Picked up an S&W Walther PPK/s - Walther Snobs Do Not Look

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GeoJelly

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I have a minty 60's Walther PP .32 (and a stnls PPK) but have been wanting a blued PPK/s for some time. The Ranger's and actual Walthers are out of sight now on GB so I had given up. Come to find out an old trading buddy has been hiding this one for years. The finish is flawless - sure it isn't the Walther polished bluing of many years ago - but I like it. My PPK is also an S&W version - and it is also unfired by me. I understand that these SW versions have had, or may have, some issues - but I've got a coupla Glock .380's lying around should the need arise to actually use a .380. I bought this one to look at and polish occasionally - and have some small change to burn thanks to the required minimum distribution business. Only thing I don't like is the grips - understand they look nice (Altamont, I assume) but I actually like the older factory PP grips better. I would gladly trade these for a set of mint older PP grips should anyone have a set ... with the assumption and caveat that they'll fit the S&W PPK/s frame.

Also forgot to mention - it was made in 2012 so it should be about three years into post-recall production. Thanks to this 'Forte Smitten Wesson' feller (good review and info) I now have to try to scare up the dinero for another S&W ... maybe a .32?
 

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Congratulations

I like what Smith & Wesson did with the firearm. I have a blue PPk

Extending the Tang like that took care of the slide bite issues that folks like me(due to meaty web between fingers) disliked about the firearm

Now if they had only made it in 22LR and with a threaded barrel I could put this one away

ppks22a.jpg
 
I have a blued post recall PPK. Works fine, no complaints at all. The extended tang definitely cured hammer bite. Surprisingly accurate little pistols.

Picked up a real deal Walther PP in 32 a few months ago. The difference in the two calibers is quite noticeable. The 32 is actually rather pleasant to shoot. The 380 can start to wear on one after a box of ammo.
 
Neighbor asked if I could look at some guns a widow (yes, that's right) was trying to sell. Of course, I fell in love with the 1934-35 Heavy Duty and bought it. There was also a PPK/S in .380 with Pach grips. Everyone here knows I like small, pocketable guns, but this Walther was very heavy in my hand and turned me off. Perhaps the grips were guilty, but I passed up an otherwise quality small gun.

Moral of the story: Leave the factory grips on a Walther PPK/S.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. Anyone else notice when replacement grips are on a handgun for sale, the original OED grips are usually missing?
 
Bought a new, post recall S&Walther 380, some years ago. Then a new stainless one soon after.
Both are accurate and run fine with 100/115/120gr bullets on the warm side.
The stainless one gets carried.
If I need a small 9mm, the P239 is available.
A bigger 9mm is the M59.

Walther has a new 380, the PD380.
Was going to buy the Mrs a dozen PPKs 22LRs in 1980,
from Tamiami, for her 40th birthday. Sad and dumb story but she got a blued Colt Diamondback 6" 22LR instead.
 

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Great guns and way under appreciated
I have 4, 3 older ones and 1 new itteration by S&W.
Still looking for that ppk though.
 
Altamonts are marked on the backside. Remove them and you can find out if that's what they are.

Also go to the S&W site and you can check to see if it falls under the decocking lever recall. They are still doing the repairs as of a few weeks ago when I inquired about it.
 
Charlie Foxtrott said:
A Walther TPH to be precise, it runs like a top. They were not exactly giving it away, but I like it.
Click to expand...

I also have a TPH in blue. Does anyone know, were these made by Ranger manufacturing? Looks like I’ll have to break down and call Walther about replacing the grips. Surprisingly, there are hardly any listed, factory style, on fleaBay.

Added: Called Walther and ordered grips - the Gent said the grips would fit my S&W version; $31-ish + shipping ...
 
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GeoJelly said:
I also have a TPH in blue. Does anyone know, were these made by Ranger manufacturing? Looks like I’ll have to break down and call Walther about replacing the grips. Surprisingly, there are hardly any listed, factory style, on fleaBay.
Click to expand...

A fairly rate item. I'm not sue I've seen more than four or five in wild. Not surprising there's very little on ebay.
 
Congratulations! Smith & Wesson PPKs are underappreciated, mostly because purists dislike the extended beavertail and will argue until they're blue in the face that it was unnecessary because if you grip a PPK in an extremely awkward, unintuitive fashion which was never officially instructed by Walther themselves, then you won't get slide bite. Bonus points if they go so far as to accuse anyone who gets slide bite of suffering from obesity.

