walther tph .22lr

[BETH]

i have been doing some reading on the walther tph .22lr and some say the are rare some say they are not then others say the .25 are rare? Which ones are rare?

[Hammerslagger]

The .25 ACP's are rather rare in the USA because the GCA of 1968 prohibits their normal importation for resale.

A Gadsden, AL, USA company that has gone by several names, including Ranger Manufacturing, produced about 8452 licensed .22 LR's from 1986 to 1988. The US made .22 LR TPH's are of inconsistent (often bad) quality.

[BETH]

i thought some were made in Germany

[Hammerslagger]

They are still appear to be being made in Germany. You might want to look it up on Wikipedia.

The TPH was introduced at the same time as the GCA of 1968. Thus, the only legal imports were by government agencies and possibly personal property for persons like returning to USA servicepersons.

[Jboy]

They are not very rare. The 25s come up on auction sites fairly often and the 22s are almost always available. Many think the German ones are better than the US ones made by Interarms. The 22s sell for about $450/$500 in very good shape for the US made ones and 800/1200 for the German ones. The 25s go for about 800/1000. Magazines are much cheaper for the 25s.

There is a smith named Roger Perry that works on them making them reliable. Well worth the money to send it to Roger. Roger may also have less expensive magazines for the 22s.

When assured that it is reliable (which the US ones are mostly not out of the box) it is a very nice piece. Get a US made Interarms one and send it to Roger if it is something you like. His web site often has some that he has worked on for sale.

Try this gentleman: http://perrysgunrepair.com/Home_Page.php

[BETH]

thanks for the info

[Hammerslagger]

If you want one of these pistols, consider the Erma Werke copy which was assembled and marketed in the USA as the Iver Johnson TP-22 and TP-25.

Deceased TFF member Bill Goforth had some significant involvement with them. Here is a link to a thread here. http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=20136

Frankly, the IJ TP-22 is an excellent copy of the Walther TPH in .22 RF, with some insignificant and significant differences. They are made a little less expensively; but they work as well or better than the German or US made Walthers that they are copied off of. Current market price seems to be around $200.00 in excellent condition. Both a .22 RF and a .25 ACP are currently listed on two Internet auctions.

The safety blocks the FP but does not drop the hammer. You have to apply the safety and manually lower the hammer for hammer down carry. Of course you also have the option of carrying an Erma TPH or PPK close copy (almost clones) cocked with the FP blocked by the safety. Most if not all of the IJ TP-22's also have an automatic FP block that allows the gun to be safely carried, with a round in the chamber, hammer down and manual safety in the off position. Walther TPH's produced in the USA lack this safety feature.

My personal opinion is that the .22 RF is a better choice than the .25 ACP, today.

[BETH]

i saw one for sale here and was looking into it to see if it was good deal or not think next purchase will be mark 111

[Jim K]

If your experience is the same as mine with those guns, buy stock in Johnson & Johnson. Band-Aids (R) will be needed after the sharp bottom of the slide gets done "slicing and dicing" the web of your thumb.

Jim