I have an early PPK/S...went back for the recall just because Smith said so...not for anything I experienced. I have never had a problem with this gun and it is my EDC. It did take some time to break in (300 to 400 rounds) but it fires great now with ball or hollow point. The more I fired it the better it ran. As with all small caliber blow backs it likes a firm grip and good ammo. I have not noticed it preferring one ammo over another as long as it wasn't junk.

These early guns have gotten beat up on the forums for no real reason just like a lot of other guns...something is said and it spreads like wildfire. There is nothing wrong with a recall gun...problem (big or small) is fixed! I have shot Interarms and I like the Smith version better with the larger tang...eliminates the slide bite the PPK is notorious for. The PPK/S feels as good in my hand as any other gun I have ever shot and better than most. If you choose stay away from the early guns that is up to you...but I like mine just fine and always take an opportunity to defend it from what I think is way overstated. After all...I don't see people dumping their early 686's! And, yes, I know the PPK/S was recalled for discharge on decocking but it was rare and would have been negligent of Smith not to take a look at all of them whereas the 586/686 was a kind of voluntary thing not associated with accidental discharge. I'm not hearing anything about the PPK/S recall guns not performing well in recent years...we would have heard for sure!