[pgm]

Hello,

Anybody have any experience with new Walther PPKs in 380 currently available in the US? I am specifically interested in reliability with JHPs, trigger pulls, and overall "fit and finish" issues.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. If you are speaking of the ones with the slightly extended tangs, I have not. The American-made Walther PPK-type pistols I've shot in the last few years were sort of hit or miss on reliability. Some would feed and function with only ball. Others would feed anything, but extraction was not 100%. Some ran like a champ with anything.

Single-action pulls were fine on all, but the DA pulls varied from smooth & heavy to gritty & very heavy. The finish appeared fine on all of them.

Best.

 

[davejames]

The early Interarms imports are about the best on the market,the ones now that S&W are putting out seem to have a few problems, none of them have ever really been built to handle JHP's, some do,, some don't

 

[pgm]

Thanks for the candid opinions, guys.

It sounds like there may be better choices out there in .380, perhaps the Sig or the Bersa.

 

[bompa]

You might try to find one of the Colt 380 series..Long out of production but maybe some of the best there was..The Pony is DA only and the Mustang,SA, looks like a 1911 that was left out in the rain and shrank..They are not blowback as most all 380's are so the recoil is milder and the recoil springs are easier to munipulate..Mine are keepers..

Henry

 

[Guest]

I agree with bompa, the Colts were the best .380's I ever shot. My older brother owned three over the years. All fed reliably and were as accurate as one could ever expect from such a small pistol with minimalist sights. IMO the the DAO Pony was the best of the breed.

 

[pgm]

Thanks Henry and Bill,

I will definitely keep an eye out for the Colts in the used gun cases. I do like the idea of a single action only, which one cannot these days in the Sig, Baretta, or the like. It's too bad Colt discontinued them.

 

[Guest]

Among the PPKs and PPKSs and their clones, I don't think you can beat the Bersa Thunder 380, my favorite auto pistol. It has much lighter double and single action trigger pulls than the Walthers, better grip & stock design, and costs half as much. And mine has not had a malfunction of any kind in about 500 rounds fired. Mr. Camp has done a excellent review of the Bersa that you might want to read elsewhere on this site.

In addition, the Makarov falls in this size & general design category and is a great pistol that costs less than $200 generally. If I was offered the choice of a Mak or a Walther to carry, I would take the Mak hands down just on reliability. And again, Mr. Camp has done excellent reviews of the Mak that you might want to read.

 

[davejames]

If your looking for a heavy use 380 leave the Colt Pony alone, every one I hae had or seen used heavy, starts to have a problem with the trigger bar seperating from the stud.

Now adays I wouldn't even look at a 380 unless it was the secamp or kel-tec,if small is what you want. for PPK/s size I still say go with the Khar

 

[Guest]

I will definitely keep an eye out for the Colts in the used gun cases. I do like the idea of a single action only, which one cannot these days in the Sig, Baretta, or the like. It's too bad Colt discontinued them.

With any luck, you may not have to just watch the used cases at your favorite gun shop. I spoke to a Colt executive at the NRA Annual Meeting earlier this year in Pittsburgh. We discussed many different models. The one that he firmly plans to put back into production ASAP is the .380 family. Now knowing Colt as I do, will this still be in my lifetime? That's another question entirely. Perhaps some e-mails and letters can help loosen the rusty wheels in Hartford?

 

[Guest]

Bill, that was Mark Roberts, Colt's Handgun Production Manager. I couldn't think of a search string that gave me any luck on finding his function/title at Colt's, until after I sent you mail that I couldn't remember it...

I'm still disappointed with his answer about the Magnum Carry; I'd rather have it return than the .380 family.


D.

Looks like Firefox doesn't support the "shadow" tag, which isn't really surprising...

 

[jimhigginbotham]

The Ky. State Police issued the American made stainless PPK or PPK/s (right now I don't recall which) for a backup gun.

They discontinued it due to reliability issues.

One of our deputies was a retired trooper and, since I make folks shoot their backup guns in the qualification, he shot it and had 4 malfunctions with ball ammo in 24 rounds

You can work them over but they aren't as easy as a handgun that you can remove the barrel from.

Best regards,
Jim

 

[Guest]

Bill, that was Mark Roberts, Colt's Handgun Production Manager. I couldn't think of a search string that gave me any luck on finding his function/title at Colt's, until after I sent you mail that I couldn't remember it...

I'm still disappointed with his answer about the Magnum Carry; I'd rather have it return than the .380 family.

Thanks Dave.

I agree, the Magnum Carry would be the better seller. The .380 has almost become an afterthought with the new breed of tiny 9's. If Colt wants to go the small auto route, a revamped Pocket Nine would be my choice.

 

[BarryinIN]

When it comes to the Walther PP/PPK/PPKs, I can name about a hundred better guns- including the Colt Mustang.

I don't know why I keep buying them!

I usually don't keep them, though. But I can say that for most guns.

I have one of the Smith and Wesson made PPKs guns. It's OK, and kinda between the old German guns and the late Interarms guns in fit and finish.
Walther fans hate the extended tang's appearance, but I like it. I have only gotten the "railroad tracks" cut into my hand by the slide a couple of times by older models, but I don't think it can ever happen on this one.
I don't like the sharp edges. Those edges are bad enough elsewhere on a PPK/s, but on the extended tang, they are pretty annoying.
After shooting mine a bit to see that it worked and shot well, I took a file and stones to it. I got it rounded enough to feel OK without going crazy.

To the good, most Walthers I've had, regardless of when and where made were surprisingly accurate.

There are just too many disadvantages for me to keep more than one around at a time. And that one is more for fun than anything.
-The sharp edges.
-They are bigger than a Kahr 9mm or .40.
-They are heavier than the polymer Kahrs. I really don't know how they compare to the steel models in weight.
-They don't have an external slide lock- Which is a pain if you get a malfunction that requires you to lock the slide open to clear.
-The DA triggers are heavy. It seems better on my "Smith & Walther", but it's still stout.