I’ve been checking out several .22 pistols for her but just haven’t finalized it yet since money has been going other places lately. G44/MarkIV/Ruger SR22/Walther P22 are where I am at currently for her but haven’t made my mind up either way.
My daughter and I spent a good bit testing 22 Semi-autos. She’s small, at 27 frequently gets mistaken for 12. Her hands are literally half the size of mine.
Back in 2012, we tried every 22 Semi-auto on the market. All of them except the Mk’s had failures. But those are too large and heavy for her. All of them were ammo picky.
So, she settled on the Walther P22 (upgraded by Walther, before they released the P22Q). It’s a great gun… with the right ammo. The trick is finding the “right” ammo for it. What’s crazy is not all P22’s like the same ammo. Mine, has only been flawless with Mini-Mags. I’ve tried every other 22LR I could find and couldn’t get more than three or four rounds through it without some issue. Mini-Mags… We have put over 7,000 rounds of Mini-mags through with zero issues.
Would I buy another one… nope. Not even the Q. Everyone I know, have talked to, have read about, has had the same results, just not always with the same ammo. Some people only have flawless shooting with white box, or green box or blazer, or whatever. But no one I know has ever had flawless shooting with more than one type.
If you want a full size semi 22, get an M&P S&W22. I love mine. It eats everything I put through it, without fail. 8,000 rounds of a mix of everything including the ammo the P22 choked on.
If I wanted a P22 sized semi, I would get the M&P 22 Compact. It has none of the problems the P22 does. I don’t own one, but I’ve put near a 1,000 rounds of all kinds of 22 through a friend’s. And they have near 12,000 through by themselves. Heck, I still may get one.
