Best .22 Magnum Pistol: What’s Available In Semi-Auto?

The .22 Magnum pistol is a rare bird, but we pick four top options in the caliber to satiate even the most finicky rimfire fan.

A semi-automatic .22 Magnum pistol … cue crickets chirping.

Popular as the souped-up rimfire cartridge has proven over the past 60 odd years it’s never really conquered the pistol market. Revolvers, those chamber in what’s properly known as the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (.22 WMR), shooters have them coming out their ears. But pistols tread on hen’s teeth territory.

What’s the deal? There’s a couple of things at play stacking the deck against the widespread production of .22 Magnum pistols.

More than anything, the cartridge poses a tricky proposition. Rimmed cartridges are notoriously finicky in box magazines. Load them incorrectly—that is, hitch a rim behind another rim—and you’re managing a failure to feed. Jam-o-matics aren’t a load of fun, even if they deliver more punch to their destination.

If that isn’t enough, the .22 Magnum is a high-pressure cartridge that doesn’t play nice with straight blowback systems. Instead a delayed blowback operation is required to function properly. The task is tall in a pistol, requiring elegant engineering. This leads to the next big issue—cost.

Inherently, given a delayed blowback operation is more mechanically complex than a straight blowback, it cost more to engineer, manufacture and QC. Faced with this, the suits crunching numbers at gun companies have a simple refrain: Screw it, make a .22 LR pistol! If they’re ambitious, maybe they’ll roll the dice on a .22 Magnum revolver. Grimace if you must, but their calculus isn’t skewed.

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Plus guns chambered for standard-bearer .22 LR not only cost less up front, but also in the long run. Savvy shoppers (in normal times) pay a dime or less per trigger pull of .22 LR; for .22 Magnum, they’re ponying up nearer to a quarter per pop. That adds up—particularly for plinking and pleasure shooting. Given these factors, it’s almost a wasteland when it comes to .22 Magnum pistols … almost.

There are some notable exceptions, so we picked out four semi-autos that have what it takes to scratch the magnum-rimfire itch. But, be warned, the world isn’t exactly awash in options. So, as your mother most likely told you on more than one occasion, beggars can’t be choosers.

How I Chose The Best .22 Magnum Pistols

This was an easy task overall, because pickings are slim in the .22 Magnum pistol market. But I still did my due diligence and put each pistol through its paces honing in on each gun’s accuracy, ergonomics, price and overall reliability. The last one is an important point, because this class of pistol has a rough track record. After many rounds down range, some hard running of each gun, I came up with these as the top picks in .22 Magnum pistols.

Best .22 Magnum Pistol Options

Specs Comparison Of The Best .22 Magnum Pistols

Walther WMP

New in 2022, the WMP or Walther Magnum Pistol came as a bit of a surprise. It’s certainly on the more “tactical” side of handguns due to its inclusion of features like an optics-ready slide, and that isn’t typical of .22 Magnum pistols.

The WMP is a full-size, polymer-framed handgun with a 4.5-inch barrel and 15-round magazine capacity. It has a typical accessory rail on the underside and an optics-cut slide on top. The front sight is also fiber optic. The pistol is fully ambidextrous as well, in part thanks to its unique Quad release mechanism that features both a traditional button mag release and a Walther-style paddle release on each side.

These features combine to make the WMP a very versatile pistol, just like the cartridge it fires. With its optics-ready slide, it could be used in competition, for pest control or just for having a blast at the range. Regardless of your reason for wanting one, we believe that the new WMP will soon establish itself as one of the best .22 Magnum pistol designs on the market.

Overall, I found the pistol a pleasure to shoot and very accurate out to 15 yards. The Walther fit my hand perfectly, even if I do find the grip a bit unappealing to the eye. And all but for a few rounds at the beginning that failed to eject, I found the WMP very reliable.

Read our complete Walther WMP review.

Walther WMP Deals

Guns.com	From $414
Cabela’s	$450

Rock Island Armory XT 22 Magnum

With a fraction of the fanfare it deserved, Rock Island launched its XT line a few years ago. Yet, the pistol deserves credit, it delivers on all accounts—affordability, dependability and, above all, accuracy.

No surprise from the Filipino company that made its bones with economical 1911s, its .22 Magnum pistol cuts the same figure and has the same feel. The similarities stop there, but it’s still great news for anyone who loves the grip angle or aesthetics of the 1911. The XT is a top-ejector affair, somewhat reminiscent of a Beretta 92, with a unique two-piece barrel design that’s part of the pistol’s delayed blowback operation. It sounds complicated, but honestly is a fairly straightforward system that pays dividends. Not only does it run like a top, but it makes for a trimmer, more manageable gun.

I found the XT has a real sporty feel to it, so it’s easy for to imagine it would do well in a competitive setting. I think the flat-top Pro model would make an interesting option for this with its full-length Picatinny rail on top of the slide. Certainly, the pistol’s configuration lends it to self-defense, though, I don’t believe the caliber should be anyone’s first choice. And even though it’s light, the XT is too large to make it a backup option.

Rock Island XT 22 Magnum Deals

Sportsman’s Warehouse	$480
Guns.com	From $476

Kel-Tec PMR-30

When the Kel-Tec labs unleashed this Frankenstein’s monster around a decade ago, it was met with—to be honest—furrowed brows. (Mine included.) What exactly was the angle of the plasticity, futuristic-looking .22 Magnum pistol?

Not easily categorized, the new-wave heater nonetheless shouldered its way into the market, if for no other reason than sheer, unadulterated firepower. There aren’t many problems that can’t be solved with 30 rounds on tap.

Yes, for those unfamiliar with the PMR-30, that’s its hook—capacity. Which, when you put your mind to it, makes this fairly difficult to classify pistol quite useful for many applications. Backwoods insurance policy, rucksack’s best friend, inconspicuous truck gun—in essence, Jack-of-all-trades. Perhaps its most agreed-upon role is as a bug-out bag pistol.

Next to firepower, the PMR-30’s light weight is its greatest asset. Even fully juiced, it doesn’t weigh much more than a centerfire duty pistol. And for all its idiosyncrasies, the pistol is easy and comfortable to run, even delightful. It fit my hand well, boasted a snappy trigger and, thanks to Hi-Viz sights, is relatively quick on target. I like this gun and think it offers a lot for someone in the market for something a bit different, but functional.

Kel-Tec PMR-30 Deals

Palmetto State Armory	$419
Guns.com	From $409

Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Magnum

Featuring the same TEMPO barrel system that debuted in Smith & Wesson’s M&P 5.7, the M&P 22 Magnum has a lot of advantages over .22 Mag. pistols with more traditional operating systems. That’s because the TEMPO system doesn’t allow for the barrel to cam open until after the bullet passes the gas port, increasing both reliability and accuracy. The only downside here is that the system only works well with certain types of ammo, but Smith & Wesson has already done extensive testing so you won’t need to guess. Use one of the several officially-recommended loads and you shouldn’t have any issues.

Besides the M&P 22 Magnum’s potential for great reliability, it has some excellent features as well. I, like anyone, love its 30-round magazine capacity. Kel-Tec had that market cornered for years, but now if you want a deluxe version of the PMR-30 you have the M&P to consider too. The pistol also comes ready to direct-mount RMSc-footprint optics and features a fiber optic front sight, a flat-faced trigger, a Picatinny rail and a thumb safety.

Of these, I appreciated the ability to mount an optic, which take the pistol a whole new level. As for the TEMPO system, working off S&W’s cheat sheet and shooting CCI Maxi-Mag, the pistol ran flawlessly for me. The only hitch I really found in the .22 Mag is its price tag, which runs a bit more than what many would like to drop on this class of pistol.

S&W M&P 22 Magnum Deals

Battlehawk Armory	$556
Bass Pro Shops	$600

.22 Magnum Pistol FAQ

Editor’s Note: Adam Borisenko contributed to this article.