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P22 problems

BillOrrBillOrr Member Posts: 99 ✭✭
edited October 2009 in Ask the Experts
Hey guys, I've been having some problems with my Walther P22. I'm a SWAT medic and have been shooting for a while and know proper position/stance and not to limp-wrist the weapon, what ammo to put through it and how it performed until recently. I'm pretty confident it is not operator error or cheap ammo.

It has recently started to not cycle for the first few rounds in the mag. The weapon will fire one round and not cycle or half-way cycle and I have to manually chamber the next round until I get about 4 or 5 rounds out of the magazine. I have two used and two brand new mags and have experimented with all 4 with no difference. I notice the slide not coming all the way back when the weapon fires and am wondering if I need a new guide spring or whether it is a wear and tear problem. It has somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 rounds through it so it should still be in great shape (unless I don't know that much about P22's and that I need a new one or something...) I Actually have two P22's and after comparing the two I can't see any significant difference in the wear and tear on the slide or main body of the weapon.

Any thoughts on what I can look for or do to solve the problem?

Thanks, Bill
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Comments

  • fordsixfordsix Member Posts: 8,554 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    it is a blow back pistol...either dirty,bad spring,wax/lube build up
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  • 32 Magnum32 Magnum Member Posts: 820 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I agree with fordsix due to the following experience. I was at the pistol range a few weeks back. A came up and took a brand new P22 out of the box and began shooting. After about 30 rounds he experienced the same problem you're having; in fact his slide was so retarded it would not reset the striker. We took it apart and cleaned it really well - he had not done so before firing it. Apparently the factory grease/oil began to congeal and caused jamming and slide binding. It worked perfectly well for about 170 rounds after the cleaning. Your problem sounds similar - but due to build up of gunk and firing residue?????
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  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Any thoughts on what I can look for or do to solve the problem?
    The problem you describe sounds like dirt buildup.

    Try disassembling the gun, cleaning it THOROUGHLY with a good gun cleaning product, lubricating it SPARINGLY in the contact/wear areas, then try again.

    But BEFORE you do that, I'd suggest trying different ammo. This particular gun is known to be ammo-picky (like many .22 automatics are), and that can't hurt.

    Assuming the gun was EVER working properly, these two things will *probably* fix the problem.

    I strongly doubt that this is a magazine problem, but since you have another identical gun, and easy way to exclude that is to simply try your magazines in the second gun. If they work there, you know they mags are OK.

    Responding to Fordsix, although lots of people do it with no problems, ideally you shouldn't be firing a brand new gun out of the box without cleaning it first because it could still have dirt and metal shavings from the manufacture process stuck in there, leading to erratic function or (worse) unnecessary extra wear.
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  • BigLoop22BigLoop22 Member Posts: 620 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Bill,

    These links will take you through disassembly & reassembly of the P22, plus a couple other things about the gun:

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100700

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100711

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100723

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272257

    http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64717

    EDIT:

    There are several things that can make a P22 malfunction, and some of them are addressed in the links that I posted. One of them is the barrel nut. Another one is the "stove bolts", like this one:

    IMG_7154.jpg

    The 2 stove bolts are on opposite sides of the frame, and they can vibrate loose. They are NOT the same length, so make sure that you put them back in the right places. Loc-Tite on these threads will go a long way to keep these fasteners in place.

    Older P22s had magazine problems. Walther supposedly addressed this.

    Older P22s had extractors that were very unpredictable. The empties would be thrown all over the place, including in your face, down your shirt, and between your eyeglasses & face. Walther designed a new extractor that was supposed to take care of this.

    A walking safety lever, and/ or problematic detent ball can cause the gun to appear to misfire. Make certain that the safety lever is functioning properly.

    Cleaning & lubricating the P22 is very important, like it is with all firearms. ...only the P22 seems to like a dry moly-lube.
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  • BillOrrBillOrr Member Posts: 99 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I would consider "dirt build up" the problem except that I am more than * about cleaning my weapons after and even before I shoot. My wife's uncle was a sniper in Vietnam and wrote a manual on weapons cleaning that has been adopted by military and LE agencies around the country as their "legal" cleaning method. And I adhere to the manual religiously. Unless the P22 gets dirty enough to make it inoperable from the first round than I am confident that fouling/dirt build up is not the reason why it won't cycle all the way.

    Good thoughts though, I appreciate it.

    Any others?
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  • ExHawaianExHawaian Member Posts: 54 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Walther had some bad mags a couple years ago that caused feed problems.
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  • TANK78ZTANK78Z Member Posts: 1,350 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BILL, you say you have 2 p22's. I would trade the complete slide assemblies between pistols and try them for proper function. if one or the other malfunctions the same way it may help narrow down the cause to either top end or frame and make it easier to figure out, BOB
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  • MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member, Moderator Posts: 10,022 ******
    edited November -1
    check a fired case for scratch marks, possibly a 'dinged' chamber from the firing pin.
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  • lcdrdanrlcdrdanr Member Posts: 439 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Probably an obvious issue but my wife's P22 operated well for a number of rounds, then started having similar issues as well as accuracy going very erratic.
    Turned out the barrel had loosened up and some gunk had gotten into the groove at the end of the threads, making it look as if it was okay but after cleaning it a gap showed up. Tightened the barrel back on (not something normally looked at by other than Dan Wesson owners) and it was back in business.

    Dan R
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  • CS8161CS8161 Member Posts: 13,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You have not been dry firing the pistol, have you?? That will peen the chamber and make extraction difficult.
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