Ruger MKIII or Walther P22

[ahead]

hello, Im looking to pick up a new handgun mainly for range duty, and im stuck between these two. i like the way both of them look, and ive heard great things about both. the only questionable thing ive heard about the Walther is that it can be picky with ammo, is the Ruger the same?

I assume the Walther will fit better, but i have to hold both of them to make that decision. what i was wondering is what are the pro's and con's of each? if you guys own one or the other/both, what do you like about them? what dont you like? thanks

by the way, this is the Ruger im looking at (since there are many variants)

[Josh]

the walther has a mini handgun feel. And if you have large hands will not fit well, trigger is ok but not great.

the ruger feels more full size, trigger is slightly better than the p22 and I prefer the avaliable options for them. I have the 5.5 bull barrel model

My ruger has fed every type of ammo so far. The only issue with it is the take down as it is quirky, but not impossible.

Also "the ultimate clip loader" works with ruger mags, best thing EVER for shooting. http://www.gunblast.com/Cliploader.htm

Having shot both I prefer my MKIII.

[moulton]

check into the SIG trailside

[ohsmily]

That Ruger handgun design has been around for almost 60 years. It doesn't have any issues other than they make them in so many configurations, it is hard to choose.

The Walther is a fun little plinker, very small. If you are only going to have 1 .22 handgun, get the ruger. But, you should get both, and multiple Rugers...1 with the longer target bull barrel, another shorter bull barrel one, and another with a standard taper barrel.

Get the Ruger. (if you are only going to have 1 Ruger, the one you have pictured with the short slab sided barrel is ideal...a good balance of features).

[dwtt]

check into the SIG trailside

Is the Sig Trailside approved for sale in CA? I thought it wasn't, but CDNN has them on sale; they bought a bunch of unsold inventory, I think.
I have not held or shot the Walther, but I did buy a Ruger Mark II. The gun is nice and has a substantial feel to it, despite being a .22lr. I chose the Mark II over the Mark III because of the magazine disconnect on the newer model, but that might not be important to some people.

[moulton]

im pretty sure its approved for sale because my local store has a whole line of them

[avidone]

I vote for the Walther. I went .22 shooting with a friend and he had a Ruger. His kept jamming on some of the ammo but my P22 just kept going. We shot 6 different brands of ammo that day.

[ahead]

good info, thanks guy. im sorta leaning towards the Ruger, but im now wondering whats the difference between the different barrel designs? im looking on their site and see 3 different designs, and the site doesnt really give any info about the different models other than the standard specs. so im wondering if theres any noticeable different in performance or reliability?

these are the ones im talking about





they all shoot the same ammo, so im thinking its just looks..

also whats the difference between the 22/45 MarkIII and the standard MarkIII.

will there be a different since the Walther is centerfire and the Ruger is rimfire? and for my last question, is the MarkIII DAO? im sorta new to guns and i know close to nothing about rimfire.

sorry for the long post, and thanks a bunch for the info

[saki302]

If you're set on the ones you posted, get the slab-sided bull barrel- good balance, IMO.
The 22/45 is what you posted, the normal MkIII has the metal angled hand grip, and feels better to shoot as a target pistol, IMO.

If I were you, I'd look for an older MkII with a 4" bull barrel to shoot- the perfect balance, IMO. A 5.5" MkII will have a better sight radius, but will be a touch front heavy.

If you're set on a MkIII (metal grip), they have a version called a 'hunter' or something, with a stainless long fluted barrel which feels nice in the hand and would make a great target shooter.

If you want any nice .22, pick up a High Standard Supermatic citation or Trophy model (you'll have to do some digging). Match grade trigger and easy swappable barrels. Thank me later

-Dave

PS- they are ALL rimfire. I have yet to ever see a Ruger have a problem myself- even after not cleaning mine for almost 1000 rounds (my old .22/45 I sold).

[Wild Bill]

I have the Ruger 22/45 5.5 bull barrel. And have not found a brand of ammo that it will not shoot! So my vote would be go with the Ruger.

[socal57chevy]

I vote for the Walther. I went .22 shooting with a friend and he had a Ruger. His kept jamming on some of the ammo but my P22 just kept going. We shot 6 different brands of ammo that day.

A guy I used to shoot with rarely emptied a mag without a feed problem on his Ruger. I have never owned one, but shot his a few times. Different ammo didn't seem to help. We told him to contact Ruger, but don't know if he ever did. His gun kinda left me with a bad taste so when it was time to buy a .22 handgun....Walther got my money. I sometimes shoot Aguila SSS through my P22 and it will occasionally not cycle properly, but that is due to the fact that the round is designed to travel in "snail" mode. I have short fingers and welcome the small grip with interchangeable backstraps. (medium on the P22 and small on my P99)

ps 22/45 refers to the angle of the grip...same angle as 1911 hence the "45"
IMO the standard ruger .22 is the reason for confusion between "Ruger" and "Luger" as they tend to resemble one another both in looks and vernacular.

[rkt88edmo]

The third picture in your second post is a MkIII, the two above are 22/45s, note the difference in grip angle.

I'd also vote for the slabside bull barrel, and also for the adjustable sights, regardless of which barrel you choose, but that is my preference.

The MkII/IIIs metal frame make it a bit heavier, which reduces the tiny amount of felt recoil recoil but may also reduce offhand shootability for folks who are less strong or don't shoot much. The bull barrels also add weight obviously, but none of the barrrels you've listed are very long. The lightest weight option would be a taper barrel upper on a 22/45 frame.

[CalExile]

I have both, and prefer the Walther. Don't listen to the "my gun jammed" comments, any gun can jam for a number of reasons. I have had good reliability with both, in my opinion the Walther is more fun to shoot. With that said, I would buy both!

[xenophobe]

Walther P22 or Sig Mosquito

The Ruger isn't bad, but I like the feel and fit of the Sig and Walther better.

[gmcem50]

All of my Rugers (10/22, Mini-14, SP101, etc...) are fine weapons and function basically flawlessly. I can't recall ever having a malfunction with any of them.

Regardless, I will NEVER buy another Ruger anything ever again, as long as I live. Bill Ruger is the enemy and I don't care how well his guns are made, he can sell them to someone else.