I'm Thinking About Getting A PPK

[Wyatt Burp]

Not a S&W but an Interarms .380 for sale locally. I don't like stainless much but this is an exception. It's pretty new in a case with 2 mags. I shot a freinds .22 and fell in love. I was given two lifetimes worth of brass, bullets, primers, and there's a set of dies, too. I've never owned a .380 before of any make. Anyone out there own a Walther variation? And how's $500 sound for this gun here in Cubafornia?

 

[Kanewpadle]

That may be a little high but I'm not sure. It is a good little gun though.

I don't have or need a 380 but if I did, I think I would buy a CZ 83. It's heavier but with a 12 round magazine and a single action trigger, it looks appealing.

 

[rimfired]

Here's my 1972 PPK/S ULM proofed Interarms .380. I bought it right @ 15 years ago. This is one sweet gun that will be one of the last to go. So well machined and accurate, heavy makes it a pleasure to shoot. If you like it
go for it, the current S&W clones can't even come close in quality from my experience.
With all the extra's you're getting I'd say it's worth it.

 

[old bear]

I had a Walther PPKS years ago it is one of the few automatics I regret selling. Well made, easy to drop in a coat or pants pocket for a quick run to the local shop and rob. The 380 may be a little underpowered but if it is it's not by much. For $500.00 if you can swing it go for it.

 

[enfield]

My wife's Interarms .380 PPK has been flawless. She doesn't carry it anymore (arthritis) but it's now a valued safe queen with a set of Cocobolo grips. I'll have to post a picture some day.

BTW hers was about $350 used, with a box and 2 mags, in Michigan about 7 years ago.

 

[steveno]

around 1985 or so Interarms imported some Manurhin made ppk/s's in 22 long rifle and 380 for $265. I still have the 22 and should have kept the 380 as well. I think the European made ones are pretty good. I think for $500 may be a little high for what you got but not much. enjoy it

 

[cmort666]

around 1985 or so Interarms imported some Manurhin made ppk/s's in 22 long rifle and 380 for $265. I still have the 22 and should have kept the 380 as well. I think the European made ones are pretty good. I think for $500 may be a little high for what you got but not much. enjoy it

I bought a "St. Etienne" marked PPK/S around '83 or '84. It was a good and reliable, although relatively hard kicking gun. I sold it to a friend to finance a Glock 22 or something before there was legal CCW in Ohio. I wouldn't mind having it back, although I'm pretty skeptical of .380acp as a self-defense round.

 

[Texas Star]

Massad Ayoob (I think) tried the .380 vs. snub .38's on pigs in slaughterhouses. The .380 often failed on head shots, but the lead SWCHP .38 bullet killed the pigs. That's a Plus P load, of course.

He may see this and comment. But I'd carry a .380 only if I couldn't carry a snub .38 that day. Some .380's are easier to conceal in summer clothes.

A German writer in Guns & Ammo some years ago noted that, on average, the .32 Walther jammed once in about 50 shots in German police service. I think that, plus the need for more power, was what prompted the German pistol trials of about 1975. We got some good guns out of those tests. The best was probably the SIG P-220 series.



T-Star

 

[Texas Star]

Here's my 1972 PPK/S ULM proofed Interarms .380. I bought it right @ 15 years ago. This is one sweet gun that will be one of the last to go. So well machined and accurate, heavy makes it a pleasure to shoot. If you like it
go for it, the current S&W clones can't even come close in quality from my experience.
With all the extra's you're getting I'd say it's worth it.

Who was that flick knife made for? Paul Bunyan?

T-Star

 

[m657]

I have the Manurhin PPK/s and love the 380 round.

Great combo there, and $500 with all that stuff is a might fine deal in my neck of the woods.

380 is one of those rounds, that the more of it you shoot, the more you wonder why all the bad rap against it.

32 acp was a standard Euro police round for many decades. The 380 was and remains superior in all new style ammo loads to the 32. Think of it as a "9mm short"....which it is.

Compare the terminal ballistics in any recent study you can find.

Heavy-ish pistol with excellent performance in all realms, IMHO.

There never really is a 'perfect' round/pistol either.

Having a 380 Walter may lead you to another delight, the 380 Colt Government or the 380 Mustang, recently departed. Even better single action pistols.

Come to the 380 for an unexpected delight.

 

[Texas Star]

The Beretta .380's are probably the most reliable, but Star had some models that I'd like to try. One was hardly bigger than a .25, and GCA '68 stopped its importation here.

I had a war surplus Beretta M-34. It kicked harder than expected, but was dead reliable. It grouped into a man's hand at 25 yards. But the hard trigger pull was a lot of that, and .380's are really meant for closer range.



T-Star

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
In the past I had a German manufactured PPK .380 in Stainless.
My complaint was "Hammer Bite". The same as a Colt Model 1911.
Jimmy

 

[Faulkner]

I have a Interarms PPK/S that I've carried as a BUG or concealed off duty for over 10 years. I qualify with it twice a year and it's very accurate and 100% reliable, even with JHP's. I like the ergonomics of the PPK/S and find it is easy to carry concealed.

I like mine a lot, but there is a down side to them. Due to the blowback operation, the .380 ACP round in the PPK is not a 'fun' gun to shoot. Would I depend on mine, yes, I do often. Do I like to carry it to the range and target shoot or plink with it, no. I wear a shooting glove any time I'm shooting more than a couple of magazines through it because I find the recoil to be pretty snappy, but not really any more than a Airweight J-frame. The slide can also be hard to pull back, my wife can't chamber a round in mine. Lastly, the double action trigger pull is stout, though I like the single action trigger.

With all that said, I love mine and would recommend it to others.

 

[Kanewpadle]

The Sig P230/232 may be a good option too.

 

[rimfired]

Who was that flick knife made for? Paul Bunyan?

T-Star

That's not the biggest I have, seriously.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Looks like I'm not going to get a Walther. I just bought this nice little Beretta .380 and this percussion gun was tossed into the deal, too. $275.

 

[ColbyBruce]

In my opinion the Walther PP series pistols are overrated and over priced. Do a search under my name to find photos of my PP comparing it to other handguns for size and width. You did good on the Beretta.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Though the OP's question is now moot, there's a few things worth clearing up for anyone that finds this via google or what not.

A stainless Interarms PPK was most likely made in the United States. The PPKs (plural, not PPK/s) had to be made in the States for general sale post GCA 68. They lacked enough "points" to come in for import otherwise, though sticking a PPK slide on a PP frame did qualify and begat the PPK/s.

American made guns sold by Interarms could be had in blued or stainless. I had one of the blued guns, bought it new circa 1996 or so. I didn't see many of the blued ones around and it looked like James Bonds pistol (though he had a .32).

The blued ones seems a little better turned out, but that could have just been those I'd seen.

I paid 399 dollars for mine NIB back then with two mags (made by Mecgar), the test target, manual, etc.

The manual said the gun would work best with standard FMJ ammo. It told the truth. My particular gun would tend to jam if used with Winchester silvertips - the only JHP ammo that I could obtain reliably in that caliber at the time. With FMJs it worked fine.

I currently have a German made .32 PP that I traded my Krag sporter for.

Where the PP/PPK can be a problem is that they are made to closer tolerances than modern pocket pistol designs. They're nicely made and fairly accurate, but crud will make one malfunction much more easily than something like a pocket Glock. If the German PD were having trouble, it was most likely because of German cops not cleaning or taking care of the guns - remember the stories of why the hooked hammer was on the P6s? Keep it clean and a Walther will work fine, they were used quite a bit in WW2 and didn't seem to have a reputation for being a problem.

I've never had one of the SW made ones. Mine also didn't trouble me with hammer bite - different people have different hands. A PPK weighs in about the same as a steel Model 36.

Use FMJs and keep it clean and it's a quicker reloading option to the J frames, but... the hey day of this as an option would have been the 60s, 70s, maybe up til mid 80s. There are better choices today.

I keep my .32 around because I think it ought be potent medicine for squirrels and such.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Gator, the gun I was scheming on was a PPK/S. That's a big difference that I failed to differentiate, or how ever you spell that word. I'd still like to have one.

 

[DCWilson]

I got a S&W .380 PPK/S a couple of years ago, just in time for the recall. Sent it off, got it back eventually with the part-swap/repair notice. Fired it a few times at the range without a problem. It's one of my loaded household guns.

I'm willing to believe that the current Walther models may not be manufactured to the standards of the older guns, but I haven't studied the inner workings to see what may have been changed in the last half century as design evolved. I don't doubt for a moment that some have had problems with their modern units, but it still seems to me that the problem rate is quite low -- nothing in the M&P 15-22 class, for example. I don't think I'd buy one of those.

I trust my .380. Maybe someday it will stovepipe or do something else ugly on me -- but so far, so good.