The Jennings J-22 was produced by the Jennings

Bryco Arms/Jennings Firearms/Jimenez Arms

Jimenez Arms, also known as "J.A.", is an American firearms manufacturer based in Henderson in Nevada. The company was started in August 2004 using the molds and machinery from bankrupt Bryco Arms and currently makes four models of firearm.-Bryco Arms:...

 corporation in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the 1980s and 1990s. It was an inexpensive .22 LR caliber (J-22) and .25 ACP

.25 ACP

The .25 ACP centerfire pistol cartridge is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning in 1905 alongside the Fabrique Nationale model 1905 pistol...

 caliber (J-25) aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 alloy slide and frame. The latter models by Bryco were made of Zamak

ZAMAK

Zamak is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium and copper. Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminium composition...

.

The pistol is blowback

Blowback (arms)

Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the propellant charge....

 operated and striker fired. The barrel

Gun barrel

A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....

 was 2.5"

Imperial unit

The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...

 long and had shallow grooves, like the Micro-Groove rifling used by Marlin Firearms

Marlin Firearms

Marlin Firearms Co., formerly of North Haven, Connecticut, is a manufacturer of high power, center fire, lever action, and .22 caliber rimfire rifles. In the past, the company made shotguns, derringers and revolvers...

. It came with a six round magazine.
Because of the low price, it was also exported to some countries in Europe where it achieved some notoriety in the pocket-pistol competition class in the 80s and 90s.

Controversy

The pistol has been claimed to be flawed because of its soft material. Another frequent claim is that the gun malfunctions more often than should be expected. It has also been criticized for its accuracy

Accuracy and precision

In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, the accuracy of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to that quantity's actual value. The precision of a measurement system, also called reproducibility or repeatability, is the degree to which...

, with some critics claiming that it could only hit a dinner-plate sized target at about 10 yards at best.

The J-22 is held in low regard. Owners of expensive handguns dismiss the J-22 as junk

Saturday night special

The phrase Saturday night special is pejorative slang used in the United States and Canada for any inexpensive handgun. Saturday night specials have been defined as compact, inexpensive handguns with low perceived quality; however, there is no official definition of "Saturday night special" under...

. From that perspective, it is thought of as a "throw away" gun used mainly by criminals. However, there are some people who think of the J-22 as simply a fun "plinker". The small size of the J-22 makes it popular as a "tackle box" gun, for shooting snakes, or dispatching small animals.

The J-22 and current JA-22 (manufactured by Jimenez Arms) are often purchased by individuals as a means of self-defense as an alternative to the more expensive, machined handguns (SIG, Ruger, Colt, Glock etc.) and the lower cost of these cast-alloy pistols allows individuals to enjoy some form of protection. Although the .22 long rifle

.22 Long Rifle

The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...

cartridge is not considered an optimal self-defense cartridge, an individual can apply it to stop an attack.