I've googled this gun and found mixed results. What are your thoughts on it? I had it in my hand at the gun shop and it felt very nice. I would use it as a CCW. Thanks
The vernable Walther PPK - Famed gun of James Bond ( from the Ian Flemming novels anyways ) and always the gun listed as "a great gun for the little woman". The Walther is a blow back operated semi auto, that despite the steel construction, is built on a weapon that doesn't weigh a lot. Generally when you hear people complain about FTE/FTF is because the shooter is usually limp wristing the recoil. The inner workings are complex. Definitely not one you want to field strip down to the bare bones... LOL All in all, it's a good little gun. The calibers are a little light for self defense, IMO, but as a back up gun, it wouldn't be all bad. I think there are probably a few other models you might want to consider before dropping the $500 or so if this is to be your primary carry weapon though. JD
Once owned one, great little back-up, off duty, or hide-out gun. The caliber is pretty wimpy for primary carry, but with some of the ammo available it would be what many consider as minimally acceptable. There were some that were made a few years ago that had a lot of problems, but I'm afraid I can't help you on that. Is there a Walther forum?
The Walther PPK? It was inwented by a little old lady in Leningrad.... Now the Makarov, there's a gun for a real man....
I have a Walther clone in .380 made by FEG in Hungary after they retooled to a CNC shop. The gun is beautiful, accurate, and never FTE/ FTF with any ball ammo or Speer GDHP. On the bench it makes 2-4" groups at 15 yds. In 1997 I paid $182 for it new, and it is my primary carry gun in spring/summer. Incidentally, the Makarov is Russia's answer to German engineering...unfortunately the question was lost in the translation.
Thanks for the info!! I'll try some other guns to see how they feel. I also liked the S&W little revolver.
If you have large hands, you will find the PPK will leave two bloody tracks in the shooting hand between the thumb and index finger. Definiately not a gun for a beefy American hand.
There's certainly nothing wrong with a PPK, but please understand that it is a small caliber. For the money, you may be just as well served with a Makarov or CZ. I'm not a fan of 380's but I do own several. My wife carries a CZ83 and likes it real well. I keep a Makarov 380ACP in my console along with a .375 Magnum. I also conceal carry a Kel Tec P3AT (380) in my pocket. Walther makes a fine handgun but there's no shortage of 380's out there...
That's why the current US made (S&W) PPK has a redesigned frame with a larger tang. Not quite a beaver tail, but enough to make hammer bite or rail cuts a thing of the past. I carried an older model (Interarms Stainless) PPK as my daily CCW piece for nearly ten years in an IWB holster. It carried well but it's not very pleasant to shoot. Although it's quite accurate and reliable, the DA pull is very heavy and the recoil gives a sharp sting to the heel of your palm. Another comparable pistol is the SIG 232. It's nearly the same size with a slightly better trigger pull, but easier on the hand during recoil, which is likely due to the rubber grips. The PPK grips are hard plastic. IMHO, the nicest pocket .380 to shoot is the Colt Officers Model, but these are about as common as dinosaur eggs. A buddy of mine has one and it's VERY nice. Only slightly larger than the PPK and it fires from a locked breach. Recoil-wise, it's a creampuff next to the PPK, but it's a single action and not quite as safe to carry as the DA pistols.
Sig makes the P232 which is a really nice PPK knock off. For that price though, you could buy a used, authentic Walther. Beware of cheap knock offs though, as the quality of most of them make them good only as paper weights.
A friend of mine that I used to go shooting with owned a PPK, and it was pretty picky about what ammo you put in it. I personally saw it malfunction repeatedly one time, even though he was using new namebrand factory ammo. In the PPK's defense though, a number of handguns in that size range tend to do the same thing. Just experiment with different brands and loads, until you find the right ammo for it. The "fit and finish" of the PPK's are excellent, but they're still somewhat overpriced.
My opinion: POS. Mine (a PPK/S) locked up after 75 rounds and it took 3 weeks to talk to a person in "customer service". Poor pistol, worse after sale service (S&W now) makes for a bad combination -- especially if you plan to trust your life with it.
We're not discussing the "S", that's a different gun from the PPK. The "S" has the full metal backstrap grip frame and holds a slightly larger magazine. I've heard MANY complaints about the "S" over the last 20 years. My dad bought one NIB back in the 80's. We went to the range with a few different boxes of ammo and couldn't get through a full magazine without a problem. He dumped it and got a PPK, which still works perfectly to this day.