As far as the alleged "issues" go, the only factual issues S&W PPKs ever had involved a safety defect which could make the gun go off if the decocker was engaged with a live round in the chamber. Which while potentially serious, didn't effect all models, and was corrected by a recall. Everything else is just hearsay, most of which was propagated by purists who used it as a justification for their dislike of S&W PPKs for lack of any tangible reason beyond; "The beavertail throws off the classic lines!" Not to mention justify charging extra for their "superior vintage PPK" in online auctions.

Personally, I never had any issues whatsoever with mine, and I actively tried to make it fail after the purists on a certain other forum repeatedly tried to gaslight me into believing that all S&W PPKs were notoriously unreliable. I tried limpwristing it, firing it sideways, upside down, dirty, unlubricated, and even all of the above at once, yet it never failed to feed until I tried to chamber a round with substantial bullet setback, which I don't hold against it because practically any gun will fail to feed an out of spec round.

I carried it with confidence from 2016 until 2019 when I decided that I needed a cartridge with more oomph than .380 after hogs had been sighted in my residential area.

attachment.php


The blued models seem to be rare, as I've only ever encountered Stainless Steel models.

CZU said:
What is the finish on the Manurhin?
Click to expand...

It's a factory Nickel finish known as "Nivel" IIRC.


GeoJelly said:
I also have a TPH in blue. Does anyone know, were these made by Ranger manufacturing? Looks like I’ll have to break down and call Walther about replacing the grips. Surprisingly, there are hardly any listed, factory style, on fleaBay.
Click to expand...

Ranger only made them in Stainless Steel, AFAIK.
 
I have a pre-recall stainless PPK. Never had a single issue with it but I sent it in when they did the recall. Still haven’t had a single issue with it. I guess someone must have had problems with their S&W/Walther but it sure wasn’t me. I can’t recall I’ve ever had a malfunction with mine. I don’t shoot it an awful lot - probably 1500 rounds or so since I bought it new - but it’s a fine handgun as far as I’m concerned.
 
Forte Smitten Wesson said:
Congratulations! Smith & Wesson PPKs are underappreciated, mostly because purists dislike the extended beavertail and will argue until they're blue in the face that it was unnecessary because if you grip a PPK in an extremely awkward, unintuitive fashion which was never officially instructed by Walther themselves, then you won't get slide bite. Bonus points if they go so far as to accuse anyone who gets slide bite of suffering from obesity.

As far as the alleged "issues" go, the only factual issues S&W PPKs ever had involved a safety defect which could make the gun go off if the decocker was engaged with a live round in the chamber. Which while potentially serious, didn't effect all models, and was corrected by a recall. Everything else is just hearsay, most of which was propagated by purists who used it as a justification for their dislike of S&W PPKs for lack of any tangible reason beyond; "The beavertail throws off the classic lines!" Not to mention justify charging extra for their "superior vintage PPK" in online auctions.

Personally, I never had any issues whatsoever with mine, and I actively tried to make it fail after the purists on a certain other forum repeatedly tried to gaslight me into believing that all S&W PPKs were notoriously unreliable. I tried limpwristing it, firing it sideways, upside down, dirty, unlubricated, and even all of the above at once, yet it never failed to feed until I tried to chamber a round with substantial bullet setback, which I don't hold against it because practically any gun will fail to feed an out of spec round.

I carried it with confidence from 2016 until 2019 when I decided that I needed a cartridge with more oomph than .380 after hogs had been sighted in my residential area.

attachment.php


The blued models seem to be rare, as I've only ever encountered Stainless Steel models.



It's a factory Nickel finish known as "Nivel" IIRC.




Ranger only made them in Stainless Steel, AFAIK.
Click to expand...

Relax. The tirade is not necessary to get a point across. I don't know anything about the newer guns produced in this country and won't criticize them.

I had three older PPK/Ss, all purchased twenty to twenty-five years ago. I shot them extensively, doing a lot of load development with cast bullets but also used some factory ammo. I don't recall the "bite" you refer to. If it was there at all, it was minimal; far from a problem.

I'm not familiar with "gaslight". Is that some sort of Internet-age term?
 
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