A Question For Walther PPK/S Owners

W

Wyatt Burp

Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
6,777
Reaction score
17,710
Location
Northern California
....or anyone with experience wth a Walther PPK, PPK/S, of PP. I'm left handed and would like to know what handicaps I would have with this gun. The thumb safety would be an issue and I "think" it isn't also a hammer drop on the walther. Could this gun be carried safely with a loaded chamber and the safety off, but maybe at half cock? My only experience is with a S&W 3913 with an ambidextrous safty. Thanks ahead of time.
 
Register to hide this ad
walter ppk

I have a Walter PPK from interarms. I am a right handed shooter. To answer some of your questions, the gun has a decocker lever which acts as a safety. when you cycle the slide, the firing pin is set to fire when you release the trigger. However, once the decock lever is pressed one notch forward, it will place the gun on safety. In order to fire the gun, the lever is placed one more click forward to the firing mode. You can carry a cartridge in the chamber and not on safe. There is a blocking safety that prevents the round from being fired if the gun is dropped. Being left handed is a problem handling the decock lever. You can leave it on the fire position or with the decock lever on safety, and as you draw, bring your non shooting hand over the gun and release the lever and resume you two handed position. takes a little practice but since I am right handed, I release the lever as I am drawing the gun from the holster. You need to practice so you don't think about it when you need to draw. Make sure you place your shooting hand below the tang or you will have a serious scrape between you thumb andindex finger when the slide cycles. If you have a S&W PPK, the tang was made longer to eleviate the problem. Hope this helps without the physical instruction on a one to one basis.

Nick
 
the recoil spring is heavy so depending on how strong your hands and fingers are you may have a hard time racking the slide to put a round in the chamber.
 
The safety on the PP, PPK and PPK/S all work the same as the Beretta 92 and S&Ws. Push it down and the safety is on, and if the hammer was cocked it decocks. Push it up/forward and the safety is off. I load mine, chamber a round, then holding the hammer with my right thumb, work the safety with my left hand, lowering the hammer with my right thumb (I don't trust hammer-drops). Once the hammer is down I take the safety off. Carry it hammer down on a live round, and if I need to shoot it I just draw it and pull the trigger, like it was a K frame.

As small as it is, the fleshy part of the V of my hand tends to ride a little high, and the bottom of the cocking-serrations on the slide slice my hand, like a saw. Once I realized what was doing it, I took a dremel to the bottom of the right side of my slide, and relieved it a little. This "Walther bite" seems to be common. Since you are left handed, it if cuts you it will be the left side of the slide. I guess it depends on how big/fat your hand is.

That's the only problem I've ever had with any of the ones I've owned (PP, two PPKs and a PPK/S). And it was just the PPKs that bit me. The longer grip of the PP and PPK/S kept the slide off my hand.
 
Wyatt Burp said:
....or anyone with experience wth a Walther PPK, PPK/S, of PP. I'm left handed and would like to know what handicaps I would have with this gun. The thumb safety would be an issue and I "think" it isn't also a hammer drop on the walther. Could this gun be carried safely with a loaded chamber and the safety off, but maybe at half cock? My only experience is with a S&W 3913 with an ambidextrous safty. Thanks ahead of time.
Click to expand...

There is no "half cock" on the Walther PP series.

With the PP series, there is a risk of discharge if the gun is dropped with the hammer down on a loaded chamber and the safety in the fire position. It even happened to James Bond in "Thunderball"!

Flipping that safety (which is slim) takes a little dexterity when using the right hand thumb (which is as it was designed). Don't know how'd you'd do that with the left hand. You would have to carry the gun off safe and be very careful. Don't use a horizontal shoulder rig!

Consider also how difficult it would be to decock the gun--the safety lever is the best way to do that and it might be tough with the left hand. I wouldn't want to try it under any stress, myself.

The Sig P232 or earlier P230 might be a viable option. The decock lever could be actuated by the trigger finger of the left hand and the mag release is the European style heel clip, so it's ambidexterous. The Sig is a very reliable pistol and visually similar to the PPK. It's a little larger, but, in the alloy frame version, lighter.
 
I don't own one anymore, but I wouldn't hesitate to carry one with the hammer down on a loaded chamber, safety off. That was how it was meant to be carried.

Of course given that I now have a job, and the guy I sold mine to doesn't, I might be coming into a "Ste. Etienne" marked PPK/S shortly.
 
It's a DA/SA hammer. After you load it, chamber a round, drop the decocker and leave it in DA. It is a pretty heavy first DA pull but then it goes into SA and shoots great.

As others mentioned just be sure the lever is not in full safe or it will not fire.

If it is a SW marked they were all recalled for the hammer drop safety. If it is Interarms it is OK and not a recall.

I think the main problem for a lefty is getting pinged with the ejected brass.:D
 
Have had one for 30 years. Carried loaded, hammer down, no safety on. All you have to do is pull the trigger. Even if you are left handed, it should work OK. The so called "slide bite" can be eliminated with a set of Pachmayr grips. Fantastic little auto - one of the best ever.
 
Ever see a P-5?,
I believe that is the right model #. It is a 9mm with LH ejection. I have had one in my case for about 1 1/2 yrs, they came from some european gun buy I believe it is Century marked.
 
If it's a SW version you should not have a problem with slide bite as they lengthened the "beavertail" The "real" Walthers had a shorter one and could get you.
 
I own several Walther PP series pistols. A Walther PPK .32 pre-war:

WaltherPPK32003.jpg


A West German PPK .380:

WaltherPPK004.jpg


A West German PP .22 Sport:

Walther008.jpg


And an Interarms Made in the USA stainless steel PPK .380:

WaltherCamilllus003.jpg


All are safe to carry loaded with the hammer down and the safety off. I think you would find the PP-PPK-PPK/S pistols a pleasure to use as a lefty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Walther PPK/S review
Replies
12
Views
991
03hemi
03hemi
W
Questions about Walther PPKs.
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
Waldo
W
hardknocks
Walther PPK 32 acp, 2024 model.
2 3
Replies
47
Views
5K
CMudrock
C
R
Interarms PPK/S (update on post 22)
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
rwadley1
R
S
Ammo question for Walther PPK/S .22LR
Replies
11
Views
8K
Abbynormal
Abbynormal

Latest posts

Back
Top