Is Walther superior to USA semi-autos and any opinions on the quality of the new (Smith) Walthers VS the older German Interarms models? See some very nice older models, especially in stainless, but they are pretty pricey.
I own a few PP series pistols:
- A pair of Manurhrin made PP pistols in 7.65mm Browning,
- A pair of Ranger made PPK/S pistols in .380 ACP,
- A British L66A1 (a West German military proof marked Walther PP .22 LR), and
- A Walther/Umarex PPK/S .22 LR
I also used to own a S&W made PPK/S in .380 ACP.
A bit of history might help when talking about Walther versus Manurhin versus Ranger versus S&W made PP series pistols.
After WWII, Germany was prohibited from producing small arms, except for very specific circumstances, such as producing P38 pistols for the French. Consequently, Walther, which had moved it's tooling eastward from Zella-Mehlis in eastern Germany to avoid the Soviets near the end of the war.
In 1952 Walther built a factory in Ulm Germany, but was unable to produce small arms due to restrictions placed on Germany after WWII. However Manurhin's facilities were located just across the Rhine in the Alsace Lorraine region of France (which had been annexed by Germany in 1871 and been part of Germany until after WWI).
The end result was that Walther produced forgings for the frames and slides in its factory in Ulm, West Germany, which were then shipped across the river to Manurhin in France, where Manurhin then milled, finished and assembled the pistols with Manurhin roll marks and a role mark indicating the license from Walther.
After 1957, Walther could again produce small arms, however, they continued the arrangement with Manurhin, with Manurhin making the pistols for US export. Even for Walther marked pistols. Manuhrin completed the frames and small parts and milled the slides, but then shipped the parts back across the Rhine to Walther, where the slides were roll marked, induction hardened and finished by Walther. This arrangement continued until 1986 when Walther finally began producing the PP series pistols completely in it's own factory. Given that the slides were finished by Walther and frames were finished by Manurhin, it's common to find the bluing doesn't quite match on these Walther marked pistols, "made" by Walther.
Opinions vary on the quality of Walther versus Manurhin pistols, and there are tow schools of thought. One holds that the Walther pistols are finished to higher standard - but that largely ignores the fact the frames were still finished by Manurhin, and the other holds that the Manurhin pistols were finished to the same quality as the Walther marked pistols. Both sides tend to agree that the Manurhin/Walther collaborated pistols were better than the all Walther pistols made after 1986 after the agreement with Manurhin was terminated.
Personally, I think the Manurhin pistols are very well made and nicely finished. I have two, both of which are former Austrian police pistols:
Tholson Company imported the Manurhin PP pistols into the US beginning in 1952, and the PPK beginning in 1953. Interarms became the US importer in 1956. The PPK did not meet the import criteria after GCA 1968, but Interarms continued to import the PP until 1984, when Manurhin began importing them directly to the US.
Ranger Manufacturing in Gadsen Alabama began producing licensed copies of the PPK/S for Interarms in 1978. The quality of the Ranger made pistols is also considered to be very good:
Interarms closed it's doors around 1998, and Smith and Wesson became the licensed producer and distributor for the PPK and PPK/S in the US in 2002 in Houlton ME. This arrangement just recently ended with Walther making the pistols in Ft. Smith Arkansas beginning in 2017, although I don't think any of them have come to market yet.
S&W made some changes on the PPK and PPK/S. The grip frames are slightly different, with the S&W frame being both a little larger, and with a little less room inside, to the effect that grips for the Walther, Manurhin and Ranger made pistols don't usually fit, and they extended the tang.
The longer tang supposedly reduces the potential for slide bite for folks with fleshy hands, but it also ruins the lines of the pistol, and tends to dig into your side when carried in an IWB holster.
Not withstanding a couple recalls, quality was good and they were reliable, but the finish was also a little less polished than the Ranger made pistols.
Walther (and Manurhin) made the PP in .22 LR as well, and these are well sought after pistols that bring a fair bit of money when they show up - upwards of $600 to as much as twice that depending on age and markings. They are accurate and reliable, provided you limit the rounds in the magazine to 8, instead of 10. Magazines are the major limiting factor as they sell for upwards of $100 and are rather rare.
This is my British military L66A1 version of the PP in .22 LR:
Umarex as the new parent company of Walther, started making a .22 LR version of the PPK/S in Ft. Smith Arkansas. The slide and frame are made of Zamak alloy (a high purity zinc alloy) with steel reinforcement in the high stress/high wear areas, it uses the same barrel liner and barrel nut system as the Walther P22, and examination of the small parts shows an effort to reduce production costs without hurting function, but beyond that the design is very much that of a Walther PP series pistol.
I had low expectations when I bought mine, but to be quite honest it shoots better than my PP in .22 LR, and the magazine is a far superior design that addresses a few of the issues in the older PP .22LR pistol's magazine. Since the slide is Zamak rather than steel, it doesn't have to be thinned to reduce the slide weight, so it has the profile of a PPK/S. Umarex also filled in the grip frame between the magazine and grip, adding extra metal so the pistol actually has a feel very similar to the PPK/S rather than being un-naturally light weight.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and while they probably won't become heirlooms, they are decent shooting pistols that are fun to take to the range. I opted for the nickel plated version as the finish on the "blue" version didn't appeal to me. With a set of wood grips the nickel version doesn't look bad, and as noted above, it's a great shooter: