It took me a while to come-around to a Smith-Walther. I already had an Interarms 380 in my collection and would not touch a Smith-Walther due to all the issues they had with the gun. They tried to fix something that was not broken....they messed with a design that had worked since 1931 and paid the price for it.
After they corrected their "improvements" they have produced a much better weapon with features that many older Walther owners appreciate, like a longer beaver-tail to prevent slide-bite and revamping/polishing the feed-ramp. Very few complaints (if any) can be found concerning the post-recall guns (February 2009 and newer). Most shooters, including me, report the little guns will digest anything in the caliber selected...be it FMJ or HP. The gun was built for the 32ACP and mine performs flawlessly and it did right-out-of-the-box.
They can be had off places such as Gunbroker in the $475 range, but be sure you get a post-recall. Mine is just one in my collection and I do not rely on it as a SD piece, although good SD ammo can be had in 32ACP.
As far as it not being considered a S&W....sorry boys...but it has Smith & Wesson engraved right on the slide. It is considered a step-child by many Smith owners because it's not their original design and it is made in another facility. The Walther design is a piece of history and the only manufacturer producing it now is S&W....like it or not. I also think it functions and looks a lot better than some of the "genuine" S&W automatic weapons that have been turned-out over the years and died, such as the 39, 59, 459....etc. The Walther design is 80-years old and it's still basically the same pistol now as it was when it was born. They must have got it right the first time.
It's a fun gun to shoot, simple, solid stainless steel construction, reliability has greatly improved in the post recall guns and there is no good reason not to have a Smith & Wesson-Walther if you want one.
