Quote:
Originally Posted by Gene L
The S&W PP pistols got a bad rep and had a recall in 2009, and from what I read, had terrible customer service. However, some owners of ones after the recall seemed to like them and report them to be accurate. But among pre-Smith owners, they left a bad taste. Plus, they lengthened the tang which, while it helped with those who got slide bite, changed the profile, which "traditionalists" never got over. I have never seen a S&W PPK and only know what I've read about them.
I don't have a legacy PPK, but have a 1968 .32 made in W Germany, (Just beat the GCA) and it's a well-made pistol. I won't say it's better made than the Interarms were, but a lot of people will. Mine is showing its age.
The others are in .380, an Interarms Ranger PPK/S from 1981, an early one, and a SS PPK from later. I've never had a failure with any of them...shoot only hardball. I've never been bitten by the slide.
If I had a PPK that was reliable, I wouldn't worry about where it was made. The new ones have drawn a lot of praise for fit, finish and reliability but have only been out since Dec or Jan, so long term usage data aren't there. Some have reported some sharpness of the frame near the tang, which has caused some discomfort after extended shooting.
Many PPK owners in general find the .380s a little too sharp in recoil and almost universally prefer the .32.
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There are some uncomfortable realities most of the folks over on the Walther Forum don't like to admit.
Yes, the pre-war PP / PPK series pistols are hand fitted and exceptionally well made.
Post war, with restrictions in small arms manufacture in place, Walther moved production across the Rhine to the Manurhin located in Haut-Rin in the Alsace region of France, where the population was still ethnically German.
Walther then sent forgings to Manurhin, which then machined the forgings, finished and assembled the pistols. This arrangement continued until 1982. In essence, it was French Germans doing the machining and assembly rather than German Germans.
Once the restrictions on small arms production were lifted in the 1950s, Manurhin started shipping finished frames and milled but still unheat treated, unroll marked and unfinished slides to Walther. Walther then heat treated them using an induction coil method, roll marked and finished the slides, and performed the final inspection of the assembled pistol. That was enough under German law for it to be considered "made in West Germany".
The irony is that if you look at them objectively, the Manurhin are better made. They are just as well fitted and the bluing on the slide and frame matches, which is not always the case with a Walther made PP or PPK of that era. The die hards at the Walther forum don't like to hear that, or admit it.
In 1982 when Walther discontinued it's arrangement with Manurhin, and took back full production, most unbiased reviewers agree that quality suffered while Walther figured out how to make them again. The die hards at the Walther forum don't like to hear that, or admit it either.
The discontinuation of the arrangement between Walther and Manurhin is what led to the license agreement with Ranger, driven by Interarms seeking to secure a source of PPK pistols as well as a continued source of PPK/S pistols.
I own a pair of Ranger made PPK/S Pistols and the quality is fine and I have found them to be just as accurate and reliable as their Walther or Manurhin made counterparts. The stainless versions lack the high polish of the blued Manurhin pistols, but then again they are intentionally bead blasted on the upper surface of the slide for glare reduction and that's arguably more practical. And they could be had in stainless steel, which is much more practical for daily IWB carry.
I also owned a S&W made PPK/S. "Owned" is the key word here. I did not like the extended tang at all. I've only been bitten by a PP series pistol once and that was the first time I shot one when, in my ignorance, I tried to use a high grip on it. I reverted to a normal grip and have never been bit since. Thus I saw no benefit to the extended tang. Worse, the longer tang dug into my side in IWB concealed carry and was decidedly uncomfortable in all day wear. I also had issues not just with the recall, but also with the reliability of the trigger mechanism. Finally, one of the several totally necessary changes S&W made was changing the dimensions of the grip frame, so that grips used on the older PP series pistols no longer fit. It served no purpose, other than to create an inconvenience for everyone involved.
I have not shot one of the new ones, but if they are any better at all than the S&Ws, it makes the S&W PPK and PPK/S pistols the low point in production.
I do however like the Umarex/Walther PPK/S .22 LR. With the exception of using a P-22 style barrel liner and barrel nut, it's very much a PP series pistol. The barrel liner is pressed into the frame to create a fixed barrel just like the PP series and all of the rest of the parts reflect the PP design, just without the same level of finish on the small parts as the older pistols. But they shoot very well, particularly considering the price point.