This past week I had the opportunity to shoot a Walther P22. I have very limited time with Walther products, but they seem to be well made and perform well. Everything with gun functioned flawlessly and it shot to point of impact. What made it special was that it was fitted with a suppressor.
I have shot a few guns with suppressors, and it’s not always what you think. It is very rarely like the movies. I remember shooting a suppressor of questionable quality that really didn’t live up to the hype. Buying one for you 22lr will make it very quiet. In fact we didn’t use any hearing protection. I don’t want to get into the particulars of why a suppressor works or doesn’t, but I do want to let you know what to expect if you are going to buy one for your gun.
Remember that you will need a Federal Tax Stamp. This is not incredibly difficult to get, but you will have to fill out some paperwork and pay $200. One you have that paperwork in hand you can take possession of the suppressor from your Class III dealer. You must always keep the paperwork with the suppressor , and you must notify the ATF if you are traveling across state lines with your suppressor.
The main advice I would give you is that you need to buy from someone who works in Class III firearms all the time. They can make the difference for you. If you get a chance to get to shoot a demo of the one you are looking at, even better. Just remember, buyer beware.