range, without having to worry about whether the zinc slide is going to hold up for yet another 50 rounds.

[1917-1911M]

True that. Came across a guy who had a safe in his basement but showed no interest in firearms. I got to talking about his Dad's woodworking, examples of which were in the basement too. Finally got him to open the safe as he wanted to show some of his Dad's custom stocks. Inside were 12 to 15 firearms all in a very, very sad state of affairs. Molded wood, light rust on some, all filthy......some beauties in there too including an old Woodsman.

He assured me they were unloaded, I said we always need to check. Nope, several loaded including the Woodsman. Round had been in there so long it had grown into the barrel. I politely asked if he would consider selling some. No, sentimental value. I said I can understand that, how about I come over and we give em all a good cleaning and oiling. Nah, don't have time for that... So there sits a Garand and several other classics and some beautiful, checkered, hand built stocks. Damp basement, dirty safe, no oil....M1911