It's 3 days after the gun purchase before the weather is good and my schedule is open enough to jump on the bike and go shooting it for the first time. I left @ 2:04PM toward a (totally FREE!) State run firing range that turned out to be only 27.7 miles (44.6km) away. I put the small gun case and the cleaning kit in the Givi tail trunk then followed the shooting range's listed Lat/Long coordinates I entered yesterday evening that took me to the EXACT spot using the available roads! The attendant there said there are only 2 shooting ranges in the State so I guess I'm pretty lucky to be so close to one.
When I got there the first thing that left a lasting impression was first the sound of gunfire and then the biggest cannon sized BOOM I had ever heard!! It had to be a 50 cal rifle. You absolutely need hearing protection!!! I informed the attendant, a green uniformed Georgia State Wildlife Refuge employee that I was a newbee with a new pistol. He answered the 5 or 6 questions I had about shooting, then he calmly said to fill out the register and find my own table. We then spoke about the few simple safety rules and I took my first shots. POW . . . . . POW. The recoil kick was more than I would of thought a .22 shell is capable of. My right wrist is sore even now. It was also much louder than I was expecting. It was fun squeezing off the 70 rounds (box of 50 rounds + the 2 clips I pre-loaded at home) into small white junk plastic/paper pieces I propped up in the dirt bank during the "all guns down" firing recess. I brought the ear protectors and safety glasses, but decided to "wing-it" for targets - - a good choice considering an error free shooting/reloading process had my full focus. I was now fully aware of the dangerous unpredictable explosive power in any one live round if it became jammed or it misfired. I initially wanted to adjust the sights in, but after firing a few shots and seeing in the dirt hits that they were pretty close, I thought to myself . . . "screw that, I'm just gonna keep shooting at those white pieces of junk!" It took a lot of my shaky shots to actually hit those small 2" (51mm) pieces at 30 yards (27.4M) and see them move or shoot up in the air. With the revered/recommended Federal brand .22 LongRifle 36 grain HollowPoint ammo costing 3.7 cents apiece (from a 550 round loose bulk box of them), it was good cheap fun! I had 2 full clips at the start and filled an empty 10 round clip 5 times from the small full box of 50. There I was, just for the hell of it like one other shooter, squeezing the trigger quickly 4 times . . . . POW-POW-POW-POW! It is a LOUD "POW!",
sounding more like a bigger gun than the "pop" or "crack" sound I had initially expected from a .22 caliper pistol. Maybe the last time I shot a friend's .22 pistol decades ago was using .22 shorts? Of the 70 rounds, there was 1 misfire (lightweight pin hit mark on the shell rim extreme edge, no fire) and 2 no loads (barrel chamber bore empty). In talking with 2 other shooters there I was relieved to hear those malfunctions were not unusual until the pistol is broken in. The manual does not say how many rounds the break-in is, but he said his 9mm pistol's manual mentioned 300 rounds. I had the slide off this morning to clean & oil the bore and slide rails so I'll just continue shooting it until I pass 300 rounds thru it before it goes back to the dealer for a malfunction inspection (if needed).It looks like I have a new toy and a rewarding recreational sport I had not expected. I'm absolutely going to avoid joining another "toy specific" chat board (for the P-22), as I'm busy enough on the 4 sites I'm on already.
Here in red state Georgia we have an open carry firearms law, where if you carry the weapon, it must be visible, as in a holster. If you want to carry it concealed, you need a special "concealed carry permit". I got my pistol in less than a half hour, with just my drivers license, after he called in my name to the FBI and got the clean-OK confirmation. I can actually wear the pistol on a belt holster where ever I go (in GA). The state's home robbery rate is very low as the perpetrators are often killed, as recently happened when an elderly woman shot and killed the criminal just after his violent break-in. The in home shooters are never charged when forced entry and self defense has clearly occurred. How does all that wonderful 2nd amendment freedom I have affect those of you with liberalized, nanny state, overly restrictive gun control laws?
Lets hear about your first time with your firearm.
The malfunctions you reported were curious, in order to have a round fail to load leads me to think the slide didn't cycle fully, cycling far enough to eject the spent round, but not picking up and cambering the next round. That can be caused by the ammo (short charge), a lack of lube, and or dirt. Perhaps a break in period is in order also. Have fun with your new Walther, 22's can be a blast. I shoot more 22 then any of the other caliber weapons I have. They simply are more fun.
