I've been waiting to find a small backstrap so that I could properly review a recent acquisition; a fairly early production fullsize 9mm SW99. I already had three first gen 9mm P99s with the AS trigger, but the price was too good to pass up on the SW99 plus I've always been curious about these guns.

Brief overview for those not familiar with these guns (please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.) S&W was the importer for the P99 from the late 1990's up to the mid-2000's after Interarms which initially imported the early P99s. The SW99 resulted as a joint venture between S&W and Walther - Walther made the frames and S&W made the slides and barrels. The frames however are not identical to those of it's P99 brethern, and one would be mistaken to conclude that an SW99 is simply a rebranded P99. To the contrary, there are many minor differences the totality of which render the SW99 a unique and quite possibly (I can't believe I'm saying this given how much I like the early P99s) a better firearms.

Objectively the SW99 differs from the first gen P99 in the following regards:

- Possesses a true M1913 picatinny rail
- Has front slide serrations
- Different texture on the backstraps
- Rounded front trigger guard
- More defined fence around the slidestop
- Available in .45acp
- Usually can be found cheaper than a comparative P99[/li]
- Uses 16rd mags (the P99 did as well for a brief period)

Subjectively I've found that my SW99 differs from my first gen P99s in the following areas:

- Better texture on the backstraps
- More durable finish
- Slightly cleaner trigger break in anti-stress mode
- Less aesthetically pleasing
- Parts seem to be harder to come by for the SW99[/li]

Let me qualify some of what I said above. I find the grooves of the SW99 as opposed to the dot-pattern on the P99 backstraps adhere to my palm better, although neither provides a texture up to par with modern handguns like the gen5 Glocks or M&P 2.0s. The trigger break is ever so slightly cleaner (especially compared to the awful split-trigger on my very early P99) on the SW99, but that could simply be a higher round count. Aesthetics, well, that's simply my opinion...the first gen P99 is a timeless design as far as I'm concerned.

As for the finish, my opinion there is largely speculative. My SW99 was LEO issue. There is significant wear on the metal night sights, and the frame has scuffs on the right hand side of the grip consistent with significant open-carry. Yet the slide exhibits almost no wear whatsoever, and it has not been refinished. I carried my olive drab P99 occasionally for less than two years in a kydex holster and it has more wear than my SW99. Based on this I'm pretty confident that the SW99 finish is at least as strong as that of the P99, and perhaps quite a bit more.

At the range it handles very much like a P99. It felt a bit more top heavy, and it also felt as though the bore axis was a bit higher, but I can't say whether either observation is justified. I ran three 50rd boxes of ammo through it - one of steel, aluminum and brass. It ate all without issue except for the steel (Winchester 115gr Forged) - one that it failed to extract twice. I only loaded the mags to 15rds because of reliability issues I'd read when loading to the full 16rd capacity. Accuracy is on par with a P99.

So my conclusion is that the SW99 is an excellent pistol and can perhaps even be thought of as an improved P99 in a number of regards. It's unfortunate that it's reputation is somewhat negative given many consider it a P99 knockoff, which it's not. This is an excellent, reliable, quality handguns. I'd readily pick up another at the right price, especially if it was in .45.

I agree, the SW99 is a great piece. I bought one as a companion piece to my P99 and P99c.

A call to Walther USA or S&W will get you a new backstrap. Mine split and fell apart into 5 or 6 pieces one day... I still have no idea why. There were no cracks evident beforehand, it just fell apart... bummer.

I made calls to both Walther and S&W and to my surprise, they both sent me a new backstrap at no charge.

I had put those calls off for a while, expecting long hold times and a snotty CS rep... but I was wrong. Both had GREAT CS with great reps and had my part(s) in my mailbox within a few days.

BTW, nice collection of '99s. I EDC my P99c in the winter... it's the best platform for carry ever devised, IMO. Funny how just a little nip and tuck at the muzzle end of the slide makes the Walther so much more attractive (again, imo).

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The Epitome of Hyperbole

S&W generously placed for me a free order for a small backstrap. However, they were not then (nor now) in-stock. I was told it could be days/weeks/months/never, so rather than wait I found one from a forum member for a few bucks.

As a big fan of the SW99-series pistols in 9mm and .40, I felt the same way you do about picking up a .45 if/when the opportunity ever presented itself. I was near gleeful when a local dealer listed that he had two of them for sale (one with extra mags).

But when I went to inspect them, I was not impressed. To my great disappointment, what works really well for me in the 9mm/.40 regular and compact size pistols did not do anything for me in the larger .45 size. There were other issues with the guns besides the sheer bulk of the .45. Both were "used & abused" in certain aspects and I knew that replacement parts would be hard to impossible to find. To the dealers credit, he offered to build me one nicer gun out of the two guns, but that didn't sound like a great idea to me at the time.

Bottom line: I had really wanted an SW99 in .45 just to complete the set, but now I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not ruling it out as a someday in the future purchase, but my enthusiasm to "complete the set" took a marked nosedive after holding and inspecting a couple used examples.

I to have sw99 compacts in 9 & 40 and was / am looking to complete the "Set" with a sw99 in 45. Other then the "used and abused" factor of the two you found, how much larger was the 45 version ? I know its a full size.

I'm finding that the 45 is difficult to find and if found it's a little pricey. As a shooter / collectible I'm still intrigued.

I get exactly what you are saying. That urge to "complete the set" is strong. But it turned out that what I found attractive about the 9mm and .40 in the full-size and compact models just wasn't there in the bulkier and clunkier full-size .45.

Now, I am not one to shy away from full-size .45 handguns. Lord knows I own plenty! In plastic, I own an HK45 and an M&P45 and I am just fine with them. All the rest are steel/steel or steel/alloy, including my Rock Island 1911A2 (which some consider a handful).

In other words, it wasn't the bulkiness in and of itself. It was that the bulkiness didn't quite work for me in that particular pistol design. Note that I didn't shoot any of the SW99's in .45 that I have found... so I'm talking just my personal impression based on holding and inspecting the guns.

In short, it's just not the gun for me despite the attractiveness of owning the complete set. It's a very personal thing. Your mileage could vary substantially as they say.

I held a.45 once at a LGS and thought that the grip had a strange, overly long feel to it.

Yeah, that was part of it. And again, the condition of those last two I found was not great. Had they been in better condition it might have changed my mind. Might.

I'll recommend another Walther joint venture for you 99 fans. They're now discontinued but for a few years there was a Magnum Research MR9 Eagle. Walther made the frame and trigger, which was basically a P99, and Magnum Research did the barrel and slide. One nice thing about these is that they have the square trigger guard similar to what's on the PPQ. I don't own many semi-autos but I do like the Walther's.

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Ephesians 6 (Armor of God)

Just picked up a Walther P99c to replace one I should never have traded a couple of years ago. Couldn't agree more about it suitability as a carry gun.

I'm kinda dismissing the idea of a full-size 99 as I own a PPQ and figure the Q is an upgrade of the 99 (the AS and its 3 fire modes notwithstanding.)

And I had a SW99OL that I traded...for a Walther.

I think ya'all are on the right track with how nice the 99s (Smith or Walther) are and now I'll probably be trying to find a .45 in the flesh to check out how it feels for me, "to complete the series." (And I was thinking, for a brief moment, I didn't really "need" another pistol!)