I gave my son a Walther P22 when he graduated from college more than a decade ago, and always thought it was a nice little gun. But IIRC it was picky about ammo, and always felt a bit cheesy.
When I decided I needed a better 22 plinker (the 22 coversion kit for a Makarov was sort of a kludge) I didn't even think about the Walther but did rent both the Ruger SR22 and the M&P 22 Compact at the same range session. Side by side, I thought the Ruger felt a bit less solid than the S&W, and the safety worked backwards from any 22 autoloader I've ever owned.
So 22 Compact it was. It's an absolutely delightful gun to shoot, and has eaten every round I've fed it after the first range session, when I think it stovepiped a couple of cases. But it also had a peculiar magazine catch issue when new - that caused mags not to latch fully every time they were inserted - which may have been part of the initial problem. S&W fixed that promptly, and the gun is now a real favorite. Absolutely no regrets over the choice, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
