Buying a P22...

seth

seth

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BEFORE YOU SAY IT... I KNOW!

I've read up alot, and I'm gonna take the plung anyway...

Tonight I got to Shoot a prohib p22 and I gotta say, I'm in love.

I've read alot of reviews saying that the first production runs were horrible...

Lots of FTF's FTE's cracked slides etc... however I've heard that:

A) The A Suffix mags fix alot of the problems
B) The later production runs have ironed out the bugs

So my question is, how do I know the newer ones from the older ones?

Also, anyone out there have and LIKE their p22's?

Thanks
 
Look at the two letter date code on the side of the side:

AB = 2001
AC = 2002
AD = 2003
AE = 2004
AF = 2005
AG = 2006

I bought one that was AB, and it was buggy as hell. I heard that the bugs were ironed out by the AD run. Do NOT shoot unjacketed ammo, like Winchester Wildcat, through this gun.
 
I had one of the AE vintage. It was an ok learner gun that went bang when it was supposed to. The P22's an OK plinker, but there's much better .22's out there for the about the same money.

The "A" mags and the later P22 models are the ticket to avoid problems. Check out RimfireCentral.com too, there's a whole P22 forum set up there. Tons of useful info too.

I ended up getting rid of it in a trade for a new Buckmark Target 5.5.

Really hinges upon what feels best in your mitt, try other .22's too.... like a Ruger.
 
the ruger 22/45 MKIII's are very slim.

I've seen some problems at the range with the newer (last summer) P22's.. I'd have to see a drastic improvement to recommend them.
 
My friend has one that he bought two years ago and it's been extremely reliable. It's not as accurate as my Ruger or Beretta .22's which is why I call it a fun gun. The most annoying thing on it for me is the mag release position by the trigger guard. Dang if I don't always drop the mag by accident when I shoot my friend's P22......not the gun for me but I'll shoot someone else's if they offer.
 
Thanks UncleWalther,

I JUST found the date / make table on the rimfire forums... hit refresh on this page and you had posted...

I looked at the gun again today... made sure about the A suffix mags but didn't know what to look for in regards to manufacture date... BACK TO THE GUN STORE!

I was shooting American Eagle tonight out of the Prohib p22...
 
I had a P22 that was made in 2003 with the A preffix mags and it worked fine. The only issue I had occured when I bought a new nonprefix mag and it had some feed problems with that mag. It was a bit small in my big hands and the worm screw on the fake compensator liked to come loose but al in all it was alright. If you buy a newer one with newer mags and the grip fits you well there should be no issues.
 
Both of my kids P22s have had several K put through them, no problems as of yet, not too sure of the year that they were made. Got them at P&D in 05, the kids like the feel over the Ruger and Beretta. It is a great gun for starters.
 
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