Bringing up the rear in our comparison is the Walther P22 pistol. Aesthetically and ergonomically the pistol is decent. We had a small issue due to the size of our hands that made the gun a little uncomfortable to shoot while transitioning from target to target, but it was minor as far as deal-breakers go.
The trigger is a typical double-action/single-action setup with only a little noticeable creep and no real overtravel. Three-dot adjustable sights were surprisingly good for a little plinker. Accuracy of the hits were okay, but like many others, was heavily based upon the type and quality of the ammo used at the time.
Breakdown and cleaning was not hard. We did notice a certain lack of quality in the finish of the internal parts (especially the barrel) that cleverly remain mostly hidden during normal operation of the gun. The manual safety worked well, but this gun does not feature a de-cocking mechanism in the safety. The standard controls also worked fine. The P22 also comes with a replaceable rear grip, ala the Ruger SR22 (and many other pistols these days), but we found that replacing it did not change the feel enough to be noteworthy.
We did have a small issue with the single included magazine continually dropping out of the gun at random times–especially when the pistol needed to be cleaned. We have not heard too many others complain about this issue, so it is possible that it was inherent in the particular firearm that we were shooting. Thankfully, we didn’t experience a cracked slide as others have mentioned after several hundred rounds through the gun. Due to this complaint, the magazine dropping issue and an increasing lack of accuracy as the gun became dirty with .22 “soil”; we had to give low marks to the reliability factor of this gun.
However, for the price, the nice array of accessories available for it (from holsters to suppressors to mounted rail options) and the fact that keeping up with the cleaning and maintenance can stem the flow of problems, this gun could be a good option for the new or youth shooter looking to plink around at the range.