Ruger SR22, S&W M&P 22, or Walther P22

[Unbroken]

My wife is looking for a .22 LR semi-auto and can't decide which of the above or any other .22's she should be looking at.

Pros, cons, any insight would be appreciated.

[Garv]

My wife loves her SR 22, small and easy to shoot, great for plinking.
A friend and my brother in law have the M&P 22 and like it, more full size.
Both the above have been reliable.
The M&P has a longer barrel, probably more accurate.

Have not shot the P22, but hear it is picky on ammo.

I would try to have her shoot the Ruger and Smith, but both are off roster.

[Unbroken]

Thanks Garv!

Yeah, she tried the SR22 yesterday and really liked it. Kind of hard to in the marketplace.

The Walther is pretty easy to find. From what I understand, the M&P and the Walther are similar.

[Garv]

She should put her hands on a Buckmark too.
On roster.
Kind of heavy and looks clunky, but a nice shooter.

Also consider a Ruger Mark II or III, off roster and a bit tough to reassemble until you get used to it, but nice shooter as well.

(In before someone says S&W 41.)

['ol shooter]

Out of the three, my M&P. The P-22 has fixable reliability issues, but for out of the box performance, it's my Smith. I also have a Ruger 22-45, unreliable out of the box, lot's of issues, and a couple conversion kits that work fine, a Kimber and a Beretta.

[Creampuff]

I thought only the Walter on is on the list. Are you acquiring through PPT?

[MajorSideburns]

I thought only the Walter on is on the list. Are you acquiring through PPT?

Yes, out of his list the walther is the only one on roster. So the obvious pro for it would be cheap and easy to find. The cons for the others listed would be having to pay $800+ for a simple 22lr handgun...

[fmunk]

My wife is looking for a .22 LR semi-auto and can't decide which of the above or any other .22's she should be looking at.

Pros, cons, any insight would be appreciated.

I think I would go with whichever that is known to take cheap ammo. M&P 22 is said to be like that right out of the box. But, I've also seen posts online saying they aren't. IIRC, the M&P and Walther are made by the same manufacturer (Umarex?).

There is also the GSG 1911-22. Had one for a while, sold it. Won't take cheap ammo reliably, but can be slicked up to take cheap ammo (removing paint from rails and polishing up rails).

[dyson]

Buckmark is prob the best and easiest to find new

[fmunk]

Buckmark is prob the best and easiest to find new

Yup. Saw at least one at Rifle Gear in Fountain Valley yesterday, along side some fancy Beretta target 22 (the 87 Target).

[Creampuff]

I think I would go with whichever that is known to take cheap ammo. M&P 22 is said to be like that right out of the box. But, I've also seen posts online saying they aren't. IIRC, the M&P and Walther are made by the same manufacturer (Umarex?).

There is also the GSG 1911-22. Had one for a while, sold it. Won't take cheap ammo reliably, but can be slicked up to take cheap ammo (removing paint from rails and polishing up rails).

My M&P22 shoots everything right out the box, but I do like the trigger on my GSG 1911-22 better. The GSG is made out of hot wheels pot metal, but it is one of my favorite 22's. It's just plain fun to shoot. It is a lottery though. My first GSG took forever to tweak to get it to shoot correctly. My 2nd was great out of the box.

My Buckmark UFX doesn't have the fun factor of the GSG but it will be what I will use to help my son learn how to shoot when he gets a little bit older. It's a classic reliable 22, nice trigger, and probably is a much better gun than I am a shooter.

[fmunk]

My M&P22 shoots everything right out the box, but I do like the trigger on my GSG 1911-22 better. The GSG is made out of hot wheels pot metal, but it is one of my favorite 22's. It's just plain fun to shoot. It is a lottery though. My first GSG took forever to tweak to get it to shoot correctly. My 2nd was great out of the box.

My Buckmark UFX doesn't have the fun factor of the GSG but it will be what I will use to help my son learn how to shoot when he gets a little bit older. It's a classic reliable 22, nice trigger, and probably is a much better gun than I am a shooter.

Yah the 1911-22 was fun and had some compatibility with 1911 parts to boot. As you said, materials and finish was not top shelf, but it worked. I just found myself losing interest in 22LR rather quickly... hence the sale of the 10/22 in my sig. I have to say though, 22LR plinking was much more fun in a free state. Here, in CA, I found myself loading more than shooting. And since I don't get out to the desert as often as I'd like, precious trips and time were dedicated to larger calibers. Over the past few years I've thought about picking up a M&P 22 several times, since I have a few M&Ps, but always end up asking myself "how much use will I get out of it?"

[plumbermark]

I purchased a Ruger 22/45 a few years back. It sat locked up for a while but I just did a few tandumcross modifications to it and I love it again. It goes to every range trip with me. Sometimes it's the only gun I shoot. It's very reliable even with sub sonic Remington lead nose. Customizing it was a blast and very easy. Tons of drop in parts. I have the sr22 as well but it doesn't compare to my 22/45 in my opinion.

[Creampuff]

. Over the past few years I've thought about picking up a M&P 22 several times, since I have a few M&Ps, but always end up asking myself "how much use will I get out of it?"

OP, sorry about the derail. My M&P 22 is my dust collector. I'd sell it but I don't want to sell any of my off rosters in case my son takes a liking to it years from now.

The one gripe I have about the M&P22 is you would think one of the purposes of purchasing this is to practice 22LR instead of 9mm on the M&P 9. The M&P22 is a single action fire weapon though, so for me the trigger doesn't match the M&P9. Switching back and forth between the M&P22 and M&P9 actually messed me up more than helped me when it came to practice time. I guess I should have known that going in, since there aren't any striker fire rimfires

[Unbroken]

Thanks for all of the replies! It sounds like I'll have to look more into the Buckmark